Syllabus

Schedule

Week 1: Oct 30 – Nov 6
Week 2: Nov 6 – Nov 13
Week 3: Nov 13 – Nov 20
Week 4: Nov 20 – Nov 27
Week 5: Nov 27 – Dec 4
Week 6: Dec 4 – Dec 11
Week 7: Dec 11 – Dec 18
Week 8: Dec 18 – Dec 22

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The assignment and discussion descriptions mentioned below are summaries. Please make sure to review the full prompts in Brightspace.

Week 1: Course Introduction and Types of Research

Learning Outcomes

• Compare individual course and career aspirations with those of peers.
• Recognize introductory concepts in public health research.

Learning Activities

• Week 1 Acknowledgement of Academic Engagement Quiz
• Week 1 Quiz: Introduction to Research
• Whole Class Discussion: Introductions
• CITI Training Module on Human Subjects Protection
  • You should begin the CITI Training. You will not need to turn in your certificate until week 2. Successful completion of the CITI training is required for faculty-level principal investigators, all students, and graduate-level research staff, in advance of your IRB submission. Whether you are conducting human subjects research as part of a course project, your thesis or your final capstone, the Integrative Learning Experience (ILE), it is important to complete CITI training and ensure that your certification remains current.

Week 2: Developing a Research Question

Learning Outcomes

• Distinguish the importance of social and behavioral research best practices.
• Articulate a gap in existing public health research.
• Develop a public health justice PICOT research question.

Learning Activities

• Week 2 Discussion: Research Question
  • In your initial discussion post, share your broad topic of interest, including a discussion of why you chose it, followed by a narrative describing your process and experience in identifying a gap in the literature and formulating your specific research question. Finish your post by writing your research question and attaching your completed PICOT worksheet.
  • In your response posts, critique the PICOT research questions of 2 of your fellow students and offer suggestions for improvement. Discuss areas of overlapping research focus, and ways in which your research may complement each others’ in the Public Health profession.
• CITI Training
  • Upload your CITI Completion Certificate.

Week 3: Quantitative Research

Learning Outcomes

• Connect proposed research question to an identified gap in current public health knowledge.
• Constructively critique peer contributions.
• Conduct a power analysis to determine appropriate sample size.

Learning Activities

• Week 3 Discussion: Background and Significance
  • A good proposal starts with a hook. In the first sentence, you should briefly describe what your proposal will be about. Ideally, this sentence should convey a sense of importance or urgency to your research. Explain quickly what your research topic is and why it is critical that you conduct the research. You should incorporate a review of relevant published research (5–8 publications), but this section should not read like a scientific literature review. Instead, your references should give critical background information and state what is currently known about the specific topic of your research. Your proposal should be written so that it is clearly understandable by a wide audience. Finally, you should conclude your background & significance by highlighting a specific gap in current knowledge or understanding and include a clear statement of how your research question will be answered to fill that gap. This section should be 750–1000 words in length.
  • Working in your research teams, you should provide a thoughtful critique – including suggestions for improvement – for each of your group members.
• Week 3 Quiz: Identifying Groups, Outcomes, and Statistical Tests
• Power Analysis
  • For this assignment, you will use G*Power to determine the number of subjects you need to ensure your research study has significant power. Using your research question, identify independent and dependent variables, determine the type of data for each, select a statistical test, and conduct a power analysis to determine sample size.

Week 4: Quantitative Research continued

Learning Outcomes

• Design a quantitative research study aligned with a public health justice research question.
• Constructively critique peer contributions.
• Perform simple statistical analysis using digital tools.

Learning Activities

• Week 4 Discussion: Quantitative Research Design
  • After careful review of the course materials from weeks 3 and 4, describe in detail a quantitative research design that aligns with your research/research question. You should include the study approach and design you would use, your population – including a power analysis used to determine sample size, plan for recruiting participants, description of the type of data you will collect – with independent and dependent variables identified – and which statistical tests you will use to evaluate your data. Finally, you should describe the ethical considerations for your research design. If a survey would be used to collect data, you should provide a pretested validated survey instrument from an existing study and justify the choice.
  • Working in your research teams, you should provide a thoughtful critique – including suggestions for improvement – for each of your group members.
• Simple Statistical Analysis Using Excel
  • For this assignment you will be using Excel to analyze provided data and perform simple calculations.

Week 5: Qualitative Research

Learning Outcomes

• Design a qualitative research study aligned with a public health justice research question.
• Constructively critique peer contributions.
• Perform content analyses of interview transcripts using digital tools.

Learning Activities

• Week 5 Discussion: Qualitative Research Design
  • After careful review of the readings and lectures from week 5, describe in detail a qualitative research design that aligns with your research/research question. You should include the goals of your research, the qualitative methods you will use, description of the type of data you will collect and specifically how you will collect it, your population and plan for recruiting participants, and how you will report your results. Finally, you should describe the ethical considerations for your research design.
  • Working in your research teams, you should provide a thoughtful critique – including suggestions for improvement – for each of your group members.
• Content Analysis
  • Using the techniques outlined in the Hands-on Guide to Doing Content Analysis, you will complete the steps of conducting a content analysis. You will conduct analyses of provided interview transcripts using Word and Atlas.ti. You will also provide a written reflection on the process.

Week 6: Community-Based Participatory Research

Learning Outcomes

• Design a community-based participatory research study aligned with a public health justice research question.
• Constructively critique peer contributions.

Learning Activities

• Week 6 Discussion: Community-Based Participatory Research Design
  • After careful review of the readings and lectures from week 6, describe a community-based participatory research (CBPR) design that aligns with your research/research question. You should include the goals of your research, the community partners you will recruit, the CBPR process you will use, the research methods you will use, a description of the type of data you will collect and specifically how you will collect it, and how you will report your results. Finally, you should describe the ethical considerations for your research design.
  • Working in your research teams, you should provide a thoughtful critique – including suggestions for improvement – for each of your group members.

Week 7: Communicating Research Results

Learning Outcomes

• Communicate a public health justice research proposal to an audience of non-public health practitioners through a recorded presentation.
• Create a written public health justice research proposal, incorporating feedback received through the course.
• Constructively critique peer contributions.

Learning Activities

• Week 7 Discussion: Research Proposal Presentation
  • For your discussion this week you will prepare and post a presentation that would be used as part of the process to request funding to pay for your proposed research. Your audience will be the grants committee from a foundation you are applying to for funding. This committee will be familiar with the topic of your research, but they are not public health professionals. You should prepare a visual presentation (using PowerPoint or other software program) with voice-over. It should be 6-8 minutes in length. Your presentation will be stopped at 8 minutes (which is what would happen in a real-world situation), so anything included after the 8 minutes time frame will not be graded.
  • In your response posts, evaluate your assigned presentations (i.e. members of your research team) using the Peer Presentation Evaluation Form. Be sure to explain your ratings, and where appropriate offer suggestions for improvement. After you have viewed and evaluated your assigned presentations, post 1–2 questions for each presentation you reviewed.
• Research Proposal
  • For this assignment you will be pulling together much of the work you have done in this course during the first six weeks. You should submit a Research Proposal following the guide outlined in section 27.4 of your textbook.

Week 8: How Is Public Health Research Funded?

Learning Outcomes

• Support and defend a public health justice research proposal.
• Critically reflect on the public health research funding process, with an emphasis on ethical considerations.

Learning Activities

• Discussion: Responding to Questions
  • No matter how brilliant your research ideas are, you will not be successful in getting the money you need to carry out your research if you cannot effectively communicate them to funders. Providing thoughtful responses to questions about your research is a significant part of that effort. You will practice this in this week’s discussion. Collect the questions asked of you by your research team members in the Week 7 Research Proposal Presentation discussion. Compose your answers to those questions in this week’s discussion. Make sure to include the text of your peers’ questions in your post this week. No peer responses are required for this final course discussion.
• Discussion: Research Funding
  • Obtaining funding for research is getting more difficult as federal funds are reduced and competition for foundation funds increases. Choose one of the prompts below to respond to and respond to one classmate’s initial post.

Prompt Option 1

Because obtaining research funding from an industry source brings the potential of bias in practice, perception, or both, thoughtful consideration is needed. Read the publications listed below to answer the following critical thinking questions.

Aveyard P, Yach D, Gilmore AB, Capewell S. Should we welcome food industry funding of public health research? BMJ. 2016;353:i2161-i2161.

Nakkash R, Ali A, Alaouie H, et al. Attitudes and practices of public health academics towards research funding from for-profit organizations: cross-sectional survey. Int J Public Health. 2020;65(7):1133-1145.

Based on your reading of these publications and any outside research you may have done, respond to the following prompts with depth and creativity:

Explain why you think public health researchers should or shouldn’t accept research funding from industry.
Describe certain cases where your opinion may differ.
Describe specific guidelines that would remove the potential or perception of bias associated with this practice.

Prompt Option 2

A relatively new way to obtain research funding is through crowdfunding. Read the publications listed below and then respond to the following critical thinking questions.

Wilson MA. Crowdfunding science. Genome Biol. 2019;20:250.

Sauermann H, Franzoni C, Shafi K. Crowdfunding scientific research: Descriptive insights and correlates of funding success. PloS One. 2019;14:e0208384-e0208384.

Based on your reading of these publications and any outside research you may have done, respond to the following prompts with depth and creativity:

Do you think crowdfunding is a viable source for public health research? Why or why not?
Describe situations where it would be most and least valuable.
Describe issues related to bias or conflict of interest that may arise when a researcher uses crowdfunding to fund research.

Student Resources

Online Student Support

Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.

Questions? Visit the Student Support Public Health page

UNE Libraries:

• Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Brightspace.
• Public Health Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/public-health/
• Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.

UNE Student Academic Success Center

UNE's Student Academic Success Center (SASC) offers a range of free online services to support your academic achievement. Writing support, ESOL support, study strategy and learning style consultations, as well as downloadable resources, are available to all matriculating students. The SASC also offers tutoring for GPH 712 Epidemiology, GPH 716 Biostatistics, GPH 717 Applied Epidemiology, GPH 718 Biostatistics II, and GPH 719 Research Methods. To make an appointment for any of these services, go to une.tutortrac.com. For more information and to view and download writing and studying resources, please visit:

• UNE Student Academic Success Center

Information Technology Services (ITS)

• ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673

Accommodations

Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.

Online Peer Support

Togetherall is a 24/7 communication and emotional support platform monitored by trained clinicians. It’s a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively, and learn how to manage your mental health. If sharing isn’t your thing, Togetherall has other tools and courses to help you look after yourself with plenty of resources to explore. Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low, or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment. You can join Togetherall using your UNE email address.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

Students should notify their Student Support Specialist and instructor in the event of a problem relating to a course. This notification should occur promptly and proactively to support timely resolution.

ITS Contact: Toll-Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673.

Career Ready Program

The College of Professional Studies supports its online students and alumni in their career journey!

The Career Ready Program provides tools and resources to help students explore and hone in on their career goals, search for jobs, create and improve professional documents, build professional network, learn interview skills, grow as a professional, and more. Come back often, at any time, as you move through your journey from career readiness as a student to career growth, satisfaction, and success as alumni.

Policies

Passing Grade Statement

A grade of 80% or higher is required to pass the course. A grade lower than 80% will result in you having to repeat the course. Obtaining two "Fs" in the program will result in dismissal from the program.

AMA Writing Style Statement

The American Medical Association Manual (AMA) of Style, 11th edition is the required writing format for this course. Additional support for academic writing and AMA format is provided throughout the coursework as well as at the UNE Portal for Online Students.

Online resources: AMA Style Guide

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statement

Learning to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) responsibly and ethically is an important skill in today’s society. AI is not a substitute for developing and enhancing skills in creativity, logic, critical thinking, analysis, evaluation, theorization, and writing essential to a public health professional. If you choose to use AI tools, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E2, they must be used wisely and intelligently to deepen your understanding of a subject matter and support learning. You are not allowed to use AI tools to generate your work. Content produced using AI tools cannot be used as a substitute for your original work.

Students in the Graduate Programs in Public Health (GPPH) must take ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of AI-generated content used in any work. You are expected to think critically about the results and alignment with the questions or tasks in the assignment and never substitute AI-generated results for professional human judgment and logic. GPPH students are also expected to understand that the information generated is not always accurate and, in some cases, propagates discrimination and bias. You must stay abreast of AI best practices, and the changing risks and benefits, and monitor AI for biases and risks for vulnerable populations and underrepresented groups.

Within GPPH, using AI-generated content in academic work falls under our academic integrity policies. All instructors will continue to use our AI detection software for each assignment submitted so it will be flagged.

Using any AI tool in your work must be acknowledged in-text every time it is used, not in your list of references. You will include a summary of what the AI tool was used to do, followed by the AI tool brand name, version/extension #, manufacturer/owner, and date used in parentheses.

For example, 

Themes from participant responses were identified using a chatbot session (ChatGPT, model GPT-4, OpenAI, May 17, 2024).

Failure to acknowledge the inclusion of AI-generated content in any work submitted violates our academic integrity policies and will be considered an infraction with the associated penalties for plagiarism as outlined in the Student Handbook.

The Student Orientation has a module "Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Students", please refer to this module for more information about navigating the use of AI.

Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool

The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.

Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.

You can learn more about Turnitin in the guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements

Course Evaluation Policy

Course surveys are one of the most important tools that University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.

Late Policy

Students are responsible for submitting work by the date indicated in Brightspace.

Quizzes and Tests: Quizzes and tests must be completed by the due date. They will not be accepted after the due date.

Assignments: Unless otherwise specified, assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.

Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.

Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.

Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your Enrollment and Retention Counselor if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. Tuition charges may still apply. Students are strongly urged to consult with Student Financial Services, as course withdrawals may affect financial aid or Veterans benefits.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit https://www.une.edu/studentlife/plagiarism.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

1. Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
2. Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
3. Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
4. Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
5. Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations.  Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.