Syllabus

Master of Public Health

GPH 752 – Advanced Research Methods – Spring 2020

Credits - 3

Description

Advanced Research Methods offers the opportunity for students to develop and complete their own focused research study as partial fulfillment of the requirements for their MPH degree. All MPH students must create a high quality written product, synthesizing public health competencies. Based on their selected topic, students will analyze data related to a real-world problem and present their findings in a high quality written document. Readings and lectures will provide further education and guidance, and all assignments are designed to guide students through the analysis and writing process. At the end of the course, students will have a full draft of their research manuscript and be ready to enroll in the 8-week, 1-credit GPH 744 Integrative Learning Experience.

Materials

Required Textbooks:

None

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

FC 1. Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice

PC 1. Synthesize and incorporate scientific evidence into professional writing

PC 2. Search databases and critically analyze peer reviewed literature

PC 3. Develop strategies for qualitative and quantitative data management.

FC 2. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context

FC 3. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate

FC 4. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice

FC 19. Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation

Assignments

Weekly Assignments	Week Due	Points
Discussion 1 – Draft Research Objectives	1	4
Written Assignment: Revised Research Objectives	2	5
Discussion 2 – Introduction Outline	2	4
Written Assignment: Literature Review	3	10
Discussion 3 – Target Audience and Two Example Journals	4	4
Peer Exchange 1 – Draft Methods	5 and 6	5
Discussion 4 – Draft Analytic Plan	6	4
Written Assignment: IRB Submission	7	8
Written Assignment: Revised Methods, including Analytic Plan	7	7
Discussion 5 – Analysis Challenges	7 & 8	4
Discussion 6 – Tables and Figures	8	4
Peer Exchange 2 – Tables and Figures	9 & 10	5
Written Assignment: Revised Results	11	5
Peer Exchange 3 – Introduction, Methods and Results	12 & 13	6
Written Assignment: Introduction, Methods and Results	14	14
Written Assignment: Draft Discussion	15	7
Written Assignment: Reflection	16	4
Course Total		100

Schedule

Schedule At a Glance:

Week 1: Jan 8 – Jan 15
Week 2: Jan 15 – Jan 22
Week 3: Jan 22 – Jan 29
Week 4: Jan 29 – Feb 5
Week 5: Feb 5 – Feb 12
Week 6: Feb 12 – Feb 19
Week 7: Feb 19 – Feb 26
Week 8: Feb 26 – Mar 5
Week 9: Mar 5 – Mar 12
Week 10: Mar 12 – Mar 18
Week 11: Mar 18 – Mar 25
Week 12: Mar 25 – Apr 1
Week 13: Apr 1 – Apr 8
Week 14: Apr 8 – Apr 15
Week 15: Apr 15 – Apr 22
Week 16: Apr 22 – Apr 26

Weekly Detailed Schedule:

Module 1

Week 1 – Formulating Research Objectives

Learning Objectives:

Formulate research objectives
Critique research objectives

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

Lecture – Formulating Research Questions
Lecture – Providing Constructive Critiques
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Measurable Verbs

Assignments

Discussion: Draft Research Objectives

Module 2

Week 2 – Justifying Your Research Study

Learning Objectives:

Describe principles of a Cochrane review
Identify steps of a comprehensive literature review
Revise research objectives
Identify key elements of an introduction
Justify research objectives

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

Lecture – Justifying your Research Objectives (Writing your Introduction)
Lecture – Conducting a Comprehensive Literature Review
Overview of Cochrane Reviews

Assignments

Discussion: Introduction Outline
Written Assignment: Revised Research Objectives

Week 3 – Synthesizing A Literature Review

Learning Objectives:

Conduct a comprehensive literature review

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

None

Assignments

Written Assignment – Literature Review

Module 3

Week 4 – Identifying the Target Audience and Co-Authors

Learning Objectives:

Identify target audience for a research study
Evaluate authorship on a research study publication

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

Lecture – Peer Review Publication Process
ICMJE authorship guidelines

Assignments

Discussion: Target Audience and Two Example Journals

Module 4

Week 5 – Formulating Research Methodology

Learning Objectives:

Formulate research study methodology
Use appropriate epidemiological terminology to describe research study methods
Compose the methods section of a research study publication

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

Lecture – Formulating Research Methodology and Writing the Methods Section of a Research Publication

Assignments

Peer Exchange 1: Draft Methods

Week 6 – Preparing an Institutional Review Board Application and Writing an Analytic Plan

Learning Objectives:

Critique a research study methodology
Formulate research analytic plan
Prepare an Institutional Review Board application

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

Lecture – IRB Part I
Lecture – IRB Part II
Lecture – Formulating an analytic plan
University of New England Institutional Review Board
Khan Academy: Probability and Statistics (not required, for your reference)

Assignments

Discussion: Draft Analytic Plan
Peer Exchange 1: Draft Methods (continued)

Week 7 – Finalizing your Methods and Beginning Your Analyses

Learning Objectives:

Revise research study methods
Revise research analytic plan
Prepare primary or secondary dataset for analysis
Analyze qualitative or quantitative data
Submit IRB application for review

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

None

Assignments

Written Assignment: IRB Application
Discussion: Analysis Challenges

Module 5

Week 8 – Writing the Results of your Research Publication

Learning Objectives:

Construct informative tables and figures

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

Lecture – Writing the Results Section of Your Research Publication
The Beauty of Data Visualizations

Assignments

Discussion: Analysis Challenges part II
Discussion: Tables and Figures

Week 9 – Writing Week

Learning Objectives:

Compose research study results

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

None

Assignments

Peer Exchange 2: Tables and Figures

Week 10 – Critiquing and Writing Week

Learning Objectives:

Critique research study results

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

None

Assignments

Peer Exchange 2: Tables and Figures

Week 11 – Revising your Results and Creating Cohesion

Learning Objectives:

Revise research study results

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

Effective Transitions
The Science of Scientific Writing (Optional)

Assignments

Written Assignment: Revised Results

Module 6

Week 12 – Writing Week

Learning Objectives:

Compose research study introduction
Integrate research study publication sections

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

None

Assignments

Peer Exchange 3: Introduction, Methods and Results

Week 13 – Providing Critical Feedback on a Research Publication

Learning Objectives:

Critique research manuscript

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

None

Assignments

Peer Exchange 3: Introduction, Methods and Results

Module 7

Week 14 – Interpreting your Results and Identifying Limitations

Learning Objectives:

Summarize research study findings
Interpret results of qualitative or quantitative data analysis
Describe limitations of a research study methodology

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

Lecture – Summarizing and Interpreting Research Findings and Identifying Study Limitations
Organizing Your Social Science Research Paper: 8. The Discussion

Assignments

Written Assignment – Introduction, Methods, and Results

Week 15 – Writing Week

Learning Objectives:

None

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

None

Assignments

Written Assignment: Draft Discussion

Week 16 – Reflection

Learning Objectives:

None

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

None

Assignments

Written Assignment: Reflection

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 Blackboard/Brightspace.
Public Health Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/public-health/
Library Tutorial: Find an article
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.

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:

Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
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.

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

Academic Integrity

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

Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
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.