CHIN 7002 - Transcultural Communication/Translation Thesis

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2021

The research thesis is a compulsory component of the Masters of Interpreting, Translation and Transcultural Communication program, and should be undertaken in the final year of study. This 9-unit course is for those students who wish to proceed to a PhD in the Faculty. In the first instance, students should consult the program convenor for possible topics of research. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the Department of Asian Studies, students are encouraged to explore the broad range of academic field expertise the Department and the Faculty has to offer, namely Applied Linguistics, Literature, Translation, as well as Cultural Studies, Transcultural Communication, History, Politics and International Studies, and Sociology. This course will extend over two semesters. In the first Semester, the workload will be the equivalent of 3 unit points(30% of final grade) awarded for a) annotated bibliography, b) formal research proposal presentation and c) the final research proposal.In the second semester, 6 unit points (70% of total grade) are allocated to the thesis. This thesis should be 10,000 words in length (including footnotes but excluding bibliography).

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code CHIN 7002
    Course Transcultural Communication/Translation Thesis
    Coordinating Unit Asian Studies
    Term Semester 1
    Level Postgraduate Coursework
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 9
    Contact 2 hours supervision per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Prerequisites Completion of 39 units (Credit average) of core courses and electives
    Incompatible CHIN 7001, CHIN 5007
    Restrictions Available to MA(Int, Trans & Transc Comm) students only
    Assessment Annotated bibliography 10%, Thesis research proposal 10%, Thesis research proposal presentation 10%, Final thesis 70%
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr Gerry Groot

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    1 To extend students’ understanding of the principles underpinning ‘Western’ positivist, & interpretive research

    2 To develop research capacity via one-to one research supervision students to develop the skills required for ‘Western’ research, that is: (1) to understand conventional criteria for success in Western research contexts and (2) to design and conduct a rigorous research dissertation i.e. locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned
    & timely manner.

    4 To facilitate students’ capacity to identify social and cultural problems and to develop effective and creative research solutions by exploring the complexities of communication in a large summative thesis format.

    5 To increase students’ understanding of appropriate scholarly argumentation for international publication, and to develop their ability to write the required genre for publishing their research through group and principally individual manuscript writing.

    6 To provide students with fundamental information about the research preparation, argumentation and synthesis culminating in a critical dissertation.

    7 To expand students’ command of technological tools in academic research, notably through information technology, data-base searching and bibliographical software.

    8 To inspire and strengthen students’ desire to reflect upon their own cultural heritage in relation to the prevailing conventions and values of other cultures by bringing theoretical perspectives to social analysis.

    9 To encourage students to engage in and commit to the high levels of professional integrity required to participate in the international scholarly academy.

    10 To respect diverse ethical and cultural conventions and to evaluate their impact on professional skills, responsibilities and forms of communication.

    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    1,2
    Career and leadership readiness
    • technology savvy
    • professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
    • forward thinking and well informed
    • tested and validated by work based experiences
    9
    Intercultural and ethical competency
    • adept at operating in other cultures
    • comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
    • able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
    • demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
    9
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    In the first Semester, there are weekly two hour workshops to discuss theory, research methods, thesis writing and problem solving but it is expected that students will also find a supervisor and have regular meetings with them to help guide their research activities & direction.

    In the second Semester, students are expected to meet regularly with their supervisor/s.
    Workload

    No information currently available.

    Learning Activities Summary

    No information currently available.

  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    This course has a scaffolded approach to helping students build up to the final thesis writing stage.

    To this end, students must submit:

    A) Annotated Bibliography on research topic & related matters;
    B) Formal Research Proposal Presentation to fellow students & staff;
    C) Formal Research Proposal.

    In the second Semester, 6 unit points are allocated to the thesis.


    Assessment Detail


    A) Annotated Bibliography on research topic & related matters 40%;
    B) Formal Research Proposal Presentation to fellow students & staff 10%;
    C) Formal Research Proposal 40%


    Submission

    No information currently available.

    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

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    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
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