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Crawford School of Public Policy · ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
The Experiential Research Project is part of a range of ‘capstone experience’ courses from which students can select to complete requirements for the Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree. The course is designed principally for students currently in the workforce, and bridges classroom and practice environments by having students undertake an applied research project – on a policy or administration topic of relevance to their current employer. As a capstone experience course, the Experiential Research Project requires students to integrate and apply the knowledge and research skills they have developed throughout the MPA degree program, and to reflect on individual professional development in the context of both the MPA degree program and the capstone experience. An important feature of the Experiential Research Project is to negotiate and self-manage an applied research project within an organisational setting. Students will work with their employer to identify and define a research problem, design a research strategy, apply appropriate research methods to gather and analyse data, and make relevant findings. To support students in this process, each student is assigned a project advisor and will have access to an Employer sponsor.
Statement of Research Intent. 1250 words.
Learning outcomes 1, 3, 4
Research Report. 6500 words.
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4
Research Presentation. 1000 words equivalent.
Learning outcomes 1, 4
Statement of Reflection. 1250 words.
Learning outcomes 4, 5
Contact hours: The course will be anchored by four two-hour research workshops equivalent to 10 hours of instructional contact hours. This includes an introductory workshop to commence the course and frame research design; two progress workshops to support research during semester; and a final workshop to guide the finalisation process for research reports. Non-contact hours: The course is primarily a self-directed individual research project. Students will be required to undertake assigned pre-reading in the form of foundational research approaches, and undertake independent research consistent with their research project. In addition, students will be required to interact regularly with a project advisor, and maintain a line of communication with a nominee from their Employer. Work Integrated Learning Projects This WIL courses offers the opportunity negotiate and self-manage an applied research project within an organisational setting. Each student is assigned a project advisor and will have access to an Employer sponsor.
O’Leary, Z. 2017. The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project. Third Edition. Sage: London. Preliminary Reading Booth, W. Colomb. G & Williams, J. 2008. The Craft of Research. Third Edition. University of Chicago Press: Chicago. Dunn, W.N. 2018. Public Policy Analysis: An Integrated Approach. Sixth Edition. Routledge: New York. Howlett, M., Ramesh, M. and Perl, A. 2009. Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Subsystems. Third Edition. Oxford University Press: New York. Pollitt, C. 2016. Advanced Introduction to Public Management and Administration. Edward Elgar: Cheltenham. Ridley, D. 2012. The Literature Review: A Step by Step Guide for Students. Sage: London Swanson. R & Holton. E III. 2005, Research in Organizations: Foundations and Methods of Inquiry. Berrett-Koehler Publishers: San Francisco. White, P. 2009. Developing Research Questions: A Guide for Social Scientists. Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke