Honours Information for Current Students
All students - Download forms, information booklet, styleguide
Download: Possible Geography and Environmental Studies Honours topics for 2007
Download: SSEE Honours Research Proposal form for 2007
Download: SSEE Honours and Postgraduate Diploma Courseguide (course structures, subject descriptions, contact and biographical information of staff)
Download: Michael Webber (2003) Writing Theses: A Manual for Honours and Masters Students SSEE, University of Melbourne, Research Paper No 14.
Download: Navigating Academia
All students
Scheduling of 121-503 Research Methods and Design in summer semester:
Students should note well that the research modules comprising this subject are taught prior to the official beginning of the academic year. Honours offers are not made until well after the official release of examination results. However, interested students should not wait for an official offer but should contact Dr Fraser MacDonald, the subject coordinator, before the end of the year for information on the availability of modules and the timetable for the coming February.
A comment about statistical analysis:
Many research projects entail statistical analysis of data. If you anticipate that statistical analysis will be necessary for your project, you should note that it is your responsibility to determine what form that analysis should take and how it should be carried out. Some of the research modules that form part of Honours coursework are designed to provide students with help with statistics. Additionally, help is available through the consultants in the Statistics Department, and some SSEE staff may be ableoadvise on statistical matters. Ultimately, however, it is up to you to work out the details of your analysis. Note that the details of any statistical analyses should be sorted out well before data collection commences. You should also plan on leaving adequate time before thesis write-up to carry out those analyses. For projects with lots of data, a window of two to three weeks might be necessary to carry out the analyses, check and interpret the results.
Procedures for Honours coursework subjects
Handing in your work via SSEE red Essay Locker
The procedure for handing in all student work is uniform throughout the School. The only exception is the submission of the Honours thesis directly to the SSEE Office. Written work is either handed in during class or submitted via the red School Essay Locker in the basement, with a completed cover sheet attached. There are no exceptions to this procedure – even at the Honours level.
Never hand in your work by putting it in pigeonholes/mailboxes; placing it under doors; giving it to staff or asking them to date-stamp it for you; giving it to other people in your tutor's office; or using any other miscellaneous strategies. This is important for the security and convenience of you and your teachers. Most importantly, it's vital in ensuring that your assignment does not accidentally go astray.
You must attach a standard official SSEE cover sheet for major pieces of work, giving: your name and your student number; subject name and number; the name of the subject coordinator/lecturer; the name of your tutor or demonstrator; a brief description of the work; the title of the assignment or essay; the due date; details of any extension granted, if relevant.
You are strongly recommended to attach a stamped, self-addressed envelope to your submission, so that your corrected work can be safely returned to you.
Extensions for written work?
Extensions will be granted at the discretion of the Honours Coordinator, subject to the University’s policy and procedures. If you think that there are circumstances (eg illness) which genuinely justify an extension of the due date for your work, contact your Honours Coordinator as soon as possible. This must be done before the due date for the piece of work. If you have been given an extension you should still hand in your work in the usual way unless the Honours Coordinator tells you otherwise. Remember to attach SSEE essay extension request form as well as the standard cover sheet to your work. A medical certificate is required if the extension was requested because of illness.
Timing your research
You should start as early as possible, certainly before the official beginning of the academic year in March. Many of the most successful honours students start soon after the end of the previous semester in order to take advantage of the summer vacation, which may be particularly important as a field season, either because you are more likely to be able to get away when you are free of class commitments, or because you need data from the summer period.
If your proposed research involves humans or animals, then you must allow sufficient time to gain ethics approval prior to commencing your research.
Official deadlines are advised in detail at the start of the academic year, but you should take note of these general timelines:
Making the best use of your supervisor
Many subjects specifically state that students maintain regular contact with their supervisor(s). Remember that it is your responsibility to keep these regular meetings; it is not the supervisor’s responsibility to find you. The supervisor should keep a record of your meetings, and you should do the same, noting the date, main issues discussed, work submitted and tasks to complete by the next visit.
Do not rely on being able to drop in to see your supervisor whenever you feel like it. A good supervisor will be busy with their own work, and often not available for several days at a time.
It is a good idea to make the next appointment at the end of each meeting, probably for a month ahead, less at the beginning and end of the year. Agree with your supervisor on the work you will complete in the intervening period. They may want you to submit this a few days before the appointment so that when you meet they are already familiar with your latest work, and better able to discuss it with you. Always keep copies of the work you submit.
Preparing your thesis for submission
(NB - this will take much longer than you anticipate!)
Quite early in your research it is a good idea to prepare a rough outline of your thesis. Having a clear idea of how the final thesis is going to look helps you to avoid wasting time chasing up issues that will not appear in the end. It also helps to ensure that you do cover issues which will turn out to be vitally significant. Some components can be written up, at least in preliminary form, quite early. The rationale for the thesis, the experimental design and methodology are examples of sections which can probably be written at least by mid-year.
Have a look at past theses - the School has a full collection. Your supervisor can probably tell you one or two that were particularly successful in fields similar to your own. Looking at past theses will help you to familiarise yourself with standards required for such aspects as maps, photographs, referencing, typeface, binding etc.
Allow plenty of time for the final formatting and presentation of your thesis. Computer and printing problems have a nasty (and almost predictable) way of arising at the last moment - and especially when you're tired!
Submitting your thesis
School requirements are that you submit three typed (ie wordprocessed) copies of your thesis to the SSEE Office. One copy should be submitted in a springback binder as it will be retained in the SSEE thesis collection, the other two copies may be spiral bound.
Your thesis should include an acknowledgments page including your supervisor’s name, a table of contents, list of plates and figures, and a reference list. It may be appropriate to present some data in appendices, which can either be included in the thesis folder or, if particularly extensive, in a second folder.
Recommended reading
The following research paper provides a very comprehensive guide to the process of thesis production:
Assessment
Honours degrees in both Arts and Science are ranked as follows:
Arts Faculty requires that students achieve a grade of H3 (>65%) or higher in all components of assessment, and an overall grade of at least H2B for the award of an Honours degree.
A pass or fail grade in any subject taken under the Honours program will constitute automatic disqualification from taking out an Honours degree.
Science Faculty requires that students achieve an overall average grade of at least 65% for each of the research and coursework components.
All Honours theses examined in SAGES are marked by at least three members of the academic staff.
The final mark for the year is made up as follows: