Syllabus

Schedule

Course Schedule:

Each week opens on Wednesday at 12:01 AM Eastern Time. Each week closes on Wednesday at 11:59 pm ET, with the exception of Week 16, which ends on Sunday. 

• Week One: January 8 – January 15
• Week Two: January 15 – January 22
• Week Three: January 22 – January 29
• Week Four: January 29 – February 5
• Week Five: February 5 – February 12
• Week Six: February 12 – February 19
• Week Seven: February 19 – February 26
• Week Eight: February 26 – March 4
• Week Nine: March 4 – March 11
• Week Ten: March 11 – March 18
• Week Eleven: March 18 – March 25
• Week Twelve: March 25 – April 1
• Week Thirteen: April 1 – April 8
• Week Fourteen: April 8 – April 15
• Week Fifteen: April 15 – April 22
• Week Sixteen: April 22 – April 26

The assignment/discussion descriptions mentioned below are summaries. Please make sure to review the full assignment prompts in Blackboard.  There may be additional readings/videos that are not mentioned in this weekly summary, make sure to carefully review the modules in Blackboard. 

Module 1 (Weeks 1-4) Learning Objectives:

• Explain the several government structures that generate policy
• Articulate an example of a government process that results in policy
• Describe policy context for your policy analysis (ILE) proposal, identify target audiences, and explain how they will benefit from your analysis
• Create a project workplan in Excel; populate with tasks and sub-tasks
• Discuss the political implications of your chosen policy
• Categorize relevant stakeholders → supporters and detractors and neutral
• Critique a classmate’s policy analysis (ILE) Proposal and identify gaps

Week 1: What is Policy? A Review

Lectures: 

• Civics Review and What is Policy?
• Project Management

Readings and Multimedia:

• Eyler, Chapter 2 Public Policy Explained
• Video:  Making a Gantt Chart in Excel

Discussions:

• Introductions
• Policy Analysis Topic

Assignment: 

• Workplan: Download the provided Excel spreadsheet and save it to your computer for ongoing use. Review the Workplan template and complete “Tasks” column and any known “sub-tasks”. Fill in expected timeframes in Gantt chart format. Add your name, project title, and other relevant information. Set up your “Project Notes” tab on the Workplan template. If you have some ideas now on how to set up your Data collection and Data analysis tabs share them, otherwise consult with your course instructor on how to set up those pages. Your submission is your completed spreadsheet.

Week 2: What is Policy Analysis? Definitions in the Literature

Lectures: 

• Politics and Policy Analysis Definitions

Readings and Multimedia:

• Eyler, Chapter 4 Public Health Policy Analysis and Evaluation
• Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. E. (1986). Research, evaluation, and policy analysis: Heuristics for disciplined inquiry. Review of Policy Research, 5(3), 546-565.
• Wildavsky, A. (2017). Speaking truth to power: Art and craft of policy analysis.
• Review the Comparative Agendas Project website

Discussion: 

• Project Stakeholders

Assignment:

• Updated Advanced Elective Proposal (ILE): Based on feedback from the Instructor, input from peers, work on your project Workplan, or knowledge gained from course content, submit an updated ILE Proposal with additional detail on any aspect of the project, including a narrowed topic, updated target audiences, methods, or updated public health competencies. When you submit your updated ILE Proposal, use the attached ILE Proposal Form and explain your changes in the comments section. This is an ungraded assignment.

Week 3: Types of Policy Analysis, Part I: The Basic (or “Quick and Dirty”) Policy Analysis

Lectures: 

• Conducting a Comprehensive Literature Review
• Policy Analysis Types

Readings and Multimedia:

• Patton, C., et al (2012) Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning: Chapter 1 The Need for Simple Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning  and Chapter 2 The Policy Analysis Process

Assignment:

• Literature Review Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria Table: A full systematic Cochrane review is out of the scope of this course; however, you will need to conduct a comprehensive literature review to justify your research objectives in the introduction and background of your paper. Your literature review should apply the general principles of Cochrane literature reviews learned in Jennifer Makelarski’s lecture. You will submit a table (e.g., Excel spreadsheet) that includes the results of your literature review. You should identify a minimum of 10 publications from high-quality peer-reviewed journals that will be cited in your introduction. Use the provided template for the table. You may choose to add columns with additional information for your reference.

  You will also submit a summary (300-500 words) of the steps you used to conduct your literature review, describing the databases and search terms used as well as the methods for narrowing down the publications you will use. You should describe your inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Week 4: Types of Policy Analysis, Part II: The Research Policy Analysis

Lectures: 

• IRB, Part I
• IRB, Part II

Readings and Multimedia:

• Week 4 Research Policy Analysis Written Lecture
• Browne, J., et al (2018) A guide to policy analysis as a research method
• Srivastava, A., & Thomson, S. B. (2009). Framework analysis: a qualitative methodology for applied policy research.
• Video: Thinking about Think Tanks: What are They and What Do They Do? 10:14, Transcript, Closed Captioned
• Fraussen, B., & Halpin, D. (2017). Think tanks and strategic policy-making: the contribution of think tanks to policy advisory systems. Policy Sciences, 50(1), 105-124.
• UNE Online Research Toolkit: Be sure to click on the link to “UNE IRB Website” and review the UNE’s primary IRB site and documents linked at the bottom of the web page. Links provided on Blackboard.

Discussion: 

• Policy Action and Research Questions

Assignment: 

• IRB Exemption Application: Download the Application for Exemption and the Consent Template for Adults from the IRB website and read the instructions carefully, particularly the Additional Documentation requirements.
  • Complete the Exemption Application
  • Draft your Research Proposal Summary
  • Complete the Informed Consent document
  • Compile all additional documentation (e.g. CITI certificate, resume, etc) required

Module 2 (Weeks 5-8): The Policy Analysis: Stakeholders Theories, and Frameworks

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the typical trajectory of the policy process
• Describe how stakeholders and events often influence the policy process
• Discuss examples of the policy process that were influenced by events or influential stakeholders
• Identify qualitative data collection and analysis methods

Week 5: Political Agenda and Policy Stakeholders: Events, Influencers, & Audiences

Lecture:

• Agenda Setting and Multiple Streams

Readings and Multimedia:

• Eyler, Chapter 3 Use of Policy Theory in Prevention Policymaking
• Weible, Introduction
• Weible, Chapter 1 The Multiple Streams Framework: Foundations, Refinements, and Empirical Applications
• Weible, Chapter 7 Innovation and Diffusion Models in Policy Research

Discussion:

• Impacting Policy Action

Assignments: 

• Email to Key Informants: Write a draft outreach email to one potential key informant; be sure to identify your student status, a brief description of your project, the type of information you need from the prospective interviewee, and be specific about what they should do next if they are willing to participate.
• Workplan Check-In #1 (Ungraded): Use the Key Informant tab in your workplan to deposit and track information on possible key informants. What information, besides name and contact info, do you need to keep track of to help you in your outreach and interview scheduling efforts? Hint: any information you might want for your paper Methods section? Submit your updated workplan, being sure to integrate changes based on your prior instructor feedback. Include an introductory note at the top of your work plan that summarizes your current status.

Week 6: Theories and Frameworks in Policy, Part 1

Lectures:

• Key Informant Interviews

Readings and Multimedia:

• Written Lecture: Punctuated Equilibrium Theory
• Weible, Ch. 2 Punctuated Equilibrium Theory: Explaining Stability and Change in Public Policymaking
• Eissler, R. (2016) Chapter 6  The Origin and Evolution of PET_From Contemporary Approaches to Public Policy
• Sample Semi-Structured Interview Protocol

Discussion:

• Policies in the News

Assignment:

• Draft Interview Protocol and Data Collection: Submit a draft interview protocol for one group of key informants. Be sure to write a brief introduction that you will begin the interview with as a way to orient your interviewee to your project. Add one or two prompts (i.e. follow-up questions) to your primary questions that will help you explore the topic with your interviewee in greater detail. Create a spreadsheet page on your Workplan for your data collection. The structure can be your own, but be sure it has all of the categories you need and is logically constructed.
• Workplan Update: Incorporate feedback from the instructor on your Project Workplan in Week 1, and any additional edits of your own, and resubmit your updated Workplan spreadsheet.
• Final IRB Exemption Application Submission

Week 7: Theories and Frameworks in Policy, Part 2

Lectures:

• Policy Feedback Theory and Narrative Policy Framework

Readings:

• Weible, Ch. 3 – Policy Feedback Theory
• Weible, Ch. 4 – The Narrative Policy Framework

Assignment:

• Theory Summary: Now that you have read about several policy process theories, write a 500-word summary identifying the theory or framework you will apply to your policy analysis project, explaining why you chose the theory or framework, and how it will support your analysis and generate new knowledge for your audience(s). Include reference to some of the fundamental attributes of the theory or framework you choose and, as appropriate, those of theories you did not choose.

Week 8: Policy Analysis: Communicating with Audiences and The Written Product

Readings and Multimedia:

• Video: The Beauty of Data Visualization
• Video: Making Data Mean More through Storytelling
• Eyler, Ch. 16 Communicating Research to Help Influence Policy and Practice
• Weible, Ch. 10 Moving Forward and Climbing Upward: Advancing Policy Process Research

Discussion:

• Messaging for your policy analysis audience

Activity:

• Schedule a check-in time with your Instructor for a meeting during Weeks 8 or 9.

Module 3 (Weeks 9-13): Evidence and Policy Impact

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the types of evidence used in policy analysis
• Explain the role of evidence data in policy analysis
• Reflect on and describe your own data collection experience
• Evaluate the impact of public comment on the policy process
• Construct a database for qualitative data coding
• Identify themes and subthemes in qualitative data
• Perform legislative history [for those students whose project requires this task

Week 9: The Evidence Base in Policy: Review of Qualitative Data

Readings and Multimedia:

• Video: Qualitative Analysis of Interview Data: A Step-by-Step Guide
• Ritchie, J. (2002) Chapter 9 Qualitative data analysis for applied policy research. From Analyzing qualitative data
• Weimer, D. Policy Analysis: Concepts and Practice, Chapter 14 Gathering Information for Policy Analysis
• Prusaxczyk, Beth. (2019). A Little Known Channel for Getting Evidence to Policy. 

Discussion: 

• Difficulties, Challenges, Surprises

Week 10: The Evidence Base in Policy: Legislative History, Political Debate, Public Comment

Lecture:

• Written Lecture: The Evidence Base in Policy: Public Comments

Readings and Multimedia:

• Please review the public comments to the 2014 Home and Community Based Services Settings Rule, which were new federal regulations on services for Medicaid-eligible individuals with disabilities living in the community.
• Finding Legislative and Public Policy Resources using UNE Library Services

Discussion:

• Public Comment on Regulatory Action

Assignment:

• Summary of Coding Structure: Write a 500-word summary describing your coding structure. Identify your primary themes and any sub-themes that you have identified in your data analysis. Describe the categories of key informants and four (4) key themes that you found in the key informant interviews. Describe any sub-themes that emerged within the dominant themes. Explain how you identified key themes and include a few quotations to support these themes from your data. Were there any unexpected themes? If so, describe how these themes differed from your expectations and offer explanations for these differences.

Week 11: The Evidence Base in Policy: Case Law

Lectures:

• Case Law As Policy Evidence

Readings and Multimedia:

• Walker, V. R. (2012). Moving the Strike Zone: How Judges Sometimes Make Law. U. Ill. L. Rev., 1207

Assignment:

• Introduction and Background Section: Write the Introduction to your paper and a draft of the Background section that will contain your policy context information. The Introduction should be no longer than 1-2 paragraphs and it will introduce the reader to your topic. The Background section will contain contextual information about the policy at issue in your paper. Submit a detailed outline of the remaining sections of the paper, with headings and subheading that reflect the progression of your analysis. Be sure to refer to the ILE Final Paper Template in Blackboard for formatting information. You do not need to submit a Title page, Abstract, or Table of Contents.

Week 12: Measuring Policy Impact

Readings and Multimedia:

• M. Scott, C. (20  ) Measuring Up to the Measurement Problem: The Role of Statistics in Evidence-Based Policymaking
• Chriqui, J., et al (2011) What Gets Measured, Gets Changed_Evaluating Law and Policy for Maximum Impact
• Brownson, R. (2010) Measuring the Impact of Public Health Policy

Assignment:

• Thematic Analysis: Prepare a 1,000 word summary of your thematic analysis. This summary will build on your assignment in Week 10 and prepare you to draft the Discussion section of your paper. Describe your thematic analysis using a logical flow, organizing your themes and sub-themes so that they lead to policy conclusions and/or recommendations. Include sufficient detail (e.g. quotes and key phrases) from your key informant interviews to provide context and credibility to your work.

Week 13: Legal Epidemiology and Policy Surveillance

Readings and Multimedia:

• Review CDC’s Legal Epidemiology Competency Model
• Review The Policy Surveillance Program from lawatlas.org  and the related video about the program.
• Scott Burris, Marice Ashe, Donna Levin, Matthew Penn, & Michelle Larkin, A Transdisciplinary Approach to Public Health Law: The Emerging Practice of Legal Epidemiology External, 37 Ann. Rev. Pub. Health 135 (2016).
• Review Temple University’s Center for Public Health Law slides on Policy Surveillance and Public Heath

Discussion:

• Analysis of Policy Surveillance Data

Module 4 (Weeks 14-16): Issues in Public Health Policy: Prevention and Enforcement

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize ways that public health policies function to prevent injury, illness, and disease
• Describe how policy is used to enforce laws and regulations related to public health issues
• Identify examples of public health policies that promote prevention of ill health
• Identify examples of policies that enforce public health laws and regulations that prevent injury, illness, or disease
• Write the first draft of full policy analysis

Week 14: Issues in Public Health Policy: Prevention

Lectures:

• Public Health Policy: Prevention

Readings and Multimedia:

• Eyler, Chapter 1 The Power of Policy to Improve Health
• Eyler, Chapter 5 Policy Implications of Social Determinants of Health
• Eyler, Chapter 10 Public policy and Infectious Disease Prevention and Control

Discussion:

• Policies Impacting Health Outcomes

Assignment:

• Revised Introduction and Background Sections: Write the full Background section of your paper. This should include all of the information on the policy context and introduce your analytic approach. Submit a revised Introduction section and the Background section, incorporating all instructor feedback from Week 11.

Week 15: Issues in Public Health Policy: Enforcement

Lectures:

• Written Lecture: Issues in Public Health Policy: Enforcement

Readings and Multimedia:

• Eyler, Chapter 11 Law, Policy, and Injury Prevention
• Eyler, Chapter 14 Public Policy and Illicit Drugs

Assignment:

• Method and Discussion Sections: Write the Methods and Discussion sections of your paper. This will include a full description of your analytic approach and your analysis of the issue and data. You may find it helpful to use your updated Workplan and process tracking from the Week 5 assignment to inform your Methods section.

Week 16: Review and Reflection

Readings and Multimedia:

• Ash, S. L., & Clayton, P. H. (2009). Generating, deepening, and documenting learning: The power of critical reflection in applied learning.

Discussion:

• Reflections and Takeaways

Assignment:

• Full Draft: Write the Conclusion of the paper and submit the full draft, including Introduction, Background, Methods, Discussion, and Conclusion. Do not include an Abstract.

 

 

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

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• Library Tutorial: Find an article
• Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.

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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

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

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Policies

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

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 Turnitin Student quick start guide.

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 student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.

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.

Attendance Policy

Online students are required to submit a graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. If a student does not submit a posting to the graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET, the student will be automatically dropped from the course for non-participation. Review the full attendance policy.

Late Policy

Assignments: Late 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.

UNE Online Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.

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 UNE Plagiarism Policies.

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.