Syllabus

Master of Science in Health Informatics

HIN 740—Emerging Opportunities in Health Informatics — Fall A and B 2017

Credits - 3

Description

Emerging Opportunities in Health Informatics (pre-req: 605).  This course begins the two-course capstone experience in Health Informatics by examining emerging trends, technologies, and opportunities facing the field. Examining cutting-edge developments in the science and practice of informatics will provide students with a broader understanding of where health informatics may be heading, as well as the challenges facing the field. As part of this course, students will complete a forecasting report detailing the state-of-the-art and extrapolating to new areas in which informatics may provide valuable strategic insight to healthcare organizations.

Important: This course will run every other week for 16 weeks; specifically, it will run on the odd weeks (week 1, 3, 5, etc.). HIN 745, the other course during this time period, will run on the even weeks.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Course Outcomes:

Upon the successful completion of HIN 740, students will be able to:

• Find and evaluate peer-reviewed research articles.
• Distinguish the difference between concerns in research and concerns in practice.
• Develop a research paper that integrates practical experience with literature review findings.

Learning Outcomes:

Week 1: Introduction to Literature Reviews

• Construct a research question specific to a problem in health informatics related to your practicum experience.
• Define search terms and select databases.
• Conduct a preliminary literature search to support your research question.

Week 3: Navigating the Research Paper

• Navigate research paper content
• Practice how to read and evaluate a journal article

Week 5: Refining the Literature Search

• Refine literature search terms
• Create an annotated bibliography

Week 7: Start Writing

• Establish the context for the research question
• Develop an Introduction, Background and Significance sections of a research paper

Week 9: Writing the Methods

• Analyze results of peer-reviewed literature search
• Explain search strategy, rationale, and high level differences among selected articles

Week 11: Writing the Body/Results

• Synthesize findings across articles used to address the research question
• Develop the body/results section of a literature review

Week 13: Writing the Discussion and Conclusion

• Synthesize research and experience
• Develop conclusions from a literature review for a research question

Week 15: Putting it all Together

• Appraise the gap between research and practice
• Revise separate draft paper sections into a whole, polished finished product

 

Assignments

The final project for this course is a research paper addressing a specific problem in health informatics related to your practicum experience. You will write a 10-15 page paper using APA Style formatting and citations. Throughout this course, you will complete and submit parts of your research and paper for grading and feedback before the final version which is due in week 15. The assignments you will submit each week include:

Research Question, Preliminary Search Terms and Count of Returned Citations– Articulate a research question specific to a problem in health informatics and related to your practicum experience. Specify your search terms, select bibliographic databases, and conduct your preliminary search of peer-reviewed literature.  Due in week 1.

Refined Search Terms – Refine your search terms and databases to collect more targeted peer-reviewed literature and provide an opportunity to revise your research question, if needed. Due in week 5.

Annotated Bibliography – Analyze the relevance of peer-reviewed journal articles to your research question. Choose five articles you plan to include in your research paper and write a paragraph about each article. Due in week 5.

Introduction, Background and Significance Section Draft – Write the first section of your final paper in which you introduce your topic, research question, and explain why this is important for health informatics. Due in week 7.

Methods Section Draft – Write a description of your search strategy, rationale, and a meta-analysis of the journal articles selected for inclusion in the literature review paper. Due in week 9.

Body/Results Section Draft – Synthesize the findings from your literature review and write about the patterns or themes in relation to your research question. Due in week 11.

Discussion and Conclusion Section Draft – Summarize the main points, discuss the practicum experience within the context of your literature findings and draw conclusions about your research question and your experience. Due in week 13.

Final Research Paper – Complete your revisions from the feedback received from prior submissions and turn in the final, polished version in a 10-15 page research paper. Due in week 15.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assessment Item	Possible Points	Percent of Total Grade
Research Question, Preliminary Search Terms, and Returned Citation Count	10	10%
Refined Search Terms	5	5%
Annotated Bibliography	5	5%
Introduction, Background & Significance	10	10%
Methods Section Draft	10	10%
Body/Results Section Draft	10	10%
Discussion and Conclusion Section Draft	10	10%
Final Research Paper	40	40%
Total	100	100%

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00