School Of Science And HealthField Project 1Western Sydney University Unit Code: 300913.1
Discipline: NATURAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES NOT ELSEWHERE CLASSIFIED
Student Contribution Band: 2
Level: 3
Credit Points: 10
Equivalent Units
300659 - Field Project 1
Prerequisite
300662 Research Methods OR 300932 Natural Science Research Methods
Unit Enrolment Restrictions
Students enrolling in the external offering of this unit must be externally enrolled in 3672 Bachelor of Natural Science (Environment and Health). Other students enrolling externally will need Unit Coordinator approval.
About this Unit
Unit 300913 (Field Project 1) and the associated unit 300914 (Field Project 2) are designed as 'capstone' units of study for the Bachelor of Natural Science degree. They draw together the skills acquired in previous years of the degree course and apply them in the context of a year-long research project exploring a real world problem on behalf of an industry, government or community agency client. Over the year, the student will develop skills in scoping, planning, implementing, reporting on the research project; reflecting on what has been learned in the context of their personal and professional development and how this can be used in future career planning. In this Field Project 1 unit the focus is on developing skills in designing an appropriate research project in collaboration with the industry client, contextualising the problem and appropriate research methods in the academic literature, developing and implementing a pilot study to test the proposed research methods, and planning ahead for collecting, organising ad analysing field data and reporting the results to the client in the second unit - Field Project 2.
Special Requirements - Legislative Pre-requisites
Students will need to complete a Risk Assessment form to approval of their supervisor before commencing field work for this unit. Animal and/or Human Ethics approvals may be needed before field data collection commences for some projects. Students requiring ACEC approval will need to submit these through their supervisor and the Unit Coordinator. Full ACEC approval applications need the signature of an appropriately qualified staff academic (agreeing to be the principal supervisor) before these can be submitted. Students involving research on Human participants will need Human Ethics approval from their supervisor and the Unit Coordinator before commencing field data collection. This may be given in two stages: for pilot studies and subsequently for main field studies revised in light of the pilot. Other approvals (e.g. NPWS) may be needed for specific projects. A report detailing the outcomes and any changes to approved protocols will be required in the Spring Unit 300914 Field Project 2 for all studies where Ethics approvals have been granted.
To be eligible to enrol in a unit and attend a health-related placement in your course, students must meet Western Sydney University course requirements AND Special Legislative Requirements to be assessed in their first year of study against the following:
1. National Criminal History Check: Students must have a current (expiring 3 years from date of issue) check valid for their entire course. A valid National Criminal history check must be an Australia wide check, include the student's full name matching their Student ID card and date of birth and not have any offences listed. If a student has a criminal history identified on their check, they must provide a Clinical Placement Authority Card (CPAC) or conditional letter from the NSW HealthShare Employment Screening and Review Unit
(https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/careers/student_clearance/Documents/appendix-10-student-application.pdf).
International students must additionally have a translated International Police Check or statutory declaration.
2. A NSW Working with Children Check (WWCC) clearance letter issued under the category of volunteer valid for their entire course.
3. A current approved first aid certificate valid for their entire course, approved provider courses can be found at:
http://training.gov.au.
4. A completed vaccination/immunisation card with all serology results containing expiry dates and currency must be maintained by the student to ensure compliance for their entire course.
5. NSW Undertaking/Declaration form
6. Completed any additional health forms required (such as NSW Health Code of Conduct, Health Student Undertaking/Declaration and Tuberculosis (TB) Assessment Tool)
7. Relevant Local Health District specific documentation as requested.
Contact your School for further details. Resources are also available on the Placement Hub website:
www.westernsydney.edu.au/compliancehub.