SWM5170 Advanced research and policy practice
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
SWM5170 Advanced research and policy practice is a level 5, 12-credit-point, postgraduate unit from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, offered in 2025 in Semester 2 and Full year at Caulfield. It needs SWM5133, SWM5112, SWM5115, SWM5116 and SWM5100.
- Credit points
- 12
- Offered in 2025
- Semester 2, Full year
- Caulfield
- Assessment
- No exam
- 5 tasks
The 2027 handbook has no page for SWM5170. This is its 2025 entry, the latest one.
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Requisites
Before SWM5170
Prerequisites
Pass these before you enrol.
After SWM5170
No unit lists SWM5170 as a prerequisite in the 2025 handbook.
Overview
Under the guidance of a supervisor, you will develop and implement an independent study on a topic of relevance to social work policy, practice or the profession. This study could involve primary, secondary or tertiary research, and may focus specifically on policy analysis.
You will gain skills in gathering data, interrogating it using acceptable analytical processes, and developing informed and defensible conclusions.
Through an iterative and collaborative intellectual process with your supervisor, you will create either a written research report, or a ready-for-submission journal article.
Successful completion of the unit SWM5112 Research for social work practice and SWM5170 Applied research study at a minimum of Distinction, may permit you to apply for a graduate research program including the PhD at Monash University
Offerings in 2025
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Second semester | Caulfield | Flexible |
| Full year | Caulfield | Flexible |
Assessment
- Co-signed revised semester plan, including timeline and goal checkpointsExerciseCompetency hurdle-
- Supervisory partnership agreementArtefactCompetency hurdle-
- Documented supervisory meetingsWork integratedCompetency hurdle-
- Oral presentation of research findingsPresentation20%
- Research report (8000-10000 words) or as a ready-for-submission articleWritten80%
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Critique the framing of a chosen social issue in public discourse, as a foundation for your study.
- 2
Implement a study within accepted research and ethical standards.
- 3
Demonstrate skills in the organisation, analysis and interpretation of data according to accepted research standards.
- 4
Synthesise critical arguments in relation to the existing literature about the topic.
- 5
Generate defensible conclusions in respect to the significance of any research findings.
- 6
Effectively manage time and resources in a collaborative manner with a supervisor to achieve pre-determined goals.
- 7
Communicate and defend the study findings, meeting the academic standards associated with a research-informed investigation.
- 8
Appraise your role as a critical and evidence informed practitioner - articulating the relationship between social work interventions, research or policy knowledge, and outcomes for welfare service users
Workload and teaching
- Seminars12 hours
4 hours of teacher directed study per week, including a 2 hour seminar, each week over Semester 1 and in the final weeks of Semester 2. The remaining hours during semester involve directed readings and class preparation.
Over the full year, there is an expected minimum of 12 hours per week of self-directed study.
Contacts
- Unit Coordinators
- Professor Philip Mendes
- Associate Professor Catherine Flynn
- Chief Examiners
- Associate Professor Catherine Flynn