Course Overview:

An introduction to methods and techniques of research in the radiologic sciences and the application of the APA format.  Topics include basic terminology of research, qualitative and quantitative methods, basic research designs, data analysis techniques, and definition of a literature review.

 Please note that the research question you use for this course, RADS 3503, is the question that you must write your literature review on for RADS 4913, Applied Research!

Course Objectives:  Upon completion of this course, students will:

• Describe quantitative and qualitative research, as well as literature reviews;
• Critically analyze research; and
• Construct components of research in correct APA format.

The overall goal of this course is to teach you the basic methods of research that will enable you to evaluate the quality of research studies found in professional scholarly journals. In order to accomplish this goal, you must be familiar with the technical jargon of research and have some understanding of how the researcher carried out the study, analyzed the data, and arrived at the published results. You will not be required to do an actual research project, but you will be developing a reference list, evaluating published research, and learning the content associated with research methods.

Independent Reading Assignments

Students should complete the reading assignments as outlined in the Unit Notes, answer the chapter worksheets, and review the Internet resources before attempting the unit activities.  See the Course Schedule at the end of this syllabus for specific information about unit activity due dates. 

Unit Assignments

Unit 1:

·         Research and formulate a research question. Complete the Research Question Development worksheet. Post your proposed research question to the appropriate discussion board. Also, provide a valuable, constructive critique of two other submitted research questions.

·         Locate and evaluate the three identified research articles (full text) applying the principles covered in Bailey's Chapter 3 & 4 and Sections 2 & 5 of the APA manual. Complete the (U1) article critique form for each article and submit as a single Word Document to the appropriate assignment dropbox.

1.    Article One: Abbey Hyde & Maurice Murray. Nurses' experiences of distance education programmes. 2005.

2.    Article Two: Liana Watson. Leadership's influence on job satisfaction. 2009.

3.    Article Three: Wilmi Piennar & Ian Maconochie. The role of chest x-ray in the diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia in children: a systematic review. 2006.

Unit 2:

·         Develop a reference list in APA format. Post the list to the appropriate discussion board for peer review and provide a valuable, constructive response to two other submitted reference lists. Based on peer feedback (if applicable), review the reference list and submit the final version to the appropriate assignment dropbox.

·         Construct a methodology section.

Unit 3:

·         Complete the open-book quiz. The quiz may be attempted twice before the deadline and the highest grade will be recorded.

·         Prepare a written response to a provide scenario located in the discussion board. Also, provide a valuable, constructive response to two other submitted answers.

Unit 4:

·         Evaluate two articles identified on the reference list submitted in Unit 2. Complete the (U4) article critique form for each article and submit as a single Word Document to the appropriate assignment dropbox.

·         Identify a peer-reviewed journal that would be a fit for the manuscript that would result from your study. Provide a written response addressing the following: your approved research question, outline of your proposed manuscript, the journal title you would submit to, the writing style required by that journal, the submission requirements, and a brief explanation of why you think this journal would be a good fit for your study manuscript.

WebCT Open Book Unit Quizzes

When a student has reviewed a unit and is ready for the quiz, he or she will log on to WebCT and receive a customized module quiz consisting of randomized paragraph and multiple choice questions.  Quizzes must be completed by the scheduled deadlines on the Course Schedule at the end of this syllabus.  Due to the nature of the course, late quiz submissions will not be accepted. Students who do not complete unit quizzes before the deadlines listed on the Course Schedule at the end of this syllabus will receive a grade of zero for the missed quiz. Quiz grades and answers will be released after the deadline of each quiz.  Specific questions regarding the quizzes may be addressed to the instructor.

It is important to know the unit content before attempting the module quizzes because each quiz is timed.

If students have technical difficulties during a quiz, they should use the "Help" link at the top toolbar in WebCT, contact the MSU Information Systems Support Staff, and send an email to the course instructor explaining what happened.

If a student finds a faulty quiz test item or believes that a quiz question has been scored incorrectly, he or she should send an email to the course instructor that includes the following:

w  Unit Quiz Number (I –VI)

w  Question Stem

w  Answer Scored as Correct by the Computer

w  Answer the Student Thinks Should be Correct

w  Rationale Supporting Why the Student's Answer is Correct

w  Page numbers must be included when referencing the textbook in a rationale

For example, a student can not send the message "I think question number ten is wrong on quiz four" because each student gets a quiz of randomly generated test items.  The instructor has to know the question stem to find the question in the database. 

After reviewing the case, if the course instructor thinks a revision is justified, the student's quiz score will be revised to reflect the additional points and the test bank will be updated.  It may take several weeks for the student to receive a response because the instructor works on batches of questions for a particular quiz at a time.

Assignments

Any assignments submitted electronically as a Word document attachment must follow these guidelines:

• IBM compatible format (not MAC)
• Word 97 or newer version (Microsoft WORKS or WordPerfect is not acceptable)
• Times New Roman (12 point for bulk of text)
• Double spaced
• 1" margins on all sides

If a student cannot meet these requirements for electronic submission, he or she should meet individually with the faculty member to make other suitable arrangements.

All assignments must reflect baccalaureate level effort. Unless otherwise indicated, all assignments must be submitted as a single Word document attachment to the appropriate assignment dropbox. Assignments must be submitted by the due dates indicated at the end of the syllabus. Due to the nature of the course, late assignment submissions will not be accepted. Students who do not submit assignments before the deadlines listed on the Course Schedule at the end of this syllabus will receive a grade of zero for the missed assignment.

Students must use the following format as the title of assignment when saving the document.

Lastname_assignment

Example: Jones_Unit1

Grade Scale:

A = 100 - 90

B = 89 - 80

C = 79 - 70

D = 69 – 60

F = 59 and below

Any assignments submitted electronically as a Word document attachment must follow these guidelines:

• IBM compatible format (not MAC)
• Word 97 or newer version (Microsoft WORKS or WordPerfect is not acceptable)
• Times New Roman (12 point for bulk of text)
• Double spaced
• 1" margins on all sides

If a student cannot meet these requirements for electronic submission, he or she should meet individually with the faculty member to make other suitable arrangements.

All assignments must reflect baccalaureate level effort. Unless otherwise indicated, all assignments must be submitted as a single Word document attachment to the appropriate assignment dropbox.

Assignments must be submitted by the due dates indicated at the end of the syllabus. Due to the nature of the course, late assignment submissions will not be accepted. Students who do not submit assignments before the deadlines listed on the Course Schedule at the end of this syllabus will receive a grade of zero for the missed assignment.

This is an online course and there are no mandatory sessions.  However, the student should be vigilant in logging onto WebCT.  Regular checks will ensure that messages from the instructor are received in a timely manner. This course is on a schedule that will be strictly adhered to.

Honor System: RADS 3503 adheres to the MSU Code of Conduct.  In particular, academic dishonesty, however small, creates a breach in academic integrity.  A student's participation in this course comes with the expectation that his or her work will be completed in full observance of the MSU Code of Student Conduct.  A student should consult the course syllabus and current Student Handbook for answers to any questions about the code.

Academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, etc.) will not be tolerated in this class. Whenever a student is unsure of whether a particular situation will be interpreted as academic dishonesty, he/she should ask the instructor for clarification.  If students are guilty of academic dishonesty, a grade of zero (0) may be given for the quiz, assignment, etc.  Cases may also be referred to the Dean of Students for possible dismissal from the university.