In our professional lives, our ability to search, locate and appropriately engage with credible knowledge and research literature are key skills. These skills can be broadly described as research literacies. Their utility beyond university life (and your assignments) means having finely honed research literacies is essential for the modern-day workforce.  

In assessment task one, you will demonstrate your ability in three (3) key literacies. This includes: 1) literature searching (using a library catalogue and using a Generative AI (GenAI) product to search); 2) locating appropriate literature; and 3) analysing that literature. To assist you in demonstrating your research literacy knowledge and skill, this assessment task has been broken into multiple (but linked) parts, which are based on your engagement with the unit content (e.g., unit Learning Guide and eReading list) plus the academic literature (e.g., from the CQUniversity library catalogue).

Part 1) Conducting searches 
For Part 1), you will conduct and document a search for peer-reviewed literature. You will be using both the CQUniversity library catalogue and a GenAI product (of your choice). The topic of your search is outlined in the scenario below and the activity instructions (what you must do and include in your submission) are also below. 

Scenario: You are part of a project team in the local disaster management unit that has been tasked with providing peer-reviewed literature to support a discussion paper on injury rates and injury types in emergency services volunteers responding during disaster events. You have been asked for literature (peer-reviewed literature) that has been published in the last 10 years. 

Activity Instructions: You are required to:
Part 1.1) Conduct a library catalogue search to locate literature for the scenario above. You must use the CQUniversity library catalogue, and you must use the CQUniversity 7-step process for searching the literature (see the Assessment tile in Moodle). 

Document your library catalogue search and the results using the table provided in the Assessment Task One template. Note: Part 1.1 is about the search. For this assessment task, you will not be downloading or using any of the articles. You must use the Assessment Task One Template.

Part 1.2) Conduct a GenAI search to locate literature for the scenario above. You must use the Google (2025) 5-Step Prompt Framework for GenAI (see the Assessment tile in Moodle). You can use any Gen AI product (e.g., ChatGPT, Microsoft Co-Pilot, Perplexity), including the free version of the product. You do not need a paid GenAI product for this assessment. Document your response to the below in the Assessment Task One Template. You must use the Assessment Task One Template.

1. Name the Gen AI platform or product you use
2. Conduct and document your GenAI search and the results using the table provided in the Assessment Task One Template.
3. Reflect on the two different search approaches (library catalogue and GenAI) and respond to the three (3) reflective questions in the Assessment Task One Template, about the use of the CQUniversity library catalogue and CQUniversity 7-step process, as compared to the GenAI product and 5-step framework for Gen AI prompting.  

There is no set word count for Part 1. Please see the notes in the Assessment Task One Template. 

Part 2) Using the literature 
Part 2 is about analysing literature, plus analysing its relationship to the different phases of emergency and disaster management. As such, you are asked to read the article below and provide responses to the following points:

Article: Caricati, L., Penari, C. & Melleri, M. (2020). Group identification and self-efficacy associated with quality of life in emergency medical services volunteers: a cross-sectional investigation. DOI: 10.1111/jasp.12675.

Based on your reading of the above article, respond to the following items: 

a) Aim(s) of the research reported in the above article?

b) The number of participants who responded to the research survey used in the project.  

c) The number of items contained in the Barbaranelli & Capana (2001) personal self-efficacy scale as reported in the Caricati, et al (2020) article.

Based on your reading of this article and the broader literature, answer the questions below: 

d)    The Caricati et al (2020) article mentions the use of the 5-point Likert scale. Provide a short analytic overview of the 5-point Likert scale. The overview must include information on what the 5-point Likert scale is, how it is used in the research context and any issues or factors that need to be considered when using it for research. Your response to this item will be no more than 250 words. 

e)    An overview of the actual or potential practical implications of the research findings of Caricati, et al (2020) and how those implications could impact one or more of the four (4) phases of emergency and disaster management (that is, how the identified implications do or could impact disaster prevention, preparedness, response and/ or recovery). Your response to this item will be approximately 100 to 150 words. 

Note: your response to part d) and e) must be supported by appropriate literature (see the assessment task rubric for details of the number and type of literature across the different grade bands).

You must document your responses in the Assessment Task One Template (see Moodle Assessment tile). A copy of the peer-reviewed article is located in the eReading List. Alternatively, it can be found in the CQUniversity library catalogue using the citation details above. 

Generative AI (GenAI): Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 2: You may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas. Part 1.2 element b) is excepted (see below). 

Assessment Part 1.2) element b) - Level 4 
For assessment Part 1.2) element b) ONLY you are permitted to use AI to conduct your search. The rest of Part 1.2) is Level 2.

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 task are contained in the rubric, which is available from the Moodle unit site. Broadly, you will be assessed on:

• Using academic and emergent GenAI processes and practices to search for literature
• Locating appropriate literature
• Analysing literature, including in relation to specified concepts (e.g., emergency and disaster management)
• Communication and presentation

In assessment task two, you will expand upon the research literacies from assessment task one and demonstrate your emerging knowledge and skill in research approaches and ethical issues related to research. Your ability to recognise and understand different research approaches and the ethical (or otherwise) conduct of research will underpin your ability to make judgements about the veracity and credibility of knowledge, and thereby, support you to engage with appropriate sources that can support robust actions and decisions. 

Like assessment task one, this task consists of multiple parts, and these parts are based on your engagement with the unit content (e.g., unit Learning Guide and eReading list) plus the broader academic literature (e.g., from the CQUniversity library catalogue).

Part 1) Research in the emergency and disaster management context 
Part 1.1) Effective key word searches are crucial to locating appropriate literature. Before searching for literature, it can be useful to plan out your approach and the key words (concepts) that you will utilise. Using the CQUniversity Note Making: Key words for searching Academic Learning Centre (ALC) info sheet (see Assessment tile in Moodle), create either a concept map (figure 1 of the info sheet) or FlowChart (figure 2 of the info sheet) for the following topic: 

“Discuss the benefits of emergency and disaster management volunteers to Australian communities” 

Part 1.2) Based on your identified key word, conduct a literature search in the CQUniversity library catalogue and identify one (1) peer-reviewed journal article that addresses a benefit of emergency and disaster management volunteers. Note: the article must be available from the CQUniversity library catalogue. For that article:

1. Provide the full APA citation for the located peer-review journal article
2. Based on your located article, name one (1) benefit of emergency and disaster management volunteers to Australian communities.
3. Identify in what ways the identified benefit impacts one or more of the four (4) phases of emergency and disaster management (that is, how the benefit does or could impact disaster prevention, preparedness, response and/ or recovery). 

Note: your response to part c) must be supported by appropriate literature (see the assessment task rubric for details of the number and type of literature across the different grade bands).

Your Part 1.2) responses may be 250 – 300 words in total. There is no word count or limit for the key word table, concept map or FlowChart (part 1.1). 

Part 2) Research approaches
The terms ‘quantitative research’ and ‘qualitative research’ are commonplace in the research literature. With that in mind, you are asked to:

Part 2.1) Write an analytic summary of no more than 250 words about quantitative research. In particular, what it is and how it is defined in the academic literature.  

Part 2.2) Write an analytic summary of no more than 250 words about qualitative research. In particular, what it is and how it is defined in the academic literature. 

Note: your response to the above must be supported by appropriate literature (see the assessment task rubric for details of the number and type of literature across the different grade bands). Your Part 2) response will be up to 500 words in total.

Part 3) Ethics in research 
Research is governed by strict ethics requirements. These requirements are outlined in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct of Human Research, 2023 (see eReading list). Based on your reading of the National Statement and other literature sources, respond to the following:

Part 3.1) Identify and discuss one (1) ethical issue that a research team would need to consider if the research project used face-to-face focus groups to collect data and where one of the research team members is a work colleague of one of the focus group participant. 

Part 3.2) Identify one (1) strategy that could be used to mitigate the impact of the identified ethical issue above. 

Note: your response to Part 3.1 & Part 3.2) must be supported by appropriate literature (see the assessment task rubric for details of the number and type of literature across the different grade bands). Your Part 3) response will be up to approx. 750 words in total.

Generative AI (GenAI): Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 2: You may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.

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 task are contained in the rubric, which is available from the Moodle unit site. Broadly, you will be assessed on:

• Locating appropriate literature
• Knowledge of research and research approaches
• Knowledge of ethical issues and frameworks underpinning ethical practice
• Application of knowledge and skills related to accessing research and evidence;
• Interpretation and utilisation of literature in the emergency and disaster management context;
• Communication and presentation

Assessment task three expands on the research literacies covered in assessment tasks one and two and moves onto the issue of research utilisation. Research utilisation is a key issue. If research is not effectively communicated, it cannot be utilised, nor can evidence-informed decisions about future directions be made. With this in mind, for assessment task three (3), you are going to present your ideas for implementing and utilising research, plus communicating future research directions. This presentation will be based on a fictional opportunity being offered by a key emergency and disaster management research body (see activity instructions below).

Activity Instructions
You will develop and deliver a short 7-minute presentation pitch to the CEO of Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA), who is offering funding to individuals who have creative ideas for implementing research. The (fictional) successful individual will be awarded $150,000.00, which will be used to fund the implementation of a strategy or initiative to enhance the disaster resilience or response within an identified community. You can focus on a specific aspect of disaster resilience or response, or you could focus on disaster resilience or response more globally. Your strategy or initiative must be evidenced-based, that is, based on research. Your presentation pitch, what we will call a ‘7-minute Sprint’, will include five (5) key sections, including:

1) The name and description of a community context (of your choice). You are strongly encouraged to select your discipline community (e.g., paramedicine, public health and so forth), but you are free to select any community (see examples below). You must be able to describe your community, and that description must be referenced. So carefully consider your choice. Note: You must support this section with a minimum of two (2) different pieces of literature. Grey literature is acceptable for one (1) of the two (2) pieces of literature, but the grey literature source must be a credible source and directly linked to the community of choice, for example, an official community-aligned website, annual report, strategic plan or the like. You are strongly encouraged to select your discipline community (option a), but you may select any community e.g., a: 

1. discipline community, for example, the paramedicine discipline (and its workers), public health discipline (and its workers) and so forth
2. geographic community, for example, Brisbane, Melbourne, Rockhampton or another defined geographic locality
3. community of faith or a community of interest. 

2) Description of the strategy or initiative

3) Statement outlining the potential benefits of the strategy or initiative and links to the literature to support your assertions about benefits. Note: You must support your response with a minimum of two (2) different pieces of peer-reviewed literature.

4) An implementation plan for the strategy or initiative. Note: You must support your response with a minimum of two (2) different pieces of peer-reviewed literature. As part of the implementation plan, you must outline: 

1. Broad steps you will use to implement the strategy or initiative within your chosen community. 
2. Rationale for the chosen steps.  
3. Potential implementation issues and strategies for managing or mitigating these.
4. Strategy for how you will measure the success of the implementation.

5) One (1) recommendation for a future research project that will further enhance the body of knowledge related to the chosen peer-reviewed journal article.   

Your assessment submission will take the form of a PowerPoint presentation, which includes both a written and an audio component plus a script containing the text/ words read out as the audio component. See the presentation requirements below:

Presentation requirements written component 

• The PowerPoint presentation will have a maximum of 9 slides. 
• The first slide is the introductory slide.  
• The last slide will be your reference list. The remaining 7 slides are for the body of the ‘7-minute sprint’.
• The slides must be visually appealing and contribute to successfully communicating the key messages of the presentation pitch. 
• The PowerPoint presentation template is provided in the Assessment section of the Moodle site. While you may add text, diagrams, images and so forth to your PowerPoint slides, you must use and not materially change the provided template. 
• A copy of the script (text/words) that you read out and recorded as the audio component. The script can be either a Word document or PDF.
•  

Presentation requirements audio component 

• The audio component is an expanded discussion of the PowerPoint slides. 
• The audio component must be recorded directly onto the PowerPoint slides using the recording feature in PowerPoint. 
• The audio presentation will be a maximum of 7 minutes in length.

Generative AI (GenAI): Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 2: You may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.

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

• Knowledge of research
• Skills in interpreting and communicating research findings
• Skills in applying and utilising research and its findings
• Communication and presentation