Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Grading
Problem sets (50%)
There will be a series exercises in data collection and analysis. Some will involve managing and
analyzing data from an existing community study conducted on water, sanitation, and hygiene
in Nairobi, Kenya. Others will involve collecting, managing, and analyzing data that we collect
in the Korbel community. Both will contain a considerable writing and synthesis component.
Project proposal or paper (40%)
There are two options for the final assignment: a proposal for primary data collection in a
community setting or a completed analysis of data collected in a community setting. The first
option is strongly encouraged. The second is only available with prior instructor approval.
There will be multiple graded deliverables along the way, as shown in the assignment grid.
Group work is encouraged but not required. All group projects should be approved by me and
subject to careful agreement among students and with the instructor on the requirements.
Research support
This is an advanced course and I expect all students to take personal responsibility for
completing the problem sets and proposal assignment. There are numerous research support
resources within the university and online.
The University Research Center at the Anderson Academic Commons offers expert guidance
through the research process: from refining a topic, to finding and evaluating relevant sources,
to creating a bibliography. http://library.du.edu/site/users/students/researchCenter.php
The University Writing Center supports and promotes effective student writing across the
University of Denver campus, including class assignments, personal writing, professional
writing, and multimedia projects. http://www.du.edu/writing/wrc.htm
We will discuss Stata and Excel tutorials in class and, if necessary, schedule group data work
sessions before or after class.
Course Materials
Required Textbook:
Remler, Dahlia K. and Gregg G. Van Ryzin. 2015. Research Methods in Practice: Strategies for
Description and Causation. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publication. Available from the
bookstore. You can also buy it online here and read chapter 1 for free until your book arrives.
Software:
We will conduct quantitative analysis in Stata (www.stata.org). You may complete your
assignments in the Korbel computer lab or order a copy for electronic download at
http://www.stata.com/order/new/edu/gradplans/campus-gradplan/
Among the more popular purchase options are
Small Stata Software six-month license
Small Stata Software one-year license
Intercooled Stata (Stata/IC) perpetual license
$35.00
$49.00
$189.00
All come with PDF documentation. Your course problem sets will only require Small Stata,
which allows up to 1,200 observations and 99 variables. Some of you may want Stata/IC for
your projects or for future use. Personally, Id say buy the Stata/IC perpetual license if you will
use it again or just save your money and use the lab For excruciating details, visit
http://www.stata.com/products/which-stata-is-right-for-me/
Troeger, Christopher,Thanh Pham, Peter Van Arsdale. 2013. Community-level Perceptions and
Outcomes of Water Source Development Projects in Timor-Leste. Draft manuscript.
IASC Nutrition Cluster. 2007. Initial Rapid Assessment (IRA) Tool. You could begin to
familiarize yourself with the types of questions include in RAP surveys.
Aanensen, David M. , Derek M. Huntley, Edward J. Feil, Fadaa al-Own, Brian G. Spratt. 2009.
EpiCollect: Linking Smartphones to Web Applications for Epidemiology, Ecology and
Community Data Collection. PLoS One 4(9): e6968.
Gruen, Russell L, Julian H Elliott, Monica L Nolan, Paul D Lawton, Anne Parkhill, Cameron J
McLaren, John N Lavis. 2008. Sustainability science: an integrated approach for healthprogramme planning. Lancet 372: 1579-1589.
Silvertown, Jonathan, Christina D. Buesching, Susan K. Jacobson, Tony Rebelo. 2013. Citizen
science and nature conservation. In D.W. Macdonald, K.J. Willis, editors. Key topics in
conservation biology, Vol. 2. Oxford: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 124-142.
Korbel study
Secondary data
April 14
April 21
March 24
March 31
Complete DU Human
Subjects training:
Upload certification
April 7
Friday
April 24
Overview of
community / methods
May 5
Analysis of existing
community survey data
May 12
Review of secondary
data
May 19
May 26
Video presentations
BLONG!!
June 1
Final proposal