You are on page 1of 7

SEMINAR IN COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH

INTS 4576 - SPRING 2015


CLASS SESSION
CANVAS
INSTRUCTOR
OFFICE HOURS

TUESDAY 9-12, 122 Katherine A. Ruffatto Hall


https://du.instructure.com/courses/12447
RANDALL KUHN
rkuhn@du.edu / 303.871.2061 / BCH 208
TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY 12-3

Objectives and Overview


This course will offer a weekly seminar in methods for community-based research in fields such
as development, health, population, human rights, and humanitarian assistance. The course is
intended for students with imminent plans to conduct primary research or meaningful analysis
of secondary data at the community scale. While we will place considerable emphasis on
formulating research questions, the overriding focus will be on practical aspects of data
collection, including site selection, ethics, rapid assessment, sampling, questionnaire design,
household and community surveys, and secondary data acquisition.
To reinforce these skills, assignments will proceed on three parallel tracks:
1) Analysis of existing community survey data in problem sets
2) Design, collection and analysis of primary data on the Korbel community
3) Development of a proposal for future data collection in a community setting
While prior experience with statistics is not an absolute requirement, students will be expected
to use basic data analysis techniques (charts, cross-tabulations, tests of difference) in Stata.

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.

Class participation and resource sharing (10%)


This course is intended as a highly interactive, collaborative endeavor. You will thus be graded
on your participation through asking questions, through raising critical questions about the
approach, through assisting your colleagues with assignments, and through sharing new
resources on secondary data acquisition or primary data collection with your colleagues.

Honor code, Plagiarism, and Academic Misconduct


While I strongly encourage collaborative learning and teamwork in managing and analyzing
data, all written analysis in problem sets must be written solely by the individual student. If any
problem sets share significant similarities in written text, all individuals with similar text will be
investigated for cheating. All students determined to be in violation of the University Honor
Code will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct for disciplinary action.
Plagiarism is the use of anothers words without crediting the source. Plagiarism will not be
tolerated in any assignment and will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. For further
information, please see the Office of Student Conducts website at
http://www.du.edu/honorcode. If you have questions about your own writing, contact me.

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/

March 24: Introduction and asking questions


What is community-based research? What is community? Advantages and disadvantages of
community-based research under optimal and less-than-optimal conditions. Ethical
considerations. Discussing proposal topics.
Remler, Chapter 1
Tindana, Paulina O., Jerome A. Singh, C. Shawn Tracy, Ross E. G. Upshur, Abdallah S. Daar,
Peter A. Singer, Janet Frohlich, and James V. Lavery. 2007. Grand Challenges in Global Health:
Community Engagement in Research in Developing Countries. PLoS Medicine 4(9): e273.
Madhavan, Sangeetha, Mark Collinson, Nicholas W. Townsend, Kathleen Kahn, Stephen M.
Tollman. 2006. The implications of long term community involvement for the production and
circulation of population knowledge. Demographic Research 17: 369-388.

March 31: Community entry, rapid assessment, and developing concepts


Approaches to community engagement. Using the rapid assessment protocol. Developing
concepts and putting them into practice. Recognizing and questioning assumptions.
Guest Speaker: Peter van Arsdale will talk about community entry and rapid assessment
Remler, Chapters 2 and 3
Van Arsdale, Peter. 2009. Applying RAP/REA in High-Risk Environments. eCrossCulture
Corporation White Paper.

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.

April 7: Turning models into measures


Turning concepts into measures; discuss and explore Kibera data in Stata; reporting back on
Korbel data collection results; collaborate on Korbel questionnaire design in class and after
Remler, Chapter 4
Li, Ying , Jia Cao, Hui Lin, Daikun Li, et al. 2009. Community health needs assessment with
precede-proceed model: a mixed methods study. BMC Health Services Researc 9: 181-194.
Botta, Renee A., Kelly Fenson-Hood, Leah Scandurra, Rina Musaya. 2015. A Campaign to
sustain hand washing behaviors in an urban informal settlement in Kenya.

April 14: Sampling and units of analysis


Identifying a study population. Thinking about different units/levels/scales of analysis.
Sampling methods and considerations. Practical aspects of community entry.
Guest Speaker: Zbynk Wojkowski, Hebron Rehabilitation Committee, will join us on Skype to
speak about his work carrying out a transect walk survey of every block face in Hebron Old
City on our joint pilot study on Revitalization of Hebron Old City
Remler, Chapter 5
Alexei Abrahams and Randall Kuhn. Revitalization of Hebron's Old City: Project Proposal.
Draft full project questionnaire and revised transect walks questionnaire.
Abrahams, Alexei, Randall Kuhn, and Zbynk Wojkowski. Revitalization of Hebron's Old City:
Report on first research module Transect walks.

April 21: Acquiring and using secondary/archival data


Secondary data acquisition and its uses. Cleaning, integration, and preliminary analysis of
Korbel survey data. Analysis of Kibera dataset.
Remler, Chapter 6
Bamberger, Michael. 2009. Strengthening the evaluation of programme effectiveness through
reconstructing baseline data. Journal of Development Effectiveness 1: 1, 37 59
Sanders, Eduard J; Tekebash Araya Derege Kebede, , Ab J. Schaap; Nico D Nagelkerke, Roel A
Coutinho. Mortality impact of AIDS in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. AIDS 17(8): 1209-1216.

April 28: Individual and household survey design and implementation


Guest speaker: Karen Hampanda, PhD candidate in the UC-Denver Department of Health and
Behavioral Sciences, will speak about her dissertation on Gender, Power, and Perinatal HIV
in Urban Zambia and collection of quantitative and qualitative primary data in a maternal
and child health clinic.
Remler, Chapter 7
Hampanda, Karen. 2014. Gender, Power, and Perinatal HIV in Urban Zambia. NIH F31
Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Grant Proposal. Plus survey and semistructured interview questionnaires.

May 5: Community and facility surveys


Guest speaker: Chris Jochem, PhD candidate in the UC-Boulder Department of Geography, will
speak about his work in carrying out the community/facility survey and household water
sample collection for the 2nd Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Survey in Bangladesh
Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Survey. 2012-2014. Community and Health Facility Survey.
Weir, S.S., C. Morroni, N. Coetzee, J. Spencer, J.T. Boerma. 2002. A pilot study of a rapid
assessment method to identify places for AIDS prevention in Cape Town, South Africa. Sexually
Transmitted Infections 78(Suppl I): i106i113

May 12: At risk, hard to reach and vulnerable populations


Identifying and interviewing vulnerable, at-risk and hard to reach populations. Capturerecaptured designs. Respondent-driven sampling. Ethical considerations. Conceptual
advantages and limitations.
Greve, Ashley and Oliver Kaplan. 2015. Can snowball sampling estimate human trafficking?
Beyond Trafficking and Slavery, openDemocracy.
Qomariyah, Siti Nurul, et al. 2010. An option for measuring maternal mortality in developing
countries: a survey using community informants. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 10(1): 74-81.

May 19: Entering and using data


Merging data sources at different levels; making and using a data entry template; data cleaning
and cross-checking; advanced analysis
Joshi, Pratima, Srinanda Sen,Jane Hobson. 2002. Experiences with surveying and mapping Pune
and Sangli slums on a geographical information system (GIS). Urban Studies 14(2): 225-240.

May 26: Wrap up and videos

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.

Weekly assignments (by due date)


Your research

Korbel study

Secondary data

April 14

Collect student population


data from existing sources;

Opening and describing


individual data in Stata

April 21

Draft survey questions

March 24
March 31

Complete DU Human
Subjects training:
Upload certification

April 7

Logic model (diagram


and summary text)

Friday
April 24

Overview of
community / methods

May 5

Enter student interviews


into data template

Kibera data analysis


problem set due

Analysis of existing
community survey data

May 12

Review of secondary
data

May 19

Draft survey instrument

Analysis of Korbel data

May 26

Video presentations

BLONG!!

June 1

Final proposal

You might also like