Speaking Notes

PADM 5502

September 3, 2009

Dr. Neubauer

 

WHERE WE ARE:

 

 

 ABOUT THE FIRST INSTALLMENT

 

This is an “iterative-incremental” process.  Don’t try to “finish off” anything.  Every new iteration involves “beefing up” everything previously done.  Don’t write an extensive literature review yet until you (we) are reasonably sure that “you have your ducks in a row.”   (Sorry about the farm metaphors.)

 

SOMEONE ASKED FOR AN EXAMPLE OF AN “INSTALLMENT ONE”

 

Let me remember back to my dissertation.  Realize at the time hospice care was new.

My RESEARCH QUESTION was What are American’s attitudes toward hospice care; toward actually using hospice care if they became terminally ill; and toward government financing of hospice care?  What variables appear to affect these attitudes?

 

Notice that I have a COMPOUND DEPENDENT CONCEPT reflected above. 

 

1)         general attitude toward (and understanding of) hospice care

2)         "hospice acceptance predisposition"

3)         attitudes toward government financing of hospice care

 

So, what are the INDEPENDENT VARIABLES that may affect the COMPOUND DEPENDENT CONCEPT above.  (This should be informed by a good literature review.)

 

Age

Gender

Income

Race

Education

Self-perception of health condition

Happiness

Religious affiliation

Religiosity (intensity of being religious)

Family situation

Death anxiety

Locus of Control

 

So, the RESEARCH MODEL may look like this.

 

 

 

Or, the research model might be more complex, based upon what may be already known about relationships between and among INDEPENDENT VARIABLES shown above. 

 

 

 

 

A STUDY OF ATTITUDES TOWARD HOSPICE CARE

 

AND GOVERNMENT FINANCING OF HOSPICES

 

 

 

A Research Prototype Project

 

Completed as Part of Course Requirements for

 

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 5502
RESEARCH DESIGN AND DATA ANALYSIS

 

Fall of 2009

 

by _________________________

 

 

 

Course Instructor: Dr. Bruce Neubauer

 

INTRODUCTION

 

[For now, this can be several good paragraphs, plus the picture of the research model.]

 

[Identify the topic of the paper and why this topic is important.]

 

LITERATURE REVIEW

 

[For now, identify and summarize three peer-reviewed journal research articles relevant to your report.  This is only a first iteration.]

RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH MODEL

[Write your research question and include you research model.  Ask me for individual help with your research model.]

METHODOLOGY, POPULATION AND SAMPLING STRATEGY

[Write in your installment one that this section will be completed later.]

HYPOTHESES

[Write your hypotheses as taught in class.  The hypotheses should reflect your research model.]

FINDINGS

[Write in your installment one that this section will be completed later.]

DISCUSSION

[Write in your installment one that this section will be completed later.]

CONCLUSION

[Write in your installment one that this section will be completed later.]

REFERENCES

[Write in your installment one that this section will be completed later.]

APPENDIX 1: IRB FORMS
[Write in your installment one that this section will be completed later.]

APPENDIX 2: SURVEY INSTRUMENT
[Write in your installment one that this section will be completed later.]

HOW TO WRITE HYPOTHESES IN THIS COURSE

 

The pattern of a hypothesis (in this course) is almost always as follows:

 

H1: that _____________ are more likely than _____________ to _______________.

 

The first two blanks depend upon the independent variable.

 

The last blank probably reflects the entire DEPENDENT CONCEPT.

 

Using the RESEARCH MODEL above, the first hypothesis might be as follows:

 

H1: that younger people are more likely than older people to have positive attitudes toward hospice care.

 

Here are some of the additional hypotheses that are likely to result from the RESEARCH MODEL above.

 

H2: that males are more likely than females to have positive attitudes toward hospice care.

 

H3: that there is no relationship between income and attitudes toward hospice care.

 

H4: that there is no relationship between race and attitudes toward hospice care.

 

H5: that people with more years of formal education are more likely than people with fewer years of formal education to have positive attitudes toward hospice care.

 

H6: that people who are healthy are more likely than people who are not healthy to have positive attitudes toward hospice care.

 

H7: that people who are relatively happy are more likely than people who are relatively unhappy to have positive attitudes toward hospice care.

 

H8: that there is no relationship between religious affiliation and attitudes toward hospice care.

 

H9: that people who are more religious are more likely than people who are less religious to have positive attitudes toward hospice care.

 

H10: that people with family support are more likely than people without family support to have positive attitudes toward hospice care.

 

H11: that people with lower death anxiety are more likely than people with higher death anxiety to have positive attitudes toward hospice care.

 

H12: that people with an internal local of control are more likely than people with an external locus of control to have positive attitudes toward hospice care.