Research Practicum I is a supervised clinical placement that involves the student working as a psychologist in a clinical setting and, within the requirements of a clinical placement, conducting applied research that is conceptually related to his/her thesis topic.
The conceptual connection between the student’s thesis research and clinical research needs to be clear and demonstrable. Designing the specific nature of the clinical research needs to be undertaken together with the planning of the student’s thesis research and in the planning of the type and timing of the student’s clinical placements (e.g., with an awareness of the available clinical placements).
The Research Practicum will normally be completed in the third year of the Doctor of Psychology (Clinical) program but can take place earlier depending on negotiations with the Clinical Placement Coordinator and the research supervisor. Before undertaking the research practicum, the student will need to have developed his/her research program sufficiently in order to have clear ideas regarding its clinical applications for the research practicum.
Ethical Approval: Students will need to obtain ethical approval from the relevant Human Research Ethics Committee/s (HREC) for the data collected during their Research Practicum. Each clinical placement site will typically have a relevant HREC; approval should be sought from this HREC before also obtaining approval from the ANU HREC.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
The aims of the Research Practicum are to enhance the student’s
(i) clinical competencies necessary for independent clinical practice and
(ii) capacity to undertake independent, high quality clinical research in a real world setting.
This component aims to be the main mechanism for demonstrating the higher level of integration of psychological theory, research, and practice expected from a doctoral level clinical psychologist.
Other Information
Indicative Assessment
As with a standard clinical placement, assessment of each Research Practicum includes a folio of clinical work undertaken during the practicum; a mid- and end-of-placement evaluation of clinical competencies by the student’s clinical supervisor; and the completion of a case report. Assessment also includes the production of a formal research report of the clinical research using appropriate research design, implementation, analysis and write-up. The formal research report is to be incorporated as an appendix into the final submitted thesis to be evaluated by the thesis examiners. This formal research report should be 5,000-6,000 words in length (in addition to the 30,000-40,000 word-length thesis).
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
At least two hundred and fifty hours of practice in a clinical setting supervised by appropriate research and clinical supervisors.
Prescribed Texts
To be confirmed at the beginning of the course. Texts will be selected in line with current research.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 8 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 8.00 | 0.16667 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
