Unit Outline

Business
Research Methodology
BUSN 7661
“The unit for all-round research knowledge”

Semester 1

Dr Donella Casperz and Professor Jill Sweeney

Some support materials will be put on Webct

Business School
www.business.uwa.edu.au
BUSN7661 Business Research Methodology

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pursuant to a statutory licence administered by Copyright Agency Limited
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the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).
Copying of this material by students, except for fair dealing purposes under the
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© The University of Western Australia 2001

 Contents

UNIT DESCRIPTION 1
Introduction 1
Learning outcomes 1
CONTACT DETAILS - Unit coordinators 1
CLASS VENUE 2
TEACHING AND LEARNING RESPONSIBILITIES 2
Teaching and learning strategies 2
Charter of student rights 2
Student Guild contact details 2
Academic Conduct Essentials (ACE) 2
Use of student feedback 3
ASSESSMENT MECHANISM 3
Assessment details 3
TEXTBOOK(S) & RESOURCES 6
Required text(s) 6
Additional/Suggested/Alternate text(s) (Closed Reserve) 6
LECTURE SCHEDULE 8
ANALYTIC ARTICLES TO CRITIQUE 8
Checklist for critiquing a research article 9
APPENDIX A 11
Standard of Assessment 11
Ethical Scholarship, Academic Literacy and Academic Misconduct 12
Appeals against academic assessment 12
 BUSN7661 Business Research Methodology

UNIT DESCRIPTION
Introduction
This unit is designed to introduce you to research methods that are of a suitable
academic standard for honours as well as have potential for input into community and
management contexts. The emphasis in the course will be placed on theoretical and
practical aspects that will be appropriate for this. The course will commence with an
overview of the scientific method, and will then focus on each stage of the research
process, including the problem definition, the theoretical framework, generation of
hypotheses etc. The unit is designed to offer you a broad view of research
methodology, rather than specific knowledge in one area only. At your stage of
research, a broad view is critical in terms of academic and basic research
development. Thus, many aspects of research are covered and both qualitative and
quantitative methods will be addressed.

On completion of this unit, you should be able (as a researcher) to critically assess
research projects, including academic journal articles, as well as develop the
conceptual design of their own research study.

The unit will be co-taught, by Dr Donella Caspersz and Professor Jill Sweeney, who
both have extensive expertise in qualitative and quantitative methods in the fields of
management and marketing.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this unit, you should have:
1. A sound understanding of the research process in a wider context
2. Strong conceptual skills (particularly identifying the research problem or thesis, and
designing conceptual schema)
3. A high level of knowledge of the applications of research in academic (basic)
domains as well as in community and commercial (applied) cases
4. the ability to effectively evaluate basic research, especially journal papers.
5. the ability to recognise the advantages and limitations of commonly used research
techniques.

CONTACT DETAILS - Unit coordinators

name: Dr Donella Casperz
email: dcasperz@biz.uwa.edu.au
phone: 6488 2927
fax: 6488 1004
consultation hours: Tuesday 1.30-2.30
Rm 1215
name: Prof Jill Sweeney
email: jsweeney@biz.uwa.edu.au
phone: 6488 1438
fax: 6488 1004
consultation hours: Tuesday 12.30-1.30pm
Rm 2205

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CLASS VENUE
Tuesday 9:00am – 12:45pm
LAW Lecture Room 3 (G05)

TEACHING AND LEARNING RESPONSIBILITIES

Teaching and learning strategies
Mini- assignments: As this is a unit specifically designed for Honours students, we
believe that you will get maximum benefit from a series of applied mini-assignments,
covering the range of the unit content. We offer ten and ask you to complete six.

Article critique: This assignment will assist you in critically assessing the many
research articles that you will read in relation to your thesis.

The role of the lecturers is to facilitate your learning, your active attention and
participation in class is critical to your outcome.

Charter of student rights

This Charter of Student Rights upholds the fundamental rights of students who
undertake their education at the University of Western Australia.
It recognises that excellence in teaching and learning requires students to be active
participants in their educational experience. It upholds the ethos that in addition to the
University's role of awarding formal academic qualifications to students, the University
must strive to instil in all students independent scholarly learning, critical judgement,
academic integrity and ethical sensitivity.
Please refer to the guild website the full charter of student rights, located at
http://www.guild.uwa.edu.au/info/student_help/student_rights/charter.shtml.

Student Guild contact details

The University of Western Australia Student Guild
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley WA 6009
Phone: (+61 8) 6488 2295
Facsimile: (+61 8) 6488 1041
E-mail: enquiries@guild.uwa.edu.au
Website: http://www.guild.uwa.edu.au

Academic Conduct Essentials (ACE)

From Semester 1, 2008 all newly enrolled students are required to complete a short
compulsory online unit called Academic Conduct Essentials (ACE) within the first 10
weeks of semester. ACE introduces students to essential knowledge regarding ethical
scholarship, it helps prepare them for the expectations they will need to meet during
their university career and it informs them of correct academic conduct.
ACE can be accessed via WebCT ( http://webct6.uwa.edu.au). In order to pass the
unit, the unit quiz must be completed with a mark of 80% or greater. To gain the

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 BUSN7661 Business Research Methodology

required pass mark students may attempt the quiz as many times as they wish.
Completion of the unit will be recorded as an Ungraded Pass (UP) on the student's
academic record. Non-completion (NC) within the required timeframe will also be
documented on formal academic records (ie, in either case the grade will appear on
transcripts). More information on ACE is available at http://ace.uwa.edu.au

Use of student feedback

The unit is formally evaluated using SURF and SPOT surveys. But more importantly,
continuous communication and feedback from students is taken into consideration in
updating and improving the unit. We have taken on board student feedback in previous
research units which has influenced mini-assignment choice and the approach to the
exam. In particular, we emphasise the eclectic nature of the unit, which focuses on a
broad range of issues.

ASSESSMENT MECHANISM
Item Weight Due date
Class Participation. 10% ongoing
Evaluation of article: 15% Varies across student group.
presentation Chosen in class in week 1
Evaluation of article: 25%
write up
Mini-assignments 5@10% See lecture schedule
TOTAL 100%

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ASSESSMENT DETAILS
Please note that final grades of the whole class may be subject to adjustment or
scaling.

1) Class participation - 10%

Class participation is a very important part of this unit. It is essential that you
prepare for and attend class. The participation mark is based includes both
quality and quantity of contribution. Turning up and not contributing to
discussion will result in a fail mark.

2) Article presentation – summary 25%, presentation 15% (groups of students)

The minor project comprises a presentation comprising a critical review

of an academic article. Students should work in groups of 2-3
(depending on class size) for this project. The allocation of topics will be
conducted in the first week of tutorials.

The class presentation should be viewed as a communication exercise

to be carried out in a professional manner assuming an audience of
other professionals who are not familiar with the speaker’s subject area.
Presentations should be about 25 minutes long, and will be followed by
a discussion of the articles, which the students who present will lead.

Consider the checklist at the end of this course outline to prepare your
presentation. You should:
a) Prepare a brief ‘point form’ summary of the author(s) objective(s),
major finding(s) and conclusion(s); (this should be 1 page max)
b) Answer 6 of the aspects of the checklist (choose #1, #5, #13, and
3 others. You should state which of these you are addressing
during the presentation. Note: you will not be expected to comment
on issues that have not yet been covered in lectures.
c) Prepare 2-3 questions for students at the end of your presentation
to develop interaction/interest among the students. Be creative
(bribes, role playing and ‘hook in’ questions to the audience are all
useful).

You will need to hand in a 3-6-page summary of what you presented for
marking (include a, b and c above).

Non-presenters need to read the paper to be prepared.

3) Mini assignments–5, each worth 10% each

Students will prepare five of the six possible assignments. The maximum length of
each assignment is 3 pages (single spacing, 12 point font, 2.5cm margings). Questions
can be found with the assignments in the unit reader. Please note that assignments 1
and 5 are compulsory. Assignment outlines are included in the Unit Reader. Dates for
submitting assignments are on the Lecture Schedule.

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 BUSN7661 Business Research Methodology

Please remember to attach an Assignment Cover Sheet to the front of your

assignment. You can download and print your Assignment Cover Sheet from the
StudentNet web page http://www.business.uwa.edu.au/studentnet/assessments
All cover pages printed from this website contain a barcode unique to each student.
Once submitted through the pidgeon hole at the Student Centre, the barcode will be
scanned and recorded electronically. An automatic email will be sent to your UWA
email address, notifying you that your assignment has been submitted and recorded
successfully. If you do not receive this acknowledgement email, please contact the
relevant Student Centre (Undergraduates – email studentcentre-ug@biz.uwa.edu.au
ph 6488 2803; Postgraduates – email studentcentre-pg@biz.uwa.edu.au ph 6488
3980).
Note: All assignments submitted through the pidgeon hole at the Student
Centre must have a cover sheet containing a barcode attached. Use of the
barcode cover sheet is

Questions are in the reader with the case, unless otherwise stated
Block 1 (ALL STUDENTS MUST COMPLETE #1)
1 Science and research (compulsory)
2 Developing a proposal argument
3 Understanding qualitative research

Block 2 (ALL STUDENTS MUST COMPLETE #5)

4 Methodology: Project – Academy of Management

5 Developing a questionnaire
(USTA, see case and video) (compulsory)
Note that the management question as follows:

Management questions: What should be done to change the

stereotypes associated with tennis? What methods can the USTA
employ to encourage former players to return to the game? How can we
entice persons of different ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic
status to want to learn and play tennis? How can the USTA recruit and
retain players?

Choose one target market only for this exercise, either former players;
new players; a specific minority group - ie a subset of new players

Please be specific as to how the questionnaire you design will be administered.

6 Sampling exercises
Questions on 2 pages in reader

A pass is required in the assessment projects and contribution to achieve an

overall passing grade.
Details standard of assessment, appeals against assessment and Ethical
Scholarship, Academic Literacy and Academic Misconduct are shown in
Appendix A

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TEXTBOOK(S) & RESOURCES
Required text(s)
Cavana, R. Y., Delahaye B. L. and Sekaran U. (2001), Applied Business Research:
Qualitative and Quantitative Methods. Wiley & Sons, Milton, Qld. 650.072 2001

Richards, L. (2005), Handling Qualitative Data: A Practical Guide. London. Sage

Unit Reader - to be purchased from bookshop.

Articles included are:
Bell, J. (1999), ‘The Literature Review’, Doing Your Research Project, Buckingham:
Open University Press, pp90-98, ch 6
Blaikie, N. (2000) ‘Preparing Research proposals and Research Designs’, Designing
Social Research, pp.12-34, ch 1
Blaxter, Loraine, Christina Hughes and Malcolm Tight (2006), ‘Writing Up’, How to
Research, Buckingham: Open University Press, pp227-254, ch 8
Bouma, Gary D. (2000), ‘Research as a Way of Knowing’, The Research Process,
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp7-21.
Hult, C. (1996) ‘Library Research Methods’, Researching and Writing in the Social
Sciences, Allyn and Bacon, Boston, pp.33-60, ch 3
Maxwell, Joseph A. (1996) ‘Research Proposals: Presenting and Justifying a
Qualitative Study’ Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach, London:
Sage, pp 99-115
May, T. (1997) ‘Interviewing: Methods and Process’, Social Research: Issues, Methods
and Process, Buckingham, Open University Press, pp109-131, Ch 6
Neuman, W. L (2000), ‘The Meanings of Methodology’, Social Research methods:
Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, chapter 4, pp
68-94
Punch, K. F., (2005), ‘Research Questions’, Introduction to Social Research. Sage,
London, chapter 3, pp32-43
Punch, K.F. (2000) ‘The Proposal: Readers, Expectations and Functions’, Developing
Effective Research Proposals, Sage, London, ch 2, pp10-20
Plowman, D (1999), ‘Research Design and Strategy’, Researching Industrial Relations.
Federation Press: Australia, Chapter 4, pp. 31-47.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., and Thornhill, A. (2007) ‘Negotiating Access and Research
Ethics’, Research Methods for Business Students, Prentice Hall, Harlow, Essex,
pp162-202
Schutt, R. K., (2004), ‘Appendix C: How to read a research article’, Investigating the
Social World. Sage: London.

NB These articles are to be read for material covered in both 7661 and 7403

Additional/Suggested/Alternate text(s) (Closed Reserve)

Books:

Berenson, Mark L. (1999), Basic business statistics: concepts and applications, Upper
Saddle River, N.J. Prentice-Hall. 519.5 1999 BAS

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 BUSN7661 Business Research Methodology

Blaxter, Loraine, Christina Hughes and Malcolm Tight (2006), How to Research,
Buckingham: Open University Press

Cooksey Ray (2007) Illustrating Statistical Procedures for Business, Behavioural and
Social Science Research. Tilde University Press.

Cooper, D. R. and Schindler P. S. (2006), Business Research Methods, 9th edition.

Boston., McGraw-Hill. (C and S) Q 658.0072 2006 BUS

Davis, Duane (2000), Business Research for Decision Making, 5th ed. Belmont, CAL.
Duxbury Press, 2000. 658.403072 2000 BUS

Forrest, Ed (1999), Internet Marketing Research. Sydney: McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.

658.830285 1999 INT

Gummesson, Evert (2000), Qualitative Methods in Management Research. Sage

Books.

Hair J F Jr, Black W. C. Anderson R E, Babin, B. Tatham R L (2006), Multivariate Data

Analysis , 6th edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 519.535 2006
MUL. Earlier versions of this book also excellent source.

Hair, Joseph (2003), Essentials of business research methods. Hoboken, NJ : Wiley.

650.072 2003 ESS

Malhotra, N. K., Hall, J., Shaw, M. and Oppenheim, P. (2006), Marketing Research an
Applied Orientation (Australian Edition – 3e) Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice
Hall, 2006.

Punch, Keith (1998) Introduction to Social Research London. Sage Publications

Education library, 1998 edition 300.72 1998 INT

Richards, L. (2005), Handling Qualitative Data: A practical guide. London: Sage.

Zikmund, William G., (2003), Exploring Marketing Research, 8e, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Thomson/South-Western Q 658.83 2003 EXP

Zikmund, William G. (2003), Business Research Methods 7e, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Thomson/South-Western. 658.403072 2003 BUS

Zikmund, William G. (2007), Essentials of Marketing Research, Mason, Ohio.

Thomson/South-Western. 658.83 2007 ESS

Yin, R.K (1989) Case Study Research, Design and Methods, Newbury Park: Sage.

Articles:

Fontana, Andrea and James H. Frey (2000), ‘The Interview: From Structured
Questions to Negotiated Text’ in N. K Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln (eds) Handbook of
Qualitative Research, London: Sage, 645-672.

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LECTURE SCHEDULE
Week Topic Reference: Action Need to do, remember
1 (DC) Introduction Neumann (2000); Bouma (2000
Science and Research Ch 1 & 2 Cavana (2001)
2 (DC) Developing your own research question Punch (2005) Maxwell (1996) Article 1
Ch 3 & 4 Cavana (2001) presentation
3 (DC) Research Design and Research Strategy Plowman (1999); Blaikie (2000); Article 2 Hand in assignment 1
Considering Ethics Ch 5 Cavana (2001) presentation
4 (JS) Writing style and model building Blaxter ch 8 Article 3
Ch 4 and 5 Cavana (2001) presentation

5 (JS) Hypothesis development Ch 5 Cavana (2001) Article 5

presentation

6 (JS) Measurement – variables, definitions, scales Ch 8 and 9 Cavana (2001) Article 6 Hand in assignment 4
Measurement – reliability and validity presentation

7 (JS) Quant res design and planning Ch 4 - 6, 12 Cavana (2001);Ch 8Cooksey

Observation, experiments (2007)

STUDY BREAK
8 (DC) Qualitative Research Design Ch 1 Richards (2005) Article 4 Hand in assignment 2
Plus access and ethics Saunders et al (2007) presentation
9 (DC) Qualitative data production Chs 2 and 3 Richards
Case studies, ethnog, grnded theory, action res
10 (DC) Qualitative data analysis Ch 7 Richards Hand in assignment 3
11 (JS) Quantitative research design data collection – Ch 10 Cavana (2001) Article 7
interviews, questionnaires presentation
12 (JS) Sampling (qual and quant) Ch 11 Cavana (2001) Article 8 Hand in assignment 5
presentation
13( DC Overview and discussion Hand in assignment 6
and JS)

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CHOOSE ONE ANALYTIC ARTICLE TO CRITIQUE
AND PRESENT FROM THE FOLLOWING:

FOR AN EXTENDED ACCOUNT OF HOW TO ANALYSE A RESEARCH PAPER

READ SCHUTT (IN YOUR UNIT READER) BEFORE READING YOUR CHOSEN
ARTICLE

Schutt, R. K., (2004) ‘Appendix C: How to read a research article.’, Investigating the
Social World. Sage: London.

1) Steinpreis, R . E., Anders, K. A., Ritzke. D. (1999) ‘The Impact of Gender on the
Review of Curricula Vitae of Job Applicants and Tenure Candidates: a national
empirical study’, Sex Roles. New York. Oct 41, 7/8. pp. 509-528

2) Kirkpatrick, I and Hoque, K (2006) ‘A Retreat from Permanent Employment?:

Accounting for the rise of professional agency work in UK public services’, Work,
Employment and Society, 20, 4, pp649-666

3) Warhurst, C. and Dickson, D. (2007) ‘Employee experience of aesthetic labour in

retail and hospitality’, Work, Employment & Society 21, 1, pp103-120.

4) Rumens, N. (2008) ‘Working at Intimacy: Gay Men’s Workplace Friendships’,

Gender, Work and Organization. Blackwell: London. 15: 1, January, pp 9-30.

5) Djurkovic, Nikola and McCormack, Darcy (2008)”Workplace Bulying and Intention

to Leave: The Moderating Effect of Perceived Organizational Support.” Human
Resource Management Journal, 18 (4), 405-422.

6) McAlexander, J. H., Schouten, J. W. Koenig, H. F. (2002), "Building Brand

Community." Journal of Marketing, 66 (January), 38-54.

7) Fortin, David R. and Dholakia, Ruby Roy (2005) “Interactivity and Vividness Effects
on Social Presence and Involvement with a Web-based Advertisement” Journal of
Business Research, 58, 387-396.

8) Rosenbaum, Mark et al (2007) “An Investigation of Commercial Social Support and

Third Place Attachment” Journal of Service Research, 10 (1), 43-59.

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 BUSN7661 Business Research Methodology

Checklist for critiquing a research article

Introduction
1 Read the statement of purpose in the introduction. What was the
objective of the study? What is the basic research question, or
problem?
2 Consider the title. Does it precisely state the subject of the paper?
3 Read the statement of purpose in the abstract. Does it match that in the
introduction? Is the purpose explanatory, evaluative, exploratory
or descriptive? Does it draw on a positivist, interpretive or critical
tradition of research?
Literature and
Theory
4 What prior literature was reviewed? Was it relevant to the research
problem? To the theoretical framework? Are you aware of (or can
you locate) any important studies that have been omitted?
5 Was a theoretical framework presented? What was it? Did it seem
appropriate for the research question studied?
Methods
6 Review all methods/procedures in relation to the stated objective/s of the
study. Are the methods and the approach valid for studying this
problem?
7 Check the methods for essential information. Could the study
methodology be replicated from the information given? **Does the
validity of this study depend upon it being able to be duplicated?
**Does the researcher reflect sufficiently on their role as data-
makers?
8 Review the methods for possible fatal flaws. Is the sample selection
adequate? Is the experimental design appropriate? Is the
approach suited to the context and to the research question? Was
the design modified in response to research constraints or
opportunities?
9 Check the sequence of statements in the methods. Does all information
belong in the methods? Can the methods be subdivided for
greater clarity?
Results
9 Scrutinise the data. *As presented in tables and illustrations, does the title
or legend accurately describe content? *Are column headings and
labels accurate? *Are the statistical data organised for ready
comparison and interpretation? **As presented in quotes, words
and content analysis, does the data provide evidence for the
argument? **Is the handling of the qualitative data transparent,
consistent and thorough?
10 Review the results as presented in the text. *While referring to data in the
tables and illustrations, does the text complement, and not simply
repeat, data? *Are there discrepancies in results between text and
tables? **Do the results elaborate a situation that earlier appeared
unproblematic or self-evident?

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11 *Check all calculations and presentation of statistical data. **Check
whether descriptive data is used clearly and transparently to
convey an understanding of how people create and maintain their
social world.
12 Review the results in the light of the stated objective/s. Does the study
reveal what the researcher intended? To what extent does the
researcher believe they are engaged in value-free science?
Discussion
13 Check the interpretation against the results. Does the discussion merely
repeat the results? Does the interpretation arise logically from
the data, or is it too far-fetched? Have shortcomings of the
research been addressed? Were the conclusions well-grounded
in the findings?
14 Compare the interpretation to related studies cited in the article. Is the
interpretation at odds or in line with other researchers' thinking?
To what extent does the researcher set out to challenge older or
established wisdom or ideas?
15 Reflect on directions for future research. Has the author suggested
further work? Did the study seem consistent with current ethical
standards?
Overview
16 Consider the journal. Why is the topic appropriate to that journal?
Discuss in depth – find journal guidelines etc.
17 Reread the abstract. Does it accurately summarise the article?
18 Check the structure of the article (first headings and then paragraphing).
Is all material organised under appropriate headings? Are
sections subdivided logically into subsections or paragraphs?
19 Reflect on the author's thinking and writing style. Does the author
present this research logically and clearly?
* relates to quantitative research; ** relates to qualitative research

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 BUSN7661 Business Research Methodology

APPENDIX A

Standard of Assessment
The Business School must ensure that the processes of assessment are fair and are
designed to maintain the standards of the School and its students. The School follows
the University of Western Australia’s grading system:

HD (Higher distinction) 80-100%

D (Distinction) 70-79%
CR (Credit pass) 60-69%
P (Pass) 50-59%
N+ (Fail) 45-49%
N (Fail) 0-44%

The School awards marks leading to these grades by using the following general
criteria which are presented here as a clear indication of the School’s expectations.
These general criteria may be supplemented by specific standards with regard to a
particular assignment.

HD The student has a clear understanding of theory, concepts and issues relating
to the subject and is able to adopt a critical perspective. The student is able to
clearly identify the most critical aspects of the task and is able to offer a logically
consistent and well articulated analysis within the analytic framework presented
in the unit. The student is able to draw widely from the academic literature and
elsewhere but maintains relevance.

D The student has a clear understanding of theory, concepts and issues relating
to the subject. The student is able to develop an analysis of an issue using the
analytic framework presented in the unit and is able to identify and evaluate the
critical issues. The student is able to draw upon relevant academic and other
material.

CR The student demonstrates an understanding of the analytic framework

developed in the unit and a partial understanding of concepts and issues. The
student is able to identify some key issues and is able to present a logical
discussion, but with some conceptual errors or gaps between analysis and
conclusions. The student is able to draw upon an adequate range of references
and other materials.

P The student generally takes a descriptive rather than analytic approach to the
subject. The student is able to demonstrate some understanding of the issues
involved but does not demonstrate the ability to apply the analytic framework
which had been developed in the unit. Draws primarily upon unit materials for
referencing.

N+ The student is unable to demonstrate that he or she understands the core

elements of the subject matter. The student is able to provide some insight into
issues but misapplies analytic framework developed in the unit, omitting key
factors and, for example, drawing conclusions which are not related to the
preceding discussion.

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N The student is unable to demonstrate any understanding of the subject matter.
Material presented for assessment is unrelated to unit framework and shows
not effort to identify or address critical aspects of the topic.

The scaling of marks to ensure comparability between classes is an acceptable

academic practice. The School and Board of Examiners have the right to scale marks
where it is considered necessary to maintain consistency and fairness.

Ethical Scholarship, Academic Literacy and Academic

Misconduct
Ethical scholarship is the pursuit of scholarly enquiry marked by honesty and
integrity.
Academic Literacy is the capacity to undertake study and research, and to
communicate findings and knowledge, in a manner appropriate to the particular
disciplinary conventions and scholarly standards expected at university level.
Academic misconduct is any activity or practice engaged in by a student that
breaches explicit guidelines relating to the production of work for assessment, in a
manner that compromises or defeats the purpose of that assessment. Students must
not engage in academic misconduct. Any such activity undermines an ethos of
ethical scholarship. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to cheating, or
attempting to cheat, through:

• Collusion
• Inappropriate collaboration
• Plagiarism
• Misrepresenting or fabricating data or results or other assessable work
• Inappropriate electronic data sourcing/collection
• Breaching rules specified for the conduct of examinations in a way that may
compromise or defeat the purposes of assessment.

Penalties for academic misconduct vary according to seriousness of the case, and may
include the requirement to do further work or repeat work; deduction of marks; the
award of zero marks for the assessment; failure of one or more units; suspension from
a course of study; exclusion from the University, non-conferral of a degree, diploma or
other award to which the student would otherwise have been entitled.
Refer to the Ethical Scholarship, Academic Literacy and Academic Misconduct located
on the University’s website at
http://www.teachingandlearning.uwa.edu.au/tl4/for_uwa_staff/policies/student_related_
policies/academic_conduct
and the Faculty policy located at
(http://www.biz.uwa.edu.au/home/current_students/school_of_economics_and_comme
rce/plagiarism_policy).

Appeals against academic assessment

If students feel they have been unfairly assessed, they have the right to appeal their
mark by submitting an Appeal Against Academic Assessment form to the Head of
School and Faculty Office. The form must be submitted within twenty working days of
the formal despatch of your unit assessment. It is recommended that students contact
the Guild Education Officers to aid them in the appeals process. They can be contacted
on +61 8 6488 2295 or education@guild.uwa.edu.au. Full regulations governing
appeals procedures are available in the University Handbook, available online at
http://www.publishing.uwa.edu.au/handbooks/interfaculty/PFAAAA.html.

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