EGH404 Research in Engineering Practice


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Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Gardens Point, Internal

Unit code:EGH404
Credit points:12
Pre-requisite:192 Credit Points of completed study in EN01 or Admission to EN60
Equivalent:EGH403
Assumed Knowledge:

Knowledge and applied skills in an engineering discipline.Experimental/Maths skills to plot and analyse sets of results.Measurement skills including errors in measurements and statistics.Software skills to record, manage, analyse and plot data.

Coordinators:Tharindu Fernando Warnakulasuriya | t.warnakulasuriya@qut.edu.au
Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of the teaching period.

Overview

As a professional engineer you will be competent to practise as outlined in the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineer. Research and investigation are important activities that professional engineers undertake, which involve using engineering methods, principles and processes to find information, identify knowledge gaps, and apply strategies for solving novel problems to meet stakeholders' needs. This unit introduces you to this field and continues your development as a learned professional. You will learn about critical analysis and reporting of information and findings, conveying research ideas, and analysis and visual presentation of data, while further developing your professional skills in communication and engineering teamwork. Capstone units EGH400-1 Research Project 1 and EGH400-2 Research Project 2 will build on this unit. You will learn to prepare for Engineering Work Placement as a Career Episode which will be assessed in EGH400-2.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

  1. Conduct a literature review to inform an engineering research problem using survey, reference management, analysis and synthesis at a developed level.
  2. Formulate a proposal to address an engineering research problem that requires ethical consideration at a developed level.
  3. Analyse a dataset of an engineering system using computational mathematics software and geographical information system software at a developed level.
  4. Contribute to an engineering assessment by working on agreed tasks as a team member, and develop an engineering assessment as an individual, at a developed level.
  5. Present the outcomes of an engineering project using written, oral and graphical communication at a developed level.

Content

1. Effective communication to different audiences, in speech and in writing
2. Gathering, managing, evaluating and interpreting information relevant to a research problem or topic
3. Incorporating perspectives of all stakeholders relevant to a research problem or topic, with emphasis on
those of First Nations peoples
4. Giving, receiving, eliciting and responding to feedback
5. Identifying, defining and articulating a research problem or topic
6. Data gathering, analysis, interpretation and presentation
7. Conducting safe, sound and ethical research
8. Intellectual property, moral rights, copyright and commercial confidentiality
9. Preparing for Engineering Work Placement as a Career Episode

Learning Approaches

 In this unit you can expect to experience the following timetabled activities:

  • Formal lectures from experienced professional engineers to give you insight into professional engineering knowledge, skills and attributes. You will have the opportunity to ask questions during these lectures.
  • Tutorial classes that will give you the opportunity to work collaboratively with your peers to research and solve problems. These will be facilitated by tutors and provide an opportunity to test your understanding and gain feedback on your work.

To complement timetabled activities, you will be provided with learning resources including videos and readings on a unit Canvas site that you can access flexibly to complete your learning in this unit.

At the beginning of the unit, you will be made aware of the ways in which you can ask questions or seek clarification from the Unit Coordinator and Tutors.

You are expected to:

  • Engage with timetabled activities on campus and ask questions.
  • Manage your time to engage with online resources outside of timetabled activities. These will be available on the unit Canvas site. You will receive regular email announcements regarding release of these resources.
  • Work in a cohesive, effective team to conduct a systematic literature review about a topic and develop a research proposal. While there will be time during timetabled activities, you will also need to undertake independent work outside that time to complete the project tasks, particularly for areas you are individually responsible for.
  • Work as an effective individual to complete individual assessment tasks of the unit.
  •  Prepare for timetabled classes and activities and follow up on any work not completed.
  • Complete assessment tasks by working consistently across the semester and meeting the due dates that are
    published on the unit Canvas site.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

During tutorial classes, you will share your formative ideas for your assessments and you will receive feedback from your tutor and your peers. As part of an effective team you will share the outcomes of your research task with your tutor for marking and feedback, and you will share your individual presentation with your tutor. You are encouraged to view your team as a learning community and to share and discuss emergent ideas in the engineering research and investigation process and your understandings of engineering professional practice. Each assessment submission will be graded against criteria and standards that will be shared with you at the beginning of semester through Assessment Task Descriptions and Marking Rubrics. Marked assessment will include feedback given by the markers against the criteria.

Assessment

Overview

 Assessment in this unit has been designed to give you the opportunity to show your learning against the unit learning outcomes. You will work as a member of a team to prepare your research report, and then as an individual to deliver your oral presentation and prepare your portfolio. You will deploy work practices that align to engineering professional practice (such as teamwork, project management, and socio-cultural perspectives).

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Research Project

 As a team, you will develop a research report that effectively communicates useful information on a topic that is important to a company or organisation. Individual grades maybe moderated according to contribution to the group report.

Weight: 40
Individual/Group: Group
Due (indicative): Week 8
Indicative week
Related Unit learning outcomes: 1, 2, 4, 5

Assessment: Oral Presentation

As an individual you will develop and present a research proposal for a final year project. You will also be asked to give and receive feedback from peers on their presentations.

Weight: 20
Individual/Group: Individual
Due (indicative): Week 13
Indicative week
Related Unit learning outcomes: 2, 4, 5

Assessment: Portfolio

Throughout semester, you will complete activities to develop and support key research skills including reading and responding professionally to a paper or report, discussing, analysing and presenting data in oral, written and visual forms.

Weight: 40
Individual/Group: Individual
Due (indicative): Week 13
Indicative week
Related Unit learning outcomes: 3, 4, 5

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Learning material in this unit will be managed from its unit Canvas site.

Resource Materials

Reference book(s)

Engineers Australia, Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineerhttps://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/fi les/shado/Education/Program%20Accreditation/150903_stage_1_pe_2013_approved.pdf (retrieved 30 January 2016) sets out the competencies and elements of competency required to practice as a Professional Engineer in Australia. Research-based knowledge and practice, research methods and a "research mindset" are important elements of being a professional engineer. Read this six-page document to get a clear summary of what is expected of engineering graduates.

O'Leary, Z. (2004). The Essential Guide to Doing Researchhttp://QUT.eblib.com.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=254589. SAGE.
O'Leary outlines and discusses the elements of research as a creative, strategic thinking process.This text puts research methods, principles, and processes into context, giving you a foundation on which you can build more detailed knowledge as required.

Thiel, D. V. (2012). Research Methods for Engineershttp://qut.summon.serialssolutions.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.
Thiel's text complement's O'Leary's more general guide by addressing research methods with engineers in mind. Here you can get additional detail on research methods and presentation styles common across engineering disciplines. The emphasis is on conducting excellent, publishable research, but most of the methods are relevant to research-based professional practice.

Risk Assessment Statement

We do not anticipate any unusual health or safety risks in this unit.

Course Learning Outcomes

This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.

EN01 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)

  1. Make decisions ethically within the social, cultural, and organisational contexts of professional engineering practice.
    Relates to: Research Project, Oral Presentation
  2. Engage stakeholders professionally and communicate the outcomes of your work effectively to expert and non-expert audiences using appropriate modes.
    Relates to: Research Project, Oral Presentation, Portfolio
  3. Display leadership, creativity, and initiative in both self-directed and collaborative contexts of professional engineering practice.
    Relates to: Research Project, Oral Presentation, Portfolio
  4. Manage projects to solve complex engineering problems, using appropriate information, engineering methods, and technologies.
    Relates to: Research Project, Oral Presentation, Portfolio
  5. Demonstrate coherent knowledge and skills of physical, mathematical, statistical, computer, and information sciences that are fundamental to professional engineering practice.
    Relates to: Portfolio
  6. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of one engineering discipline, its research directions, and its application in contemporary professional engineering practice.
    Relates to: Research Project, Oral Presentation

EN60 Graduate Certificate in Communication for Engineering

  1. Demonstrate and apply specialised knowledge and technical skills in at least one Engineering discipline.
    Relates to: Research Project, Portfolio
  2. Critically investigate real world engineering issues and solve complex problems drawing on specialised creative skills, analysis, evaluation and synthesis of discipline knowledge, theory and practice.
    Relates to: Research Project, Portfolio
  3. Employ effective written and oral professional communication skills across social, cultural and discipline domains.
    Relates to: Research Project, Oral Presentation, Portfolio
  4. Exercise responsibility and accountability in applying knowledge and skills for own learning and effective practice including working independently, ethically and collaboratively.
    Relates to: Research Project, Oral Presentation

EV01 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)

  1. Make decisions ethically within the social, cultural, and organisational contexts of professional engineering practice.
    Relates to: Research Project, Oral Presentation
  2. Engage stakeholders professionally and communicate the outcomes of your work effectively to expert and non-expert audiences using appropriate modes.
    Relates to: Research Project, Oral Presentation, Portfolio
  3. Display leadership, creativity, and initiative in both self-directed and collaborative contexts of professional engineering practice.
    Relates to: Research Project, Oral Presentation, Portfolio
  4. Manage projects to solve complex engineering problems, using appropriate information, engineering methods, and technologies.
    Relates to: Research Project, Oral Presentation, Portfolio
  5. Demonstrate coherent knowledge and skills of physical, mathematical, statistical, computer, and information sciences that are fundamental to professional engineering practice.
    Relates to: Portfolio
  6. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of one engineering discipline, its research directions, and its application in contemporary professional engineering practice.
    Relates to: Research Project, Oral Presentation