29 Dec Transcript of “How to Choose

Value: 10 points

Statistics can be viewed as a language used to answer clinical questions. This assignment aims to reinforce this connection by having you work through a hypothetical research plan.

Begin thinking about the practical applications of statistics in health care. Some of you will participate in a research project later in the program. Hopefully, this will help you to begin thinking formally about a potential topic.

Instructions

This assignment will be graded using the 10-Step Study Plan Grading Rubric in your syllabus.

Complete exercise #3 from the Critical Thinking Concept Review at the end of Chapter 1 of your Munro text:

“Choose a topic in which you are interested and find (or conceptualize) a dataset related to that topic. State a research problem that can be answered by that dataset and write a 10-step study plan that will allow you to analyze your data.”

For the purposes of this assignment, think of your 10-step study plan plan as an overview. Aim to complete the treatment of each step in three sentences/questions or less, and try to limit your assignment to three double-spaced pages in length. (Keep in mind that this is a hypothetical study plan. A plan for research that you actually intend to conduct will be much longer and more detailed.) Please also adhere to the following additionalguidelines for the steps indicated:

Step 2 (Theoretical Framework): Select a theory—or combination of theories—other than the two used as examples in the text (Andersen’s Model of Health Care Use and Theory of Planned Behavior). Be sure to describe your theoretical framework briefly, connect it to your research question, and indicate how you expect it to shape the results of your study.

Students have found the following YouTube video, How to Choose a Theoretical Framework for my Dissertation, helpful in furthering their understanding of this step. (Note that the steps in the video are distinct from the steps in the 10-step study plan.)

Transcript of “How to Choose a Theoretical Framework for My Dissertation” (PDF)

Step 3 (Research Questions): Include at least one descriptive and one inferential question.

Step 4 (Hypotheses): Indicate whether your hypotheses to be tested are directional or nondirectional.

Step 7 (Description of Sample): Identify the type of sampling that will be used to obtain the sample for your study.

Step 8 (Description of the Statistical Analysis): Note that you do not have to indicate which inferential test statistic you will use to test each hypothesis. This is a difficult task but one that will be much easier once you complete this course!

Submit your study plan as an MS Word document (or equivalent) to complete the assignment.