JSQ302-1 Capstone Project
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | JSQ302-1 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | JSQ301 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
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| CSP student contribution | $2,174 |
| Pre-2021 CSP student contribution | $1,020 The pre-2021 commonwealth supported place (CSP) contribution amount only applies to students enrolled in a course prior to 2021. To learn more, visit our Understanding your fees page. |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $3,348 |
| International unit fee | $4,620 |
Unit Outline: Session 2 2026, QUT Online, Online
| Unit code: | JSQ302-1 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | JSQ301 |
Overview
Problems that confront Justice professionals can be complex, requiring evidence-based solutions or in-depth understanding. Problem identification, evidence-based literature searching, research design and planning, and effective communication through reports and presentations are essential attributes of the modern professional. This unit provides an opportunity to develop concepts and theories and collect data to solve justice professional practice problems, as well as effectively communicate processes and solutions verbally and in writing. This unit will also assist you in the development of clearly-defined questions and techniques to plan and execute a research project of your own design.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Apply project management techniques and iterative reflection to plan and conduct research.
- Analyse justice professional practice issues, contexts and literature to propose research problems/questions.
- Critique the relevant literature pertaining to a research problem/question in your discipline area.
- Design an appropriate and ethical research methodology for investigating the research problem/question.
- Conduct research of justice professional practice and analyse findings.
- Communicate research outcomes in accordance with accepted standards of scholarship, presentation and style.
Content
The content of your research project will depend on the topic that you choose as the focus of your research. Other areas of learning focus on the expectations of scholarly work and the research project process including:
- critically analysing and synthesising scholarly literature
- identifying a research question
- designing a theoretical and methodological framework
- conducting a research study
- analysing the results; and
- communicating the research findings.
Research topics will be negotiated between you and the nominated supervisor/s.
Learning Approaches
In this unit, you will learn by engaging in the research process through:
- participating in class/online discussions
- participating in consultation sessions
- engaging with online learning materials
- reading book chapters, scholarly and industry articles
- conducting research
You will engage in an independent professional practice-related research project. The unit incorporates some aspects of work-integrated learning, problem/project based learning, and experiential learning. You are expected to engage with unit materials and readings as recommended by the unit coordinator and/or supervisor.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
There will be an opportunity to discuss any problems you may have encountered with the unit coordinator/supervisor and obtain necessary advice and assistance on your project and its progress throughout the unit teaching period. You will receive written feedback/comments on the assessment tasks.
You will also consult with your peers through discussion boards and have opportunities for self-reflection on the feedback provided by others.
Assessment
Overview
There are four assessments in this unit. The first three are threshold tasks that support your completion of the final research project submission.
- Research Plan – this will draw on project planning and research skills to identify a research problem and plan the research project. Student-selected research topics will be defined in consultation with expert justice researchers and industry professionals.
- Research Proposal – you will demonstrate your applied research knowledge and skills by clearly defining the research study scope, presenting a literature review, justifying the selection of methods and detailed research design.
- Progress Report – you will further develop your applied research skills and provide a summary of your research progress including the identification of key contextual impacts on research project delivery. You will also critically reflect on your learning experience in developing a convincing, workable research project plan.
- Research Project – you will demonstrate the application of your applied research knowledge and skills by presenting a detailed research project on the design and conduct of your project to address a practice-based problem. This includes reporting on your final results and discussion, conclusions, research implications and limitations, and future research direction.
You will receive feedback on your research plan, proposal and progress report presentation to support your completion of the research project. The feedback for the literature review, progress report and proposal presentation will be graded as satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
During the development of your research project, you will need to meet several milestones. Your supervisor will guide you through what is required.
Your research project will be examined by two academics in your discipline who have not been involved in the supervisory process.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale and S (Satisfactory) / U (Unsatisfactory)
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Research Plan
You will identify a specific problem or issue from professional practice contexts relevant to justice professionals. Based on this problem/issue, you will research the extant literature for related key concepts. You will produce a research plan outlining the structure of the research project, including a brief overview of the project and a project timeline.
Note: the research problem is limited to research with other professionals in your context or the use of existing data, not research with clients or other groups.
The work completed in this assignment will be incorporated into the final research project, notably as literature review.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Threshold Assessment:
The sole summative assessment item is the research project itself, which is submitted in the second component of the Capstone unit, JSQ302-2. To support you through the research project, you must complete Assessment 1 to a satisfactory standard. This will support you to progress through the research project in a timely manner. If you do not achieve a passing grade, you are able to make one resubmission. You are advised to seek feedback on your submission from the unit coordinator prior to resubmission.
Assessment: Research Proposal
You will develop a written proposal addressing the problem that you identified in Assessment 1. The proposal will include a literature review and the methodology, which will form the basis for the research question/s.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Threshold Assessment:
The sole summative assessment item is the research project itself, which is submitted in the second component of the Capstone unit, JSQ302-2. To support you through the research project, you must complete Assessment 2 to a satisfactory standard. This will support you to progress through the research project in a timely manner. If you do not achieve a passing grade, you are able to make one resubmission. You are advised to seek feedback on your submission from the unit coordinator prior to resubmission.
Assessment: Presentation of Progress Report & Reflection on Feedback
You will present a detailed overview of your research progress, including literature review, methods and preliminary findings. In your presentation you will also incorporate reflection on the feedback you have already received on your research proposal.
You will prepare your final research project submission (Assessment task 4) based on critical insights gained from feedback on this presentation.
Threshold Assessment:
The sole summative assessment item is the research project itself, which is submitted in the second component of the capstone unit, JSQ302-2. To support you through the research project, you must complete Assessment 3 to a satisfactory standard. This will support you to progress through the research project in a timely manner. If you do not achieve a passing grade, you are able to make one resubmission. You are advised to seek feedback on your submission from the unit coordinator prior to resubmission.
Assessment: Research Project
You will submit your research project presenting the research undertaken as part of JSQ302-1 and -2. It should contain an introduction which sets out your original research question, details of your methodology, a full results section and a discussion which relates your findings to your research aims and the broader research in the field. Your research project is marked by two examiners who are independent of the supervisory process.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
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.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
There are no resources that are required to be purchased for this unit. Other resources will be available in the unit's Canvas site.
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with the general conduct of this unit.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.JQ45 Master of Justice
- Critically analyse research, data and evidence and apply to justice practices and contexts.
Relates to: ULO3, ULO5, Research Proposal, Presentation of Progress Report & Reflection on Feedback, Research Project - Design approaches for working with a plurality of diverse stakeholders and communities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Relates to: ULO4, Research Proposal, Research Project - Evaluate complex and sensitive problems of justice to inform evidence-based responses.
Relates to: ULO2, Research Plan, Research Proposal, Research Project - Apply a range of communication modes to professionally and strategically interpret and convey critical information to diverse stakeholders.
Relates to: ULO6, Presentation of Progress Report & Reflection on Feedback, Research Project - Examine how ethics, intersectionality and contextual factors converge to impact on and shape social justice issues.
Relates to: ULO2, Research Plan, Research Proposal, Research Project - Conduct independent ethical research on specialised and contemporary justice issues and practices.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO4, ULO5, Research Plan, Research Proposal, Presentation of Progress Report & Reflection on Feedback, Research Project
Unit Outline: Session 4 2026, QUT Online, Online
| Unit code: | JSQ302-1 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | JSQ301 |
Overview
Problems that confront Justice professionals can be complex, requiring evidence-based solutions or in-depth understanding. Problem identification, evidence-based literature searching, research design and planning, and effective communication through reports and presentations are essential attributes of the modern professional. This unit provides an opportunity to develop concepts and theories and collect data to solve justice professional practice problems, as well as effectively communicate processes and solutions verbally and in writing. This unit will also assist you in the development of clearly-defined questions and techniques to plan and execute a research project of your own design.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Apply project management techniques and iterative reflection to plan and conduct research.
- Analyse justice professional practice issues, contexts and literature to propose research problems/questions.
- Critique the relevant literature pertaining to a research problem/question in your discipline area.
- Design an appropriate and ethical research methodology for investigating the research problem/question.
- Conduct research of justice professional practice and analyse findings.
- Communicate research outcomes in accordance with accepted standards of scholarship, presentation and style.
Content
The content of your research project will depend on the topic that you choose as the focus of your research. Other areas of learning focus on the expectations of scholarly work and the research project process including:
- critically analysing and synthesising scholarly literature
- identifying a research question
- designing a theoretical and methodological framework
- conducting a research study
- analysing the results; and
- communicating the research findings.
Research topics will be negotiated between you and the nominated supervisor/s.
Learning Approaches
In this unit, you will learn by engaging in the research process through:
- participating in class/online discussions
- participating in consultation sessions
- engaging with online learning materials
- reading book chapters, scholarly and industry articles
- conducting research
You will engage in an independent professional practice-related research project. The unit incorporates some aspects of work-integrated learning, problem/project based learning, and experiential learning. You are expected to engage with unit materials and readings as recommended by the unit coordinator and/or supervisor.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
There will be an opportunity to discuss any problems you may have encountered with the unit coordinator/supervisor and obtain necessary advice and assistance on your project and its progress throughout the unit teaching period. You will receive written feedback/comments on the assessment tasks.
You will also consult with your peers through discussion boards and have opportunities for self-reflection on the feedback provided by others.
Assessment
Overview
There are four assessments in this unit. The first three are threshold tasks that support your completion of the final research project submission.
- Research Plan – this will draw on project planning and research skills to identify a research problem and plan the research project. Student-selected research topics will be defined in consultation with expert justice researchers and industry professionals.
- Research Proposal – you will demonstrate your applied research knowledge and skills by clearly defining the research study scope, presenting a literature review, justifying the selection of methods and detailed research design.
- Progress Report – you will further develop your applied research skills and provide a summary of your research progress including the identification of key contextual impacts on research project delivery. You will also critically reflect on your learning experience in developing a convincing, workable research project plan.
- Research Project – you will demonstrate the application of your applied research knowledge and skills by presenting a detailed research project on the design and conduct of your project to address a practice-based problem. This includes reporting on your final results and discussion, conclusions, research implications and limitations, and future research direction.
You will receive feedback on your research plan, proposal and progress report presentation to support your completion of the research project. The feedback for the literature review, progress report and proposal presentation will be graded as satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
During the development of your research project, you will need to meet several milestones. Your supervisor will guide you through what is required.
Your research project will be examined by two academics in your discipline who have not been involved in the supervisory process.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale and S (Satisfactory) / U (Unsatisfactory)
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Research Plan
You will identify a specific problem or issue from professional practice contexts relevant to justice professionals. Based on this problem/issue, you will research the extant literature for related key concepts. You will produce a research plan outlining the structure of the research project, including a brief overview of the project and a project timeline.
Note: the research problem is limited to research with other professionals in your context or the use of existing data, not research with clients or other groups.
The work completed in this assignment will be incorporated into the final research project, notably as literature review.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Threshold Assessment:
The sole summative assessment item is the research project itself, which is submitted in the second component of the Capstone unit, JSQ302-2. To support you through the research project, you must complete Assessment 1 to a satisfactory standard. This will support you to progress through the research project in a timely manner. If you do not achieve a passing grade, you are able to make one resubmission. You are advised to seek feedback on your submission from the unit coordinator prior to resubmission.
Assessment: Research Proposal
You will develop a written proposal addressing the problem that you identified in Assessment 1. The proposal will include a literature review and the methodology, which will form the basis for the research question/s.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Threshold Assessment:
The sole summative assessment item is the research project itself, which is submitted in the second component of the Capstone unit, JSQ302-2. To support you through the research project, you must complete Assessment 2 to a satisfactory standard. This will support you to progress through the research project in a timely manner. If you do not achieve a passing grade, you are able to make one resubmission. You are advised to seek feedback on your submission from the unit coordinator prior to resubmission.
Assessment: Presentation of Progress Report & Reflection on Feedback
You will present a detailed overview of your research progress, including literature review, methods and preliminary findings. In your presentation you will also incorporate reflection on the feedback you have already received on your research proposal.
You will prepare your final research project submission (Assessment task 4) based on critical insights gained from feedback on this presentation.
Threshold Assessment:
The sole summative assessment item is the research project itself, which is submitted in the second component of the capstone unit, JSQ302-2. To support you through the research project, you must complete Assessment 3 to a satisfactory standard. This will support you to progress through the research project in a timely manner. If you do not achieve a passing grade, you are able to make one resubmission. You are advised to seek feedback on your submission from the unit coordinator prior to resubmission.
Assessment: Research Project
You will submit your research project presenting the research undertaken as part of JSQ302-1 and -2. It should contain an introduction which sets out your original research question, details of your methodology, a full results section and a discussion which relates your findings to your research aims and the broader research in the field. Your research project is marked by two examiners who are independent of the supervisory process.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
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.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
There are no resources that are required to be purchased for this unit. Other resources will be available in the unit's Canvas site.
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with the general conduct of this unit.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.JQ45 Master of Justice
- Critically analyse research, data and evidence and apply to justice practices and contexts.
Relates to: ULO3, ULO5, Research Proposal, Presentation of Progress Report & Reflection on Feedback, Research Project - Design approaches for working with a plurality of diverse stakeholders and communities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Relates to: ULO4, Research Proposal, Research Project - Evaluate complex and sensitive problems of justice to inform evidence-based responses.
Relates to: ULO2, Research Plan, Research Proposal, Research Project - Apply a range of communication modes to professionally and strategically interpret and convey critical information to diverse stakeholders.
Relates to: ULO6, Presentation of Progress Report & Reflection on Feedback, Research Project - Examine how ethics, intersectionality and contextual factors converge to impact on and shape social justice issues.
Relates to: ULO2, Research Plan, Research Proposal, Research Project - Conduct independent ethical research on specialised and contemporary justice issues and practices.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO4, ULO5, Research Plan, Research Proposal, Presentation of Progress Report & Reflection on Feedback, Research Project