DSMG20003 - Research for Emergency and Disaster Management

General Information

Unit Synopsis

The emergency and disaster management sector has highlighted the importance of contemporary practice being grounded in research. In this unit, you will be encouraged to explore the notion of research, plus the important questions of why and how research can and should inform the different phases of emergency and disaster management. In order to do so, you will build knowledge and skills in critically analysing research, understandings of the frameworks and practices guiding the ethical conduct of research and your role in utilising and implementing research in a professionally and ethically responsible manner. You will learn fundamental underpinning research literacies and how you can use these to inform decision-making processes grounded in evidence-based practice.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 8
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Co-Requisite for this unit is DSMG28001 Foundations of Emergency and Disaster Management.

Students enrolled in the CM40 Bachelor of Paramedic Science/Graduate Certificate in Emergency and Disaster Management must also have a minimum of 156 credit points to enrol in this unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2023

Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Online
Term 3 - 2023 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 25%
2. Written Assessment 45%
3. Presentation 30%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 16.67% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Have your Say evaluation
Feedback
Moodle site
Recommendation
Continue to review the Moodle site in order to enhance useability.
Action Taken
The Moodle tiles, learning books, and other unit content were adjusted before the beginning of Term 1, using the 2021 versions as a basis, with useability and flow as high priorities.
Source: Five-year review and industry consultation
Feedback
Content
Recommendation
Remove the content now being covered in the new Foundation of Emergency and Disaster Management unit and as such, update the depth and breadth of research-specific content.
Action Taken
This process was completed before the beginning of Term 1, simultaneous with the finalisation of materials for DSMG28001.
Source: Student emails
Feedback
Feedback mechanisms
Recommendation
Provide additional information to students about the different feedback mechanisms, for example, 'My Experience' and 'Have your Say'.
Action Taken
Regular communication was sent directly to students about feedback mechanisms and communication with the co-ordinator, particularly in the second half of the term.
Source: Lecturer observations and reflection
Feedback
Low student response rates and low levels of communication with students made it difficult to assess which parts of the unit material were most and least effective.
Recommendation
Students cannot be compelled to respond to surveys or communication, but it is possible that more involved periodic check-ins and virtual classes could have encouraged a higher level of voluntary response and communication. The nature of these should be considered when the class is offered in the future. Additionally, students can be encouraged to make use of informal discussion forums or other "looser" communication on Moodle, to allow the instructor/s to gauge student engagement from a different perspective.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Unit survey response data
Feedback
Unit requirements and feedback received lower scores from students that responded to the survey.
Recommendation
Although the response rate was very low, this is an important issue, so the assessment rubrics and unit requirements as presented in T1 2022 will be reviewed and revised.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Identify different research approaches and their use in researching emergency and disaster management issues
  2. Examine ethical issues and the frameworks and practices underpinning the ethical conduct of research
  3. Locate appropriate peer-reviewed and grey literature relevant to emergency and disaster management
  4. Analyse contemporary literature, and its relationship to the different phases of emergency and disaster management
  5. Formulate strategies for the implementation and utilisation of research in emergency and disaster management contexts and situations
  6. Communicate future directions and strategies for enhancing the body of knowledge in emergency and disaster management

NIL

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Presentation • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Advanced Level
• Professional Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Knowledge • • • •
2 - Communication • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • •
4 - Research • • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • • •
7 - Leadership • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Advanced Level
• Professional Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8