Course Syllabus

Course Title: PAPA 6514 Policy Inquiry

Course Instructor: Dr. Sara Jordan

Course Days: Monday and Wednesday

Course Times: 1730-1900

Course Dates: January 18, 2017 to May 3, 2017

Course Location: TCH 203

 

Course Description:

The purpose of this course is to give future public service professionals an entry level set of quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills. Students who perform well in this course can expect to achieve the following goals:

• Design an independent research project that solves a public policy problem based on the student’s present or future career objectives
• Present a research project to others and critically evaluate other’s research project proposals
• Conduct small team based quantitative research tasks
• Identify appropriate measures of central tendency per the available data and problem selection
• Write R programs to gather, clean, and conduct quantitative data analysis
• Write R programs to create charts and graphs for presentation of quantitative data analysis
• Design a large group based qualitative research project
• Conduct necessary data gathering, cleaning, coding, and analysis for a qualitative research project
• Identify appropriate methods for analysis
• Compose programs in appropriate software languages to analyze qualitative data
• Create quality charts and graphs for presentation of qualitative data

 

Course Assessment:

Students entering a public service career should expect to work in teams, both large and small, to accomplish their agencies’ missions.  In this course, students will need to develop their teamwork skills to accomplish project objectives.  Each student will work individually, in small teams, and in large groups to achieve course work aims.

• Individual Projects (33%)-- One student
• Research Design (17 Points)
• Research Design Presentation (8 Points)
• Research Design Evaluation (8 Points)

 

• Due by February 12, 2017 by 9pm

• Must be submitted as a video powerpoint

 

• Small Group Projects (33%)-- No more than 3 students
• Quantitative Research Design (11 Points)
• Quantitative Research Project (22 Points)

 

• Due February 26, 2017 by 9pm

• Submission format to be determined on a case-by-case basis

 

• Large Group Project (34%)-- No less than 4 students
• Research Design (11 Points)
• Research Product (23 Points)

 

• Due by May 3, 2017 in class

• Submission format to be determined on a case-by-case basis

 

Course Texts:

• Stigler, S.M. (2016). Seven Pillars of Statistical Wisdom. Harvard University Press.
• Krippendorf, K. (2012). Content Analysis, 3rd Edition. SAGE Publications. Get the Kindle Version. 3rd Edition is necessary
• Worksheets and supplementary materials will be placed onto Canvas as needed.

 

Course Software:

Students will be using a variety of software programs to accomplish their research tasks for this class. While students should expect to use Microsoft Office tools (and should duly equip themselves with this before class starts), they will also be using the following software packages, available for free, throughout the course.

• R
• R studio
• Tableau Public version
• Atlas.ti (free student version)
• Yoshikoder

Note on Mac vs PC systems:

I will be using a PC version of each of these platforms. Students with Apple products should seek the appropriate software versions and documentation for their OS.

 

Course Data:

Course data will be drawn from multiple governmental sources, but I recommend that students use large federal databases for the qualitative project.

• Regulations.gov
• NIH RePORTER
• ClinicalTrials.gov
• NEMSIS

 

Note on late work:

Deadlines are a professional obligation of both academics and public service practitioners.  Deadlines will not be bent unless extraordinary circumstances arise.  Extraordinary circumstances will, due to their very nature, be accompanied by documentation.  You will be required to put forth your documentation (e.g., a hospitalization order, a physician’s note, a police report, an original and rebooked airline ticket, a verifiable excuse from your current employer) when making a request for extensions.

If you submit late work without documentation of an extraordinary circumstance, please realize that I will deduct 2% of your overall grade for each 12 hours the work is late until the score becomes a 0.

Note on academic misconduct:

In line with the requirements of VT, there is a zero tolerance policy for academic misconduct in this course.

 

The US Office of Research Integrity defines research misconduct as: “Research misconduct means fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.

(a) Fabrication is making up data or results and recording or reporting them. (b) Falsification is manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record. (c) Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit. (d) Research misconduct does not include honest error or differences of opinion.” (http://ori.hhs.gov/definition-misconduct)

 

The Virginia Tech Graduate Honor Code Statement of Fundamental Beliefs is: “To trust in a person is a positive force in making a person worthy of trust. To study, perform research and teach in an environment that is free from the inconveniences and injustices caused by any form of intellectual dishonesty is a right of every graduate student. To live by an Honor System, which places a positive emphasis on honesty as a means of protecting this right, is consistent with, and a contribution to, the University’s quest for truth” (http://ghs.graduateschool.vt.edu/).

In the event misconduct of either type is suspected, and the suspicion can be initially supported by instructor queries, allegedly offending students will be referred to the Honor Code office.

Additional Concerns and Reminders:

Students with differing abilities

All reasonable accommodations for students with differing abilities will be made throughout the semester.  If you need any accommodations due to a differing ability, please make an appointment with me to discuss this as soon as possible.

Relevant information on differing abilities services is available at: http://www.ssd.vt.edu/index.html

“English as a Second Language” (ESL) students:

I am intimately aware of the difficulty of learning in a second language and, thus, am willing to make reasonable concessions to accommodate students who do not speak English fluently.  If you have requests to accommodate your language skills, please make an appointment with me to discuss this as soon as possible.

 

Civil Discourse:

When speaking about methods of inquiry and matters of public policy, we will inevitably encounter issues of epistemology and ontology (knowing and being, respectively). We will differ on our views of appropriate evidence, sources of evidence, and perspectives on the world.  This is healthy, normal, and should be welcomed open heartedly by individuals philosophically and practically committed to a democratic political system.  With this in mind, my standard of civil discourse is best characterized by the rules for wide public reflective equilibrium as characterized by John Rawls in A Theory of Justice.

(I do, however, reserve the right to engage in emotive speech and gestures to emphasize pedagogical points).

Note on group work:
It is imperative that students learn to product high quality research products in groups.  Students working in groups will each receive the same grade as the others in the group, unless extraordinary circumstances arise. Extraordinary circumstances are limited to situations where the group members can successfully document that a group member did not contribute in a meaningful way to the final project, or to situations where the other group members can successfully document that a group member was individually responsible for research misconduct in the paper. These extraordinary circumstances must be revealed as soon as possible and must be accompanied by documentation by the other members of the group.  I am unlikely to accept plaintive , last minute, appeals based upon ordinary acts of free-riding. Choose your partners wisely.

Course Platform:

This course is available via WebEx. At the beginning of the course, the WebEx link will be made available to all students. It is the responsibility of the student to sign in at the appropriate time, equipped with all relevant software, to attend the course.

 

Course Cancellations:

Because this course is available via WebEx, I will not cancel classes for unruly weather unless Virginia Tech has also cancelled all classes. Instead a WebEx link will be set for this.  Please ensure your campus email is up-to-date and that you can check this often during the months of dreadful weather.

 

Course Outline:

Within reason, this course will proceed in the following way.

1. Week 1: January 18
1. Why Learn Qualitative and Quantitative Methods?
1. Lecture Based
2. Week 2: January 23, 25
1. How to Measure Anything
1. In-class Learning and Worksheets
2. Essential Research Designs for Program Evaluation-1
1. In-class Learning and Worksheets
3. Week 3: January 30, February 1
1. Essential Research Designs for Program Evaluation-2
1. In-class Learning and Worksheets
2. Introducing Quantitative Reasoning- 1
1. Stigler’s 7 Pillars (read the whole book before we get to this point)
4. Week 4: February 6, 9
1. Quantitative Reasoning: Inferential, 1
1. Stigler’s 7 Pillars
2. Quantitative Reasoning: Inferential, 2
1. Stigler’s 7 Pillars
5. Week 5: February 13, 15
1. Quantitative Reasoning: Inferential, 3
1. Stigler’s 7 Pillars
2. Quantitative Reasoning: Bayesian, 1
1. In-class Learning and Worksheets
6. Week 6: February 20, 22
1. Quantitative Reasoning: Bayesian, 2
1. In-class Learning and Worksheets
2. Reviewing Quantitative Reasoning
1. No prior assignments
7. Week 7: February 27, March 1
1. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 1
1. Krippendorf Intro and Part 1
2. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 2
1. Krippendorf Part 1
8. Week 8: Spring Break
9. Week 9: March 13, 15
1. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 3
1. Krippendorf Part 2
2. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 4
1. Krippendorf Part 2
10. Week 10: March 20, 22
1. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 5
1. Krippendorf Part 2
2. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 6
1. Krippendorf Part 2
11. Week 11: March 27, 29
1. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 7
1. Krippendorf Part 2
2. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 8
1. Krippendorf Part 2
12. Week 12: April 3, 5
1. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 9
1. Krippendorf Part 2
2. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 10
1. Krippendorf Part 2
13. Week 13: April 10, 12
1. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 11
1. Krippendorf Part 2
2. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 12
1. Krippendorf Part 3
14. Week 14: April 17, 19
1. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 13
1. Krippendorf Part 3
2. Qualitative Reasoning: Content Analysis, 14
1. Krippendorf Part 3
15. Week 15: April 24, 26
1. Pulling it all together & Project Consultation
1. Schedule group sessions with Dr. Jordan
2. Pulling it all together & Project Consultation
1. Schedule group sessions with Dr. Jordan
16. Week 16: May 1, 3
1. Presentations