Course Syllabus

HSC 4730 - CM01 - Applied Health Research Methods

Department of Health Sciences

College of Health Professions and Sciences

3 Credit Hours


Table of Contents


Instructor Information 

  • Instructor: Keith Brazendale, PhD
  • Office Location: Health Sciences II, Room 210A
  • Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 12:00pm-2:30pm
  • Phone: 407-823-0786
  • E-mail: keith.brazendale@ucf.edu 

Course Information

  • Term: Summer 2022
  • Course Number & Section: 4730 - CM01
  • Course Name: Applied Health Research Methodology
  • Credit Hours: 3
  • Class Meeting Days: Tuesday/Thursday
  • Class Meeting Time: 10:00am - 11:50am
  • Class Location: MSB 0360
  • Course Modality: M

Enrollment Requirements 

Course Prerequisites (if applicable): Statistics and junior or senior standing

Course Description

This course offers a comprehensive overview of the methods and skills needed to design and apply health research. The course will cover a broad range of research areas including: how to draft a research proposal/form a research question, design appropriate protocols to answer the research question, identify ethical research (e.g., IRB guidelines, patient safety and rights), and present and disseminate in a professional/scientific setting. Course content focuses on the research process spectrum from the conception of a research question to the drafting of a proposal, to the presentation of said proposal at a research symposium.

HSC 4730 is designated as a Research-Intensive (RI) course. This designation will be noted on your transcripts. Your active engagement in the research and/or creative scholarship process will be the core of your learning experience in this course. A significant portion of your grade for HSC 4730 will be derived from both your active participation in the research process and the tangible course-related project(s) that comes out of said project. If you have any questions about this designation, please ask your course instructor.

PLEASE NOTE: This course requires some in-person attendance at the location above

Course Materials and Resources

Required Materials/Resources

(RECOMMENDED): Introduction to Health Research Methods: A practical guide (3rd Ed.)

To enhance your learning experience and provide affordable access to the right course material, this course is part of an inclusive access model called First Day™. You can easily access the required materials for this course at a discounted price, and benefit from single sign-on access with no codes required in UCF Webcourses.

Please watch this 3-minute instructional video on how to set-up Day First Day™

https://vimeo.com/306061595

Please note: UCF Student Accounts will bill you at the discounted price as a course charge for this course. 

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • Identify core concepts of health research methodologies
  • Critically analyze published health research
  • Articulate a human subjects health-related research question
  • Design a human subjects research study in a health-related field
  • Effectively present and discuss research concepts in a public forum

Course Activities

The following course activities represent the main assignments and activities for this class:

  1. 'Attitude Toward Research' Survey: Students will be asked to complete the ATR survey twice during the semester (beginning and end). 
  2. Article Review Task: Over the course of the semester, you will complete 3 journal article reviews. I will assign you the peer-reviewed journal article. You must answer the questions pertaining to the article on Webcourses. You will also be asked to complete three article summaries (3 sentences or less) for each peer-reviewed journal article.
  3. CITI Certification: Instructions on completing this task are posted to Webcourses after Week 1 of class. If you have already completed the certificates with another class, and they have not expired, you may upload these for this course assignment.
  4. Exams: There’ll be two exams during the semester. The exam format will be multiple choice and true/false questions. Exams will be administered online via Webcourses and will take place on the date presented in the course outline.
  5. Research Proposal: Students will form a research team and will be required to produce a written research proposal. This proposal must be health-related human subjects research and must propose primary data collection. There are specific formatting requirements for this research proposal that are explained in the ‘Proposal Writing Guide’.
  6. Research Poster: Students are required to create a research poster for your research proposal. Students can use the PowerPoint poster template, previous examples of posters, and the document ‘Tips on How to Construct a Quality Poster’ as a guide for developing your poster.

Activity Submissions

All assignments will be submitted online via Webcourses, with the exception of the Research Symposium, where invited groups will present their research poster to a panel of judges in-person at the end of the semester during final exam week.

Attendance/Participation

I encourage you to attend and engage with all course material in order to attain the best possible experience from this class. You will receive 20 points for attending 8 or more of the 10 available in-person classes. No partial attendance will be given. Attendance will be monitored using the ‘UCF Here’ app.

Reasons for acceptable absences may include illness, serious family emergencies, special curricular requirements (e.g., judging trips, field trips, professional conferences), military obligations, severe weather conditions, and religious holidays.

Make-up Exams and Assignments

Per university policy, you are allowed to submit make-up work (or an equivalent, alternate assignment) for authorized university-sponsored activities, religious observances, or legal obligations (such as jury duty). If this participation conflicts with your course assignments, I will offer a reasonable opportunity for you to complete missed assignments and/or exams. The make-up assignment and grading scale will be equivalent to the missed assignment and its grading scale. In the case of an authorized university activity, it is your responsibility to contact me ahead of time to notify me of upcoming needs.

Assessment and Grading Procedures

The table shows the weight distribution for each assignment.

Assignment

Points

Percentage of Grade

'Attitude Toward Research' Survey (pre and post)

10

2.4 %

CITI Certification

30

7.1 %

Article Reviews

60

14.3 %

Exams

100

23.8 %

Research Proposal

150

35.7 %

Research Poster

50

11.9 %

Attendance

20

4.8 %

Total

420

100%

 

The table shows the range for each letter grade and uses an A,B,C,D,F grading system.

Letter Grade

Points

A

90-100

B

80-89

C

70-79

D

60-69

F

59 or below

Consult the latest Undergraduate or Graduate catalog for regulations and procedures regarding grading such as Incomplete grades, grade changes, and grade forgiveness.

Course Schedule

Please pay particular attention to the course outline, which can be found here. It will help you navigate your way through this course and keep you up-to-date with assignments and tasks.

University Services and Resources

Academic Services and Resources

A list of available academic support and learning services is available at UCF Student Services. Click on "Academic Support and Learning Services" on the right-hand side to filter.  

Non-Academic Services and Resources

A list of non-academic support and services is also available at UCF Student Services. Click on "Support" on the right-hand side to filter.  

If you are a UCF Online student, please consult the UCF Online Student Guidelines for more information about your access to non-academic services.

Policy Statements

 

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due