In assessment task one, you will explore a series of concepts related to research broadly, its application in the emergency service (ES) and disaster management (DM) contexts, and then narrow in on one topic area of interest (a burning interest). Assessment task one is also concerned with establishing your research literacy skills and, in particular, your skills in locating research and literature sources. As such, this task consists of multiple parts.

Your response to this assessment task is based on your engagement with the unit content, broader academic literature and the posts you make to the activity forums.

Part 1) Searching the Literature
You have joined a project team, and as part of your role, you and a colleague need to conduct a literature review for the project brief outlined below. Your particular part of the task is to search the academic databases. You do not need to download the individual pieces of literature, or write an analysis of the found sources, simply use the CQUniversity seven (7) step literature search process, and importantly, the search techniques available within the various steps, to identify target literature for the project brief outlined below. The information you outline in the Assessment Task One table should be sufficiently detailed so that the search can be replicated by your colleague. The table can be found in the Assessment Task One template located in the Assessment Tile in Moodle.

Project brief
An analysis of the literature on volunteering has shown a shift in participation patterns, types of volunteering and thereby the narrative about volunteering models. The project proposed here is interested in whether or not the shift in the broader literature on volunteering is reflected in that published in the last ten years about volunteering in Australian emergency service agencies. In particular, it is interested in understanding what, if anything, has been published in that timeframe about spontaneous volunteering in the emergency service context.

Part 2) Burning interest
Using the literature search skills you gained or honed in Part 1), you are required to identify literature and then write a brief analytic summary of a contemporary emergency or disaster management issue. The particular issue, a burning interest if you like, is your choice and should be something that you want to know more about and something that you can find peer-reviewed literature about. You will use this topic as the basis for assessment task three, so pick your topic with that in mind (and after reading the assessment task three instructions). The summary must demonstrate your grasp of the topic, its importance in emergency and disaster management and which phase or phases (that is, Prevention, Preparedness, Response, Recovery) of emergency and disaster management it relates to. The analytic summary must be supported by a minimum of three (3) different pieces of peer-reviewed literature plus one (1) piece of grey literature.

Presentation requirements
You must use the Assessment Task One Template located in the Assessment Tile in Moodle.
You must submit the document as a Word file or PDF.

The assessment criteria for this unit is in the form of a rubric, which is available from the Moodle unit site. Broadly, you will be assessed on:

• Knowledge of the concept of research;
• Application of knowledge and skills related to accessing research and literature sources;
• Analysis of literature and understanding in relation to emergency and disaster management issues;
• Communication and presentation.

In assessment task two, you will explore a series of concepts related to research and its application. This task consists of multiple parts, and your response to this assessment task is based on your engagement with the unit content and broader academic literature.

Part 1) Ethics activity
Carefully consider the following scenario and then complete the table located in the Assessment Task Two Template. Important note: you will not be completing the project or collecting the data mentioned in the below scenario, you are simply completing the Assessment Task Two Template.

Scenario
As part of your role, you are working with the local Disaster Management Officer (DMO) and Regional Disaster Management Group (RDMG) to support community members to prepare for disaster events. During a recent weather event, you identified that several residents in a particular geographic area were not adequately prepared and, as a result, needed emergency health care in what presented as perilous conditions. As part of the bigger project, you are interested in what community members understand by preparedness and the steps they have taken in relation to the most common hazards experienced in their community, for example, cyclone, bushfire, riverine flooding, storm surge and so forth. You are considering three options for collecting your data (the understandings of preparedness by community members). The three options being considered include:

a) Interviewing community members using semi-structured qualitative interviews,
b) Conducting a series of focus groups with community members, and
c) Sending out a survey, which uses a five-point Likert scale, to each household in the community.

Activity instructions
Before proceeding with the project, the project team must submit an ethics application to the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). As part of that process, you have been tasked to identify what risks are present for those participating in the project's data collection and how the identified risks will be mitigated or managed. Based on the above scenario, choose one (1) of the above-proposed data collection methods and provide the below:

1. An analytic summary, including references of the chosen data collection method;
2. Two ethical considerations for the chosen method;
3. Strategies, including references that you would use to mitigate or manage the identified risk in the ethical considerations.

Remember, you must use the Assessment Task Two Template, which is located in the Assessment Tile in Moodle.

Part 2) Research literature analysis
In part 2), you will select one (1) peer-reviewed journal article from the list of articles provided in the Assessment tile of the Moodle site. The chosen article must come from the list provided (called - Assessment Task Two Article List, which is located under Assessment Task Two in the Moodle site) and provide responses to the below:

1. What is the research question or question(s) addressed in the chosen article?
2. What is the gap in knowledge that the article addresses?
3. Identify and provide an overview of the research method/s used.
4. Outline two strengths and two possible weaknesses (with references to support) associated with the chosen method/s.
5. Name two ethical issues (with references to support) that would have been relevant in undertaking the research reported in the article.
6. Outline two strategies (with references to support) that could have been used to mitigate the impact of the identified ethical issues.
7. What are the key findings of the research reported in the chosen article?

Part 3) Burning Interest
Select one of the peer-reviewed articles that you used in the summary of your burning interest (from Assessment Task One) and provide two examples of how the findings could inform one of the phases of emergency and disaster management.

Presentation requirements
You must use the Assessment Task Two Template located in the Assessment Tile in Moodle.
You must submit the document as a Word file or PDF.

The assessment criteria for this unit is in the form of a rubric, which is available from the Moodle unit site. Broadly, you will be assessed on:

• Knowledge of the research and the research process;
• Knowledge of ethical issues and frameworks underpinning ethical practice;
• Application of knowledge and skills relative to accessing research and evidence;
• Interpretation of literature and understandings in relation to emergency and disaster management issues and to the different phases of emergency and disaster management;
• The ability to communicate information.

Expanding upon the work conducted in Assessment Task One and Assessment Task Two, you will explore your burning interest in more detail in order to determine strategies for implementing and utilising the findings of the research and communicating future possible directions of research. As such, assessment task three has both a written and audio component.

Part 1) Written component.
For Part 1) you have two (2) options to choose from. Option 1 is a PowerPoint Presentation, and Option 2 is a Poster Presentation (like you would see at a Conferences). Your PowerPoint Presentation or Poster Presentation must cover the following six (6) components:

1. Brief description of your topic
2. Rationale for your choice of topic (why is this an important issue)
3. Summary statement about what the relevant literature says on the topic
4. Three recommendation(s) for utilising and implementing the findings from the body of literature into a chosen organisation
5. How the proposed enhancement(s) are envisaged to improve policy and/or practice (or aspect of)
6. Possible future directions and strategies for enhancing the body of knowledge related to your burning interest.

Option 1 PowerPoint Presentation: Instructions
The PowerPoint presentation will have a maximum of 15 slides. The first slide should include the title of your presentation and your name. The last slide will be a reference list. The remaining slides address the above 6 components. The PowerPoint presentation template is provided in the Assessment section of the Moodle site.

Option 2 Poster Presentation: Instructions
The Poster Presentation template is provided in the Assessment section of the Moodle site. The above 6 components must appear somewhere on your poster. The template is a PowerPoint slide, specially set up for developing Poster Presentations, which you will save as a PDF. The PDF file is what you submit for grading. For the Poster Presentation option, you will also submit a word or PDF file of your reference list.

Part 2) Audio component
Part 2) is an expanded discussion of the topic and verbal presentation of the content from Part 1) Written component. The audio component is an MP3 file and can be submitted as a separate file, or for the PowerPoint Presentation option, you can embed the audio in your PowerPoint Presentation.

The audio presentation will be a maximum of 10 minutes in length.

The assessment criteria for this unit is in the form of a rubric, which is available from the Moodle unit site. Broadly, you will be assessed on:

• Knowledge of the research process;
• Skills in interpreting and communicating research findings;
• Skills in applying and utilising research;
• Communication and presentation knowledge and skills.