Developing Research and Analytical Skills
COM15
Overview
Level of study: What does Undergraduate Level 1 mean?
Undergraduate Level 1
EFTSL: What does EFTSL mean?
0.125
Delivery Method: What does delivery method mean?
Fully Online
Prerequisites: What are the prerequisites?
No
Duration:
13 weeks
Government loans available:
FEE-HELP FEE-HELP
Domestic student fee:
$750.00 (AUD)
International student fee:
$975.00 (AUD)
Description
Sharpen your research and analytical skills in order to improve your performance at university. This is a hands-on 'learn by doing' subject that challenges you to think more critically and to present your work more professionally. It teaches you how to evaluate information sources, helps you move beyond Google to indexes and databases, and exposes you to primary research methods commonly used in the communications field (eg. surveys, content analysis). As you polish your referencing skills you learn how to write in a variety of styles, from mini reviews to essays and formal research reports. This subject is recommended for communications students but may also be useful to other students who wish to improve their academic skills and/or knowledge of the media.
Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to foster critical thinking about sources of information. On completion of this unit, students will have an increased awareness of issues affecting the media and will be able to:
- identify appropriate methods of obtaining the information they seek
- evaluate sources for relevance and credibility
- present research in an academic manner with appropriate structure and referencing.
Topics
This unit addresses the following topics.
| Number | Topic |
|---|---|
| 1 | Major sources of information |
| 2 | Researching organisation |
| 3 | Researching people |
| 4 | Academic sources |
| 5 | Essay writing |
| 6 | Information gathering |
| 7 | Referencing & citation |
| 8 | Interpretation of data interpretation of data |
Study Resources
This unit is delivered using the following methods and materials:
Print based materials
- Welcome Letter
Online materials
- Printable format materials
- Resources and Links
Textbook information for this unit is currently being updated and will be available soon. Please check back regularly for updates. Alternatively, visit the Unibooks website and enter the unit details to search for available textbooks.
Relevant Courses
This unit is a core requirement in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Communication, Griffith University
- Bachelor of Arts (Internet Communications), Curtin University
This unit may be eligible for credit towards other courses:
- Many undergraduate courses on offer through OUA include 'open elective' where any OUA unit can be credited to the course. You need to check the Award Requirements on the course page for the number of allowed open electives and any level limitations.
- In other cases, the content of this unit might be relevant to a course on offer through OUA or elsewhere. In order to receive credit for this unit in the course you will need to supply the provider institution with a copy of the Unit Profile in the approved format, which you can download here. Note that the Unit Profile is set at the start of the year, and if textbooks change this may not match the Unibooks textbook list.
