FIT5017 Minor thesis - Semester 1, 2011

FIT5017 is an optional research/thesis unit for FIT coursework masters degrees, taken in the final stage of the Masters Professional or Masters course. While FIT5014 is a 24-point unit taken in a single semester, FIT5017 is a component of the 24-point Minor Thesis taken over more than one semester.
Before enrolling in the unit, students need:

1. to have prior approval from their course coordinator; and
2. to have reached agreement with a potential supervisor about a research area/feasible research topic for their Minor Thesis project.

Mode of Delivery

• Caulfield (Day)
• Clayton (Day)
• Gippsland (Off-campus)

Contact Hours

Regular meetings with supervisor(s) over the course of the unit enrolment

Workload

Unit Relationships

Prerequisites

Students must be enrolled in a Faculty of IT Masters (Honours), Masters Professional or Masters (Minor Thesis) course or the Master of Information Technology degree; FIT5017 is to be taken in the final stage of the course.

In undertaking the Minor Thesis students must have: (1) their course leaders approval to enrol in the unit; and (2) completed/enrolled concurrently in FIT4005 IT research methods. In addition, the following rules apply:

+ in the Masters Professional and Master of Information Technology courses, students must have completed at least 24 points of level 5 units in their degree and attained a Distinction average on their Masters coursework; and
+ in the Master of Information Technology (Honours) degree students must have completed at least 24 points of level 5 units in their degree.

Chief Examiner

Campus Lecturer

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this unit students will have -
A knowledge and understanding of:

• their research topic and the wider research domain.
• research approaches and methods, and how to resolve research problems and issues.
• well honed skills in critical thinking, analysis, evaluation and synthesis.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• have confidence in their ability to undertake independent research, and to plan and execute an individual research project.
• appreciate the significance and contributions of a research culture in both academic and workplace contexts.

Developed the skills to:

• plan and undertake rigorous independent research;
• locate relevant research literature, and critically analyse and evaluate published research findings;
• identify open problems in current research and promising new research directions, and from this to define a viable research topic;
• develop a sound research design and feasible research project plan and schedule;
• communicate effectively research results in a variety of forms, including informal oral presentations, written reports, seminar presentations and poster presentations.

Although research projects are carried out individually, students will be part of a wider research group, with whom they will interact regularly, and participate in research seminars and discussions. At the completion of the unit students will have demonstrated the communication and teamwork skills necessary to:

• communicate research ideas effectively in formal or informal contexts;
• collaborate effectively with others involved in a research project (supervisors, research colleagues, industry collaborators).

Graduate Attributes

Assessment Summary

Presentation and final thesis: 100%

Teaching Approach

Research activities

Feedback

Our feedback to You

• Other: Supervisor meetings and seminar presentations.

Your feedback to Us

Previous Student Evaluations of this unit

Unit Schedule

Week	Date*	Activities	Assessment
0	21/02/11	Students will research an agreed thesis topic under the guidance of their supervisor and will receive feedback on their progress through regular meetings with their supervisor.	No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0
1	28/02/11
2	07/03/11
3	14/03/11
4	21/03/11
5	28/03/11
6	04/04/11
7	11/04/11
8	18/04/11
Mid semester break
9	02/05/11
10	09/05/11
11	16/05/11
12	23/05/11
	30/05/11	SWOT VAC	No formal assessment is undertaken SWOT VAC

*Please note that these dates may only apply to Australian campuses of Monash University. Off-shore students need to check the dates with their unit leader.

Assessment Policy

Assessment Tasks

Participation

This unit forms part of the sequence of units comprising the Minor Thesis in the Faculty of Information Technology for students enrolled prior to 2011.

Students enrolled prior to 2011 will select a combination of units resulting in the required credit point total of 24 cpts.

The 24 credit point exit point is applicable to:

• Master of Information Technology (Honours)
• Master of Information Technology Professional
• Master of Business Information Systems (Honours)

FIT5017 Minor Thesis is a unit with an enrolled value of 12CP and 0CP achievable, taken over a single semester but forms the first part of a sequence of units that together allow a student to complete a Minor Thesis of 24 credit points. 

These units include:

• FIT5016 Minor Thesis (6cpts)
• FIT5017 Minor Thesis (12cpts)
• FIT5018 Minor Thesis (18cpts)
• FIT5014 Minor Thesis (24cpts)

At the completion of the requirements for the thesis the following components of assessment will be completed:

Research Proposal: 5%; Literature Review: 10%; Interim Presentation: hurdle; Final Presentation: 5%; Thesis (normally 10,000 - 20,000 words): 80%

These assessment tasks will be completed over the course of several units in the Minor Thesis program but the overall grade for the thesis will only be finalised on completion of either 24cpts.

Please refer to the Unit Guides for FIT5016, FIT5017, FIT5018, and FIT5014 for a description of the assessment items to be completed over the course of the Honours Thesis.

Examinations

Assignment submission

Extensions and penalties

Returning assignments

Policies

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