COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Project 698-A Course Syllabus
Fall 2009
Instructor: Grace Reynolds, DPA Class Location: ETC 105
Ph: 562.985.5885 (Instructor) Class Time: Thursday 7-9:45 p.m.
Ph: 562.985.5694 (Program) Fax: 562.985.5886
Office Hours: Tues. 10-11 a.m.,
3:30-5:30
And by appt. Additional Departmental Contact:
Deby McGill,
Telephone: 562-985-5694; fax: 562-985-5886
1. Catalog Description
Prerequisites: Completion of all 500-level courses, and consent of the instructor. The purpose of Project 698-A is to provide students with the skills and techniques of research to design and carry out their own investigation of a health care or health services project. Letter grade only (A-F).
2. Course Overview
Introduction to research methodology and its application in health care administration. This course is needed to prepare students for completion of Project 698 B (part II of this two semester course), which is conceptualization, design and execution of research project.
3. Course Objectives, Measurable Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course students should be able to:
A. Demonstrate an understanding of basic research design, and provide an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of various design approaches.
B. Outline and break down the steps necessary to successfully operationalize and carry out a research project.
C. Use basic statistical techniques and software.
D. Distinguish various sampling strategies and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
E. Appraise threats to the internal and external validity of a research study.
F. Use technologies to access information on background literature appropriate to health care administration and health services research.
G. Assess and recommend data collection instruments and techniques appropriate to the problem under investigation.
H. Formulate research questions and appropriately frame research hypotheses.
I. Demonstrate an understanding of power and sample size calculations, and conduct power calculations for their project (if applicable).
J. Design a research project and successfully present project to instructor.
K. Summarize the role of the researcher and the ethical principles guiding the conduct of research with human subjects.
L. Write up statistical analysis results sections in American Psychological Association format.
The primary focus areas are:
· Review of basic univariate and bivariate statistical tests, including means, standard deviation, measures of central tendency (median, mode, mean), t-tests, chi-square, correlation
· Use of descriptive and inferential statistics
· Introduction to multivariate approaches, including forecasting, regression and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)
· Basic research designs (cross-sectional, pre-test/post-test, longitudinal, cohort, retrospective and prospective, experimental and quasi-experimental)
· Meta-analytical methods
· Internal and external validity and threats to each
· Human subjects protection, including the Belmont Report and HIPAA
· Critical Review of the Literature (peer-reviewed) and Information Sources
· Sampling design and methods
· Type I and Type II error
· Power and sample size calculations
· Data collection through surveys and self-report
· Use of secondary data sets
· Developing a research proposal to be executed by the student in Project 698-B
This is a broad outline of topics to be covered. Subject matter and sequence of topics may vary according to needs of students.
Sept. 3 Introduction and Overview
Discussion of course requirements, class participation, course materials, computer lab, course grading, examinations, course format, textbooks, and how Project A and Project B are related.
Overview of APA format
Overview of Thesis guidelines
Demonstration of EndNote software
Examples of past projects
Introduction to Literature Review Table and some examples
Examples of Specific Aims
Overview of Data Sets for Secondary Analysis
Presentation by instructor on public use datasets with health services/medical care focus; codebooks; data formats and syntax for accessing; background on sampling frame employed in the collection of data.
Differences between “raw” data and “aggregate” data discussed.
Sept. 10 Introduction to Research Methods (Quiz #1)
Lecture/Reading: Chapter 1 Neutens & Rubinson
Chapter 2 Neutens & Rubinson
Turning Dross into Gold Exercise in class
Sept. 17 Introduction to Ethics in Research (Quiz #2)
Lecture/Reading Considering Ethics in Research, Chapter 4,
Neutens & Rubinson
CSULB IRB procedures and forms
Sept. 24 Research Design (Quiz #3)
Librarian Coming—special guest speaker
Lecture/Reading Chapter 5, Neutens & Rubinson
Chapter 1, Kuzma & Bohnenblust
Oct. 1 Data Collection through Surveys and Self-Reports (Quiz #4)
Lecture/Reading Chapter 6, Neutens & Rubinson
Assignment Due: Completed Literature Review Tables
Oct. 8 Sampling (Quiz #5)
Lecture/Reading Chapter 7, Neutens & Rubinson
Chapter 2, Kuzma & Bohnenblust
Oct. 15 Analyzing and Interpreting Data—Descriptive Statistics (Quiz #6)
Means, standard deviations, describing categorical data
Lecture/Reading Chapter 3, 4, 5 & 6 Kuzma
Chapter 11 & 12, Neutens & Rubinson
Lab Exercise Descriptive means & standard deviations
Graphs, charts, and displaying data
Oct. 22 Analyzing and Interpreting Data—Inferential Statistics—t-tests, Chi square analysis (Quiz #7)
Lecture/Reading Chapter 7, 8, 9, 11 Kuzma & Bohnenblust
Chapter 16 SPSS Survival Manual
Lab Exercise Independent and dependent samples t-tests, chi- square
Oct. 29 No Class—Library Day-- Assignment Due: Background Section by 11:59 p.m.
Nov. 5 Correlation/Regression/Forecasting (Quiz #8)
Lecture/Reading Chapter 13 Kuzma & Bohnenblust
Chapter 11 & 13 SPSS Survival Manual
Lab Exercise Correlation and Regression
Nov. 12 Multivariate Regression/ANOVA (Quiz #9)
Lecture/Reading Schroeder, Sjoquist and Stephan, Ch. 1, 2, 3
Chapter 10 Kuzma & Bohnenblust
Chapter 18 SPSS Survival Manual
Lab Exercise One-way ANOVA
Nov. 19 Lab Day--Review
Nov. 27 Thanksgiving Break – No Class
Dec. 4 Power Calculations (Quiz #10)
Lecture/Reading Bausell Li, Ch. 1, 3, 4 & 6
Neutens Rubinson, Ch. 7
Qualitative Data Analysis
Lecture/Reading Neutens Rubinson, Ch. 8
Assignment Due: Methods Section
Dec. 11 Student Presentations of Projects: Specific Aims, Background, Methods, including Data Analysis Plan
Grading: Students will be graded on the following assignments totaling 210 points:
1. Quizzes, total of 10, each worth 10 points on the reading material (100 points);
2. Completion of literature review table including at least 30 peer-reviewed articles to be used for final Project (25 points)
3. Three writing assignments:
A. Specific Aims of the Project (1 pages) (10 points)
B. Background, synthesizing the literature reported in assignment #2 (10-15 pages) (25 points)
C. Methods (4-6 pages) detailing subsections as found in the APA publication manual including description of the data source, how data were collected, how the sample was obtained, description of any questionnaires with their reliability and validity, other data collection methods and/or instruments. (25 points)
4. Final oral presentation on Project progress to date (25 points)
Information about required and optional readings
Required textbooks: Kuzma, Jan & Bohnenblust, Stephen E. (2001). Basic Statistics for the Health Sciences. Toronto: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Neutens, James J., & Rubinson, Laura (2002). Research Methods for the Health Sciences, 3rd ed. San Francisco, CA: Pearson Education Inc.
The following is a short list of books that students may find helpful to consult.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition (2009). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Bausell-Barker, R. & Li, Y-F. (2006). Power Analysis for Experimental Research: A Practical Guide for the Biological, Medical and Social Sciences. Boston, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Fink, Arlene. (1998). Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From Paper to the Internet. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Ford, Brian K., Bornstein, Jay M., & Pruin, Patrick T. (2007). The Ernest and Young Business Plan Guide. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley and Son, Publishers
Lewins, Ann & Silver, Christine (2007). Using Software in Qualitative Research: a Step-by-Step Guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Lipsey, M. W. & Wilson, D. B. (2001). Practical Meta-Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Miles, Matthew B. & Huberman, Michael (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Pallant, Julie. (2003). SPSS Survival Manual. New York, New York: Open University Press/McGraw-Hill
Pinson, Linda (2005). Anatomy of a Business Plan. Chicago, IL: Dearborn Trade Publishing.
Schroeder, Larry D., Sjoquist, David L., & Stephan, Paula E. (1986). Understanding Regression Analysis: An Introductory Guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
GENERAL GUIDELINES ON THE PROJECT:
[1] The project primarily uses the written assignments prepared during the fall and spring semesters; it must be analytical in nature, that is, analyze administrative or clinical data and have the following sections: Abstract, Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusion.
[2] The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association [2001] is the required style guide for all written work.
[3] These written assignments are:
[a] Writing Assignment #1: Background and Literature Review
[b] Writing Assignment #2: Methods and Data Sources, Sampling
[d] Writing Assignment #3: Results
[e] Writing Assignment #4: Conclusion, Discussion and Limitations
[4] Each written assignment should be word processed, be double-spaced and have one inch on top, bottom, left, and right margins.
[a] It should have section headings, where appropriate, printed in bold.
[b] It should have page numbers on each page except the first page. The page numbers should be in the upper right corner.
[c] The assignments should be printed in a 12 character per inch font.
[d] There should be double spacing between paragraphs and after a heading.
[e] Each written assignment should conform exactly to the page structure and format requested. In most instances, this will require careful thought and editing on content.
[5] References, when used in any assignments, should be listed on the last, and a separate page.
[6] The final project is due in March 2010 if you intend to finish it in two semesters—this is the date final copies are due to the Thesis Office. If you want to finish it in one semester, then more rigorous timeline is needed for completion. Preliminary drafts should be submitted beforehand to allow ample time for critique by the instructor. Project reports are typically about 50 pages long, not including appendices. A final original copy of your completed project will be kept in the HCA program office.
[7] The purpose of this course is to develop the ability/habit of critical thinking and reasoning while learning and this can be best accomplished in a setting of phased learning. The written assignments and the feedback students receive from the instructor are designed to advance the cause of critical thinking and writing. This means students are expected to revise written assignments based on instructor’s comments.
[8] Student papers in this course presume both research, and original and individual thought. Any source the student uses in the composition of the assignments/papers must be cited fully and accurately. The University Code of Honesty describes plagiarism as “giving the impression that you have written or thought something that in fact you borrowed from someone else.” Any failure (whether accidental and/or intentional) to follow the standards of scholarly accuracy constitutes dishonesty and will result in a mark of ‘F’ for this course.
[9] Papers will be returned for revision in a reasonable time period (about 2 weeks).
[10] Students should revise the original paper and discuss it with the instructor to make sure changes are accurate.
[11] Student should seriously consider purchasing EndNote software for the management of references (cost about $99 from CSULB bookstore) or using RefWorks, which is available at no charge by following the links on the CSULB Library webpage. Students must have a valid Student ID number and Library password to use RefWorks.
Instructional Policies Requirements
The following University policies will appear on every syllabus for this course, regardless of instructor:
CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM
The following is excerpted from the California State University, Long Beach Policy Statement 85-19, dated December 13, 1985.
It is the policy of the faculty and administration to deal effectively with the student who practices cheating or plagiarism. These acts are fundamentally destructive of the process of education and the confident evaluation of a student's mastery over a subject. A University maintains respect and functions successfully within the larger community when its reputation is built on honesty. By the same token, each student benefits in helping to maintain the integrity of the University. This policy, therefore, provides for a variety of faculty actions including those which may lead to the assignment of a failing grade for a course and for administrative actions which may lead to dismissal from the University. It is the intent to support the traditional values that students are on their honor to perform their academic duties in an ethical manner.
GENERAL:
The following definitions of cheating and plagiarism shall apply to all work submitted by a student.
DEFINITION OF PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism is defined as the act of using the ideas or work of another person or persons as if they were one's own, without giving credit to the source. Such an act is not plagiarism if it is ascertained that the ideas were arrived at through independent reasoning or logic or where the thought or idea is common knowledge.
Acknowledgement of an original author or source must be made through appropriate references, i.e., quotation marks, footnotes, or commentary. Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to, the following: the submission of a work, either in part or in whole, completed by another; failure to give credit for ideas, statements, facts or conclusions with rightfully belong to another; in written work, failure to use quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it be a paragraph, a sentence, or even a part thereof. If you are doing close and lengthy paraphrasing of another writing or paraphrasing, you should consult the instructor.
Students are cautioned that, in conducting their research, they should prepare their notes by (a) either quoting material exactly (using quotation marks) at the time they take notes from a source; or (b) departing completely from the language used in the source, putting the material into their own words. In this way, when the material is used in the paper or project, the student can avoid plagiarism resulting from verbatim use of notes. Both quoted and paraphrased materials must be given proper citations.
DEFINITION OF CHEATING:
Cheating is defined as the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain or aiding another to obtain academic credit for work by the use of any dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent means. Examples of cheating during an examination would include, but not be limited to the following: copying, either in part or in wholes, from another test or examination; discussion of answers or ideas relating to the answers on an examination or test unless such discussion is specifically authorized by the instructor; giving or receiving copies of an exam without the permission of the instructor; using or displaying notes; "cheat sheets," or other information or devices inappropriate to the prescribed test conditions, as when the test of competence includes a test of unassisted recall of information, skill, or procedure; allowing someone other than the officially enrolled student to represent the same. Also included is plagiarism as defined and altering or interfering with the grading procedures.