padm syllabus su 1 - 2014(1)

University of New HavenSchool of Business

Department of Public ManagementSummer ONE 2014

PADM 6690 01 Cynthia Conrad, Ph.D.

Research Seminar [email protected]

ONLINE CLASS Office: Gate House 105Office Phone: 203/932-7486

Office Hours: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, (some) Thursdays 2-6pm, (subject to faculty meetings.) and by appointmentSkype: dr.cynthia.conrad

Prerequisites:

PADM 6611 required; Graduate Standing; MGMT 6630 Recommended

Required Texts:

Berman, E. and Wang, X. Essential Statistics for Public Managers and Policy Analysts, 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2011, ISBN: 0-87289-413-4

Recommended Texts:SPSS – Users Guides: there are many, so student’s choice, if needed.

A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Kate L. Turabian, Revised by John Grossman, University of Chicago Press, most recent edition.

Course Description:

This course provides an overview of research methods and statistical methods for public administrators. We focus on the use of research methods for program evaluation and performance measurement, both of which enhance the effectiveness and accountability of programs. In addition, understanding statistical analysis and being able to work with data are important competencies for public administration professionals to have.

mailto:[email protected]

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Course topics include program evaluation, sampling, data collection and measurement in public administration, descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, processes for selecting statistical tests, and assessment of statistical assumptions. Recognizing the social, political, and economic context of data collection, analysis, and reporting practices in the public sector, we also discuss the ethics of data analysis and information technology policy and management.

This course will give the student an opportunity to apply and further develop his or her research skills. We will discuss research methodology, approaches, and expectations all within the framework of quasi-experimental design. Each student will prepare a data based research project and a presentation for class. Class sessions will include formal lectures, discussion of readings, and individual tutoring in software applications.

This is an online course, in which students will see lectures in Tegrity (the lecture capture system found in Blackboard) and do all readings to be successful in the class. Requirements of the course are assignments, two online exams (midterm and final) and a research project that will all be through Blackboard. The final research project will be a data based research report, using actual data and the statistical methods learned in the class. Guidelines for the paper appear at the end of this syllabus.

Course Objectives: To understand the research process and methodology. Be able to describe relationships between and among variables in an

equation. To understand the aspects associated with planning for and completing

a research project. To be fully comfortable in using all appropriate software for personal

computers, including SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.) To be capable of using and understanding statistical output and to

draw conclusions from it.

Computer and Software Access. The hands-on, computer-based assignments are an important part of this course. Also, the requirements of the final project are that you use a data set and analyze it with SPSS, which is available on most computers on campus. However, unless you have easy access to computers on campus, with SPSS software, and are willing to go to campus to use it, it is strongly recommend that you invest in SPSS (student version) and a computer.

Please read all pages of this syllabus carefully and contact Dr. Conrad with any questions.

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CalendarWEEK OF TOPIC READINGMarch 31, 2014 Introduction; course

expectations, basics of research

Why Statistics for Public Managers and Analysts?

Assignment 1

Berman, Chapter 1

April 8, 2014 Section II Research DesignAssignment 2

Berman, Chapter 2

April 15, 2014 Conceptualization and Measurement Measuring

PerformanceAssignment 3

Berman, Chapters 3,4

April 22, 2014 Data Collection Questionnaire

Construction and Secondary Data

Accessing and Using Data in SPSS

Assignment 4

Berman, Chapter 5

April 29, 2014 Section III: Descriptive Statistics

Central Tendency Measures of

DispersionAssignment 5 - Frequencies and Split Files in SPSS

Berman, Chapters 6,7,

May 6, 2014 Contingency Tables

Getting ResultsOnline Midterm, covering chapters 1-9, goes live at 12:00am on Tuesday May 6, 2014. Due 11:55pm on Tuesday May 13, 2014.ALL OUTLINES FOR PROJECTS MUST BE TURNED IN BY May 13, 2014.


May 13, 2014 Section IVHypothesis Testing with Chi Square

Control, Elaboration, and Multivariate Analysis

Berman, Chapter 10


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Assignment 6: Crosstabs with controls in SPSS

May 20, 2014 Measures of AssociationAssignment 7: Alternatives to Chi Square lambda analysis and other measures of strength of association with chi square.

Berman, Chapter 11

May 20, 2014The T-TestAssignment 8: T-tests

Berman, Chapter 12

May 27, 2014 Correlation and Simple RegressionAssignment 9: Correlation and Partial Correlation and Regression in SPSS

Berman, Chapter 14

June 3, 2014 Multiple RegressionAssignment 10: Multiple Regression

Berman, Chapter 15

June 10, 2014 Logistic Regression, Time Series analysis


June 17, 2014 Online Final, covering chapters 10,11,12,14,15,16 and 17, goes live at 12:00am on Tuesday, June 17, 2014. Due 11:55pm on 6/30/14.

ALL PROJECTS AND ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE TURNED-IN BY 11:55PM ON 6/30/14.

Please note: any project turned in that does not follow the attached guidelines and include SPSS analysis of data, will be returned ungraded.


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Course Requirement Values Midterm 20% Final 20% Research Project 40% Assignments 20%

Attendance Policy:

Students should endeavor to keep up with weekly lectures and assignments on Blackboard.

Special Considerations:

This course will be entirely online using the Blackboard 9 system, which is an online, Internet based instructional program, which facilitates the exchange of information among students and between the instructor and students. Lectures from Dr. Conrad will be posted on Monday of each week of the trimester as indicated in the syllabus. Students are responsible for concomitant readings and assignments.

Contacting the Instructor.

The preferred way of contacting the instructor is through e-mail or during office hours. check my e-mail almost daily (except when on travel), and will respond. If you send an e-mail, I may ask you for a phone number to contact you for follow-up, if necessary

Disabilities.

Our university is highly supportive of the full participation and success of students with all types of disabilities. Any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his or her abilities should contact the university Office of Student Disabilities, as soon as possible so that this office can discuss and determine appropriate accommodations necessary to ensure full participation and facilitate student educational opportunities.

Term Paper ProposalPlease read all pages of this syllabus carefully and contact Dr. Conrad with any questions.

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Due May 13, 2014.The term paper proposal is a two-page description of your proposal, which identifies the following: the research question you intend to pursue, the aspects to be identified, and discussion of the importance and centrality of these questions. In addition, include your (tentative) conceptualization measures (see below). This is not a project you can leave to the last minute. You should be working on it for the majority of the trimester. Once you have determined your research question, the next step, which is critical, is to either find or collect data you may manipulate to determine the answers to your research questions. Papers that do not use a data set as the center piece of the analysis, will be returned to the student ungraded.

Guidelines for PADM 6690 Research Project

Cynthia Conrad, Ph.D.

This paper must be based on YOUR ANALYSIS OF A DATA SET. You may collect the data yourself or use someone else’s empirically collected data. If you are confused about what this means or have any questions about the expectations of this research project, please contact Dr. Conrad. Also, plan on turning in an outline to Dr. Conrad, of what you intend to research and what data you plan on using. The outline is due 5/13/14. It is not optional, although you will not receive a grade for it, you will receive 10 points as if it were an assignment, and guidance on what you are planning.

Please design your project study with the following requirements in mind.

You should be asking a very specific research question which your research will endeavor to answer.

You need to develop a fully articulated outline describing your project, on which both you and I agree. It will then act as a template for your project.

You should take full advantage of research resources such as library publications, internet sources, and personal interviews, as well as the data set you choose or develop. Please do not use sources more than five (5) years old and stick to books or

journals that are either peer reviewed or technical with editorial oversight. If you interview individuals, please get a business card or letterhead from

them with a note that they met with you on a specific date. This relates to phone interviews too.

Your final paper for the project should be approximately 20 pages long, exclusive of the bibliography, exhibits or appendices. It should be fully cited (rule of thumb: when you use more than 7 words of someone else’s writing in


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the same context, you must cite it, otherwise it is plagiarism.) Please use a standard footnoting style and be consistent throughout the paper.

All papers should be typed, double-spaced, in no smaller than a 12 point font. All graphs and tables should be included in the text of the paper at the appropriate places.

Suggested Format

I. Introduction

Specify your research question and discuss how you plan to seek the answer. Be sure to say why you feel this is an important question, meriting the effort or your research and the time of the reader.


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II. Literature Review

Discuss an overview of what the literature says about your question and any specific studies that have dealt with the question at hand. Consider the merits and validity of the research you have found.

III. Methodology

Discuss your methodological approach to answering your research question. This should include a discussion of your data source or collection methods, threats to validity, and potential problems with the data that you must acknowledge. You should also specify what statistical tests you plan to use to test hypotheses you derived from your research question.

IV. Analysis and Findings

Present the results of your statistical analysis and the findings you make from the analyses. Be as specific as possible in terms of variables and controls you use in the analysis and how they relate to specific hypotheses.

V. Conclusions

Considering your findings from the literature and quantitative analysis, conclude the most valid answer to your original research question. Be sure to defend your conclusions with specific illustrations from both areas.

VI. Indications for New Research

Discuss any new questions your findings and research raise and your thoughts of how future scholars address those questions.

VII. Bibliography and Endnotes

Showing all sources of reference material, in the format you have chosen.

VIII. Appendix

Any additive material, such as survey forms or other such documents you want to add to illustrate your study.

Suggested data sources for secondary data:

Please feel free to use data from your place of work or other organization, as long as the organization agrees to your utilization of their data and your research project.

ICPSR – available data sets for download in SPSS format

CDC – ascii and PDF files

US Vital Statistics


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Recommended Free On-Line Electronic Support: Electronic Statistics Textbook:

http://www.statsoftinc.com/textbook/stathome.html HyperStat Online Textbook: http://davidmlane.com/hyperstat Statnotes: http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/pa765/statnote.htm Witte Applet Demonstrations: http://bcs.wiley.com/he-bcs/Books?

action=resource&bcsId=1503&itemId=047143017X&resourceId=1250 Engineering Statistics Handbook:

http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook


http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook%20

http://bcs.wiley.com/he-bcs/Books?action=resource&bcsId=1503&itemId=047143017X&resourceId=1250

http://bcs.wiley.com/he-bcs/Books?action=resource&bcsId=1503&itemId=047143017X&resourceId=1250

http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/pa765/statnote.htm

http://davidmlane.com/hyperstat

http://www.statsoftinc.com/textbook/stathome.html%20

padm syllabus su 1 - 2014(1)

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