Data analysis exercise
Order Description
PUBH-8225-1, Week #8, Data analysis exercise
Select two of the case studies. For each case study, make a list of the univariate, bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques that they used to analyze their
data. Did they provide sufficient detail for you to identify the ways in which they handled clustering? Did they perform matching or stratification? Did they use a
repeated cross-sectional design, a cohort design or both? How did the design considerations impact upon the analysis? You may need to “read between the lines” to
figure out what they did; if so, please explain how you did that. This should be no longer than one page (half-page per study).
Source:
Murray, D. M. (1998). Design and analysis of group-randomized trials. New York: Oxford.
Note: Case studies are in Chapter 10.
Data analysis exercise:
Walden University
COMPLETE ONLINE SYLLABUS
PUBH 8225: Design and Analysis of Community Trials
Course Support and Calendar Information:
So you have all key information available to you off-line, it is highly recommended that you print the following items for your reference:
• This Syllabus
• Term Calendar
• Instructor and Student Support Info
Credit Hours:
Walden University assigns credit hours based on the number and type of assignments that enable students to achieve the course learning objectives. In general, each
semester credit equals about 42 hours of total student work and each quarter credit equals about 28 hours of total student work. This time requirement represents an
approximate average for undergraduate work and the minimum expectations for graduate work. The number and kind of activities estimated to fulfill time requirements
will vary by degree level and student learning style, and by student familiarity with the delivery method and course content.
Description of Course:
In this course, students investigate randomized, controlled trials of health promotion and education programs as well as disease-prevention interventions, using
communities as the units of analysis. Students engage in an in-depth exploration of techniques for randomization, multicenter coordination, data management, team
building, statistical analysis, models for community assessment, publication, and ethics. Through case studies, students assess the univariate, bivariate, and
multivariate statistical techniques used in the studies to analyze data. Students also gain practical experience developing a grant proposal for a research project
focused on contemporary public health education/promotion. (Prerequisite(s): Foundational and core curricula.)
Course Prerequisites:
Foundation and core courses, including Introductory Epidemiology, Introductory Biostatistics as well as the Foundation Research Sequence.
Learning Objectives Stated in Terms of Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to:
A) Identify the types of public health research questions for which the appropriate study design is the community intervention trial.
B) Describe the methodological considerations in the use of the community intervention trial design.
C) Discuss common issues involved in the implementation of community intervention research.
D) Formulate a plan for the statistical analysis of community intervention study data.
E) Explain the ethical dilemmas and concerns inherent in community intervention research efforts.
F) Critically evaluate published reports describing studies, which have used the community intervention trial design.
G) Demonstrate skills in grantsmanship by generating a fundable research proposal based on community trials methodology.
Required Text(s) and Other Materials to be Furnished by the Student:
1-Murray, D. M. (1998). Design and analysis of group-randomized trials. New York: Oxford University Press.
2-Blumenthal, D.S., DiClemente R.J. (2013). Community-Based Participatory Health Research (2nd ed.). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
3-Required articles. There is a list provided within the Course Information section. Please note that some of these articles are available full-text from the Walden
library. All others have been included in the required course reading packet available from the Walden Online Bookstore.
4-Week 1 includes additional references to Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Examples of Community Intervention Trials. Please do avail yourselves of these additional
resources, which will help greatly as you complete the assignments.
The Course Geography/Organization:
This classroom is organized as follows: The Course Syllabus is located in the Course Information area. Weekly materials, including study notes and assignment details,
are found in the Course Documents area. The Discussion Board contains a forum for each week of the term. Post your assignments and make comments in the weekly forum in
which they are due. The Discussion Board also contains a “Class Café” forum for posting your student introductions and optional “social conversations.” The Class Cafe
is for students only and will not be monitored by the instructor.
Course Assignments:
1. An annotated bibliography comprising technical reports, published research articles, books, and book chapters devoted to design issues, methodologies, and results
of community intervention trials. The students’ bibliographies will be shared with their peers.
2. A data analysis exercise due in Week 8 of the term. In this assignment, students will review and comment on the data analysis sections of two of the course case
studies.
3. An NIH-formatted grant proposal for a research project, which utilizes the community intervention trial as the primary study design. Students will be free to select
their own research questions, provided they are of contemporary public health education/promotion importance and have received advance approval of the course
instructor. Full details about the assignment are included in the Course Document for Week 12. Please review those details right away so that you can be aware of what
the final product should be. The final proposal will be due in the last week of the course, but will be developed in an iterative manner over the course of the term.
Students will periodically submit portions of the proposal for review and feedback by their peers and/or the instructor. Although points will be given for timely and
substantive submissions throughout the term (see #3 below), proposal sections will not be graded individually. Rather, the instructor will be monitoring the Discussion
Forum postings and will provide additional feedback and clarification (either privately through e-mail or publicly on the Forum) as necessary. Students are then
expected to use peer and instructor feedback to improve the document before it is submitted in its entirety for grading at the end of the term.
4. Frequency and quality of participation in the assigned online discussions. For most sessions, students will be asked to make a minimum of two postings per week in
response to instructor-assigned discussion questions. Instructions for each posting will be given in the relevant module. For maximum credit, students’ postings will
be expected to demonstrate the following: (1) completion of the module’s assigned readings and (2) reflection and thought given the material presented in that and
previous modules. Many of the required postings will be proposal sections and again, even though they are not being graded for content, per se, the instructor will be
assigning points for timely, substantive postings (i.e. postings that meet the deadline and that show evidence of completion and understanding of the content of that
and previous modules.
5. Quality of the feedback provided to their peers’ proposal submissions and other discussion postings as required. In their responses, students are asked to provide
timely, constructive and sensitive feedback, including the suggestion of alternative approaches, identifying strengths and limitations to their peers’ ideas,
identifying additional literature or other resources, etc. Please note that in order for all students to benefit from this process, each student should provide
feedback to a peer who has not yet received any other responses to his/her posting for that module. In this way, all students will have input from at least one peer.
Grading Criteria and Total Components of a Grade:
Course grades will be based on participation and completion of assignments listed below.
Task Grade%
Discussion Board postings (Weeks 1 to 12) including responses to instructor questions and the postings of classmates 60%
Bibliography (Week 4) 5%
Data analysis (Week 8) 10 %
Research Proposal (Week 12) 25%
Total 100%
Grading Scale:
Letter Grades will be assigned as follows:
90%-100% = A
80%-89% = B
70%-79% = C
< 70% = F
Grades of NC and W are by administrative assignment only. Please see Student Catalog for details about those grade assignments.
Please see below for policy on Incomplete (I) grades.
Grading Rubrics:
Grading rubrics are found in the Course Info area of the course.
Incomplete Grade Policy:
Per university policy, Incomplete grades can be granted only to students who have already met the minimum criteria for active weekly participation in a course
(including weekly postings in online courses) and have completed at least 80% of other coursework. Incompletes can be awarded where, due to extenuating circumstances,
a student has not met additional course requirements, including but not limited to written assignments, group projects, and research papers, as applicable. All
incomplete grades are awarded at the discretion of the course faculty. (Reproduced from Student Catalog).
Students who are eligible for an Incomplete must contact the course faculty to request the grade as soon as possible. Students who do not meet the criteria listed
above will not be allowed to earn an Incomplete. If the Incomplete is approved, the faculty member will work with the student to outline the due date(s) for remaining
work. Under no circumstances will the new due dates extend beyond 50 days from the last day of the term. Faculty will then have 10 days to assess the work and post the
permanent grade before the university-allotted Incomplete time limit of 60 days expires. All Incomplete grades not resolved within the time allotted will convert to
permanent grades of F.
Feedback Schedule:
Email is checked on a weekly basis (Monday-Friday) and the discussion board will be reviewed at least three times per week (on weekdays). Even though all postings will
be read, a response will not be provided for each posting for every student. That would make the threads unnecessarily cumbersome and could potentially include
significant redundancy.
Grades will be posted weekly in the My Grades area. Feedback on postings and/or assignments will be posted, as needed, in either the discussion board or via email.
Course Procedures:
PUBH 8225 takes place within a “classroom” on Walden University’s learning system. Within your course, you will find all necessary course information, including course
documents, communications, student tools, and others. Often you may find active hyperlinks to other learning activities.
You can accomplish the objectives set for this course by:
• Reading the study notes and referenced materials in the course document on a weekly basis.
• Interacting with your colleagues and the instructors for this course using the Discussion Board.
• Completing the assignments as scheduled each week. It is expected that students will complete each assignment by the specified due date.
• Adhering to all course assignment deadlines.
Preferred Methods for Delivering Assignments:
As you proceed through each required weekly session, you may encounter technical problems or not completely understand what is expected of you. You should always feel
free to contact your instructor or the Course Concierge, as appropriate. The instructor will answer your questions or when needed, refer you to another individual more
capable of responding to your question. It is recommended that you post your question online, in the appropriate Discussion Board forum. This allows others to see your
question, as well as the response. If needed, a private email message may be sent to the instructor.
Please use MS Word for submitting assignment attachments if you have it, otherwise Rich Text Format should be used.
Late Assignment Policy:
Students are expected to submit assignments by the due dates noted in the course. In extenuating circumstances, such as illness, the student must contact the
instructor as soon as possible to discuss the situation. In those circumstances, faculty will determine the appropriate course of action for the student. Depending on
the situation, these actions may include recommendations to drop the course (if within the university drop/withdrawal period), acceptance of some or all of the overdue
assignments with or without penalties, or failure to accept assignments.
Assignments submitted late without prior agreement of the instructor, outside of an emergency absence, or in violation of agreements for late submission, will receive
a grade reduction for the assignment, amounting to 20% point loss per day. After 5 days, the assignment will not be graded. Students should be aware that late
assignments may not receive the same level of written feedback as do assignments submitted on time. Late postings impact the quality and quantity of class discussions
and often forfeit the opportunity for valuable peer feedback. Please remember that your timely participation is necessary and vital to your understanding of the course
material and makes the course run much more smoothly.
Classroom Participation
In accordance with US Department of Education guidance regarding class participation, Walden University requires that all students submit their required Week 1
assignments within each course(s) during the first 7 calendar days of class. The first calendar day of class is the official start date of the course as posted on your
myWalden academic page.
Assignments submitted prior to the official start date will not count toward your participation.
Financial Aid cannot be released without class participation as defined above.
Students who have already taken, and successfully completed, at least one or more class(es) with Walden will be dropped ONLY from any class(es) in which they are not
participating if they do not complete their assignments by the end of the 7th day.
Students who are taking their first class with Walden, and do not complete their assignments by the end of the 7th day, will be administratively withdrawn from the
university.
If you have any questions about your assignments, or you are unable to complete your assignments, please contact your faculty member.
Weekly Course Schedule
All assignments are due by 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time (MT) on the day assigned (which is 1:59 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) the next day). The time stamp in the classroom will
reflect Eastern Time (ET), regardless of your time zone. As long as your submission time stamp is not later than 1:59 a.m. Eastern Time (ET), you have submitted on
time.
Week 1 Introduction to community intervention trial research
Reading Murray chapter 1
Blumenthal et. al. chapter 1
Threaded
Discussion Self-introduction posting to the Class Café due Day 2.
Discussion for this week: Please provide synopsis of a community intervention trial that is not part of your course reading list. Full details about the requirements
for the article are provided in the Week 1 Assignments section. Discussion posting due Day 6. Please post to the Discussion Board forum. Name your posting with a
descriptive title.
Other
Assignment: Proposal research question due by Day 5.
Week 2 Planning the research project
Reading Murray chapter 2
Blumenthal et. al. chapter 4
Threaded Discussion Proposal section should be posted to the Discussion Board by Day 4.
Comment on at least one colleague’s posting by Day 6, selecting, if applicable, postings that have not yet received feedback. Challenge others’ logic, assumptions,
clarity, etc. as appropriate.
Week 3 Community participation in research
Reading Israel at al (1998)
Blumenthal et. al. chapter 8 and 12
Threaded Discussion Proposal section should be posted to the Discussion Board by Day 4.
Comment on at least one colleague’s posting by Day 6, selecting, if applicable, postings that have not yet received feedback. Challenge others’ logic, assumptions,
clarity, etc. as appropriate.
Week 4 Conceptual frameworks
Reading Perry et al (2000)
Threaded Discussion Proposal section should be posted to the Discussion Board by Day 4.
Comment on at least one colleague’s posting by Day 6, selecting, if applicable, postings that have not yet received feedback. Challenge others’ logic, assumptions,
clarity, etc. as appropriate.
Other Assignment Annotated bibliography due by Day 3
Week 5 Design of community intervention studies
Readings Murray chapters 3 and 10
Blumenthal et. al. chapter 8
Carleton et al (1987)
Assaf et al (1987)
COMMIT Research Group (1991)
Perry et al (1997)
Williams et al (1999)
Threaded Discussion Proposal section should be posted to the Discussion Board by Day 4.
Comment on at least one colleague’s posting by Day 6, selecting, if applicable, postings that have not yet received feedback. Challenge others’ logic, assumptions,
clarity, etc. as appropriate.
Week 6 Sampling strategies
Reading Murray chapter 9
Threaded Discussion Proposal section should be posted to the Discussion Board by Day 4.
Comment on at least one colleague’s posting by Day 6, selecting, if applicable, postings that have not yet received feedback. Challenge others’ logic, assumptions,
clarity, etc. as appropriate.
Week 7 Practical aspects of community intervention studies
Readings Carleton et al (1995)
Eaton et al (1999)
Dwyer et al (2000)
Perry et al (2002)
COMMIT Research Group (1995)
Earp, Eng, et al (2002)
Threaded Discussion Proposal section should be posted to the Discussion Board by Day 4.
Comment on at least one colleague’s posting by Day 6, selecting, if applicable, postings that have not yet received feedback. Challenge others’ logic, assumptions,
clarity, etc. as appropriate.
Week 8 Data analysis I
Readings Murray chapter 4
Begin reading Murray chapters 5-8
Threaded Discussion Proposal section should be posted to the Discussion Board by Day 4.
Comment on at least one colleague’s posting by Day 6, selecting, if applicable, postings that have not yet received feedback. Challenge others’ logic, assumptions,
clarity, etc. as appropriate.
Other Assignment Data analysis exercise due by Day 3.
Week 9 Data analysis II
Readings Finish reading Murray chapters 5-8
Blumenthal et. al. chapter 6
Threaded Discussion Proposal section should be posted to the Discussion Board by Day 4.
Comment on at least one colleague’s posting by Day 6, selecting, if applicable, postings that have not yet received feedback. Challenge others’ logic, assumptions,
clarity, etc. as appropriate.
Week 10 Data interpretation and dissemination
Readings Elbourne et al (2001)
Kaluzny et al (1993)
Fortmann et al (1995)
Blumenthal et. al. chapter 2
Threaded Discussion Proposal section should be posted to the Discussion Board by Day 4.
Comment on at least one colleague’s posting by Day 6, selecting, if applicable, postings that have not yet received feedback. Challenge others’ logic, assumptions,
clarity, etc. as appropriate.
Week 11 Ethical concerns with community intervention trial research
Reading Hutton et al (2001)
Blumenthal et. al. chapter 3
Threaded Discussion Proposal section should be posted to the Discussion Board by Day 4.
Comment on at least one colleague’s posting by Day 6, selecting, if applicable, postings that have not yet received feedback. Challenge others’ logic, assumptions,
clarity, etc. as appropriate.
Week 12 Critical evaluation of published community intervention studies
Readings Shah et al (2001) and associated editorials
Threaded Discussion Appraisal of the Shah study due to the Discussion Board by Day 4.
Comment on at least one colleague’s posting by Day 6, selecting, if applicable, postings that have not yet received feedback. Challenge others’ logic, assumptions,
clarity, etc. as appropriate.
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT 🙂