DOCX 9000. Professional Doctoral Capstone/Project
Patasor
SampleProspectus.docxPhD Prospectus Form
Students | Complete your doctoral prospectus within this form. Write your responses in the white spaces using a scholarly tone and include in-text citations and APA reference entries, where appropriate. You can click on underlined terms and headings for descriptions, resource links, and examples located in the Appendix. For additional prospectus information and resources, refer to the Doctoral Research Coach. Complete the Research Design Alignment Table within this form using the information from earlier sections and self-assess your research design alignment. Submit this completed form into MyDR for formal evaluation and feedback when your committee chair indicates that you are ready to do so.
Student’s Name | Click or tap here to enter text. Student ID | Click or tap here to enter text.
Program and Specialization* | Click or tap here to enter text. Submission Date | Click arrow to select a date.
*Remember that your study focus must be within the realm of your program and specialization area.
Evaluators Only | Complete this section and provide feedback on responses and rubric scores in the form where noted.
Committee Chairperson Name: Overall Assessment: Choose score.
Second Committee Member Name: Click or tap here to enter text. Overall Assessment: Choose score.
PhD Program Director: Click or tap here to enter text. Overall Assessment: Choose score.
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Title In 12 words or less, what is the working title for this study? Include the topic, variables/concepts and relationship between them, and the most critical key words. |
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Differences in hospital accredited-designation status on inpatient outcomes. Rewrite this topic: Eg: What is the relationship between Hospital accreditation status and inpatient outcomes |
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Supporting Literature The first step in developing your prospectus is to search the literature related to the general area you want to investigate (see social problem below). In your review of recent, empirical literature, what keywords did you search and in what databases? |
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The key words were searched using Walden Online Library Database and Google Scholar to identify studies published within the Journal of: Human Services; Healthcare Management; Health Serv Res, JAMA, JAHA, Trauma, American College of Surgeons, Neurology, BMC Health Services Research, and The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. |
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Provide at least 10 brief summaries of recent, scholarly (peer-reviewed) articles that support/justify a current and relevant problem in your discipline or professional field. Source(s) supporting your framework should be included. Include the complete, APA reference entry, followed by (a) an in-text citation; (b) what was studied; (c) what was found; and (d) why this research is important in relation to your study. This evidence provides the justification for your research problem. |
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Gatollari et al (2017) conducted a 4-year retrospective study investigating the influence designated stroke centers (DSC) has on patients with Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) treated in NYS hospitals. Using the SPARCS database, 2008-2012, generalized logistics regression models were estimated while adjusting for patient and hospital characteristics. The findings illustrated that patients with SAH have lower odds of mortality when treated at DSC relative to a non-DSC, while, no DSC bears no impact on mortality for patients with ICH. It was concluded that further studies are warranted to examine other patient and hospital-level confounding variables that may influence a hospital designation status on a patient’s outcomes. Although the study used a small patient population (n=9,721) and short time-period, this study serves as a great template for it provides an establish methodology that can be used, while, indicating the need to further examine a comprehensive benefit designation status has on inpatient care. Does this address hospital designation status?
Sall L, Hayward RD, Fessler MM, & Edhayan E. (2018). Between-hospital and between-neighbourhood variance in trauma outcomes: cross-sectional observational evidence from the Detroit metropolitan area. BMJ Open, 8:e022090. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022090.
Sall et al. (2018) conducted an 8-year retrospective study investigating trauma inpatient admissions (n= 404 675) treated in Michigan State Hospital (n=66) between 2006-2014, stratified by zip code (patient’s residence) extracted from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient database. While adjusting for patient characteristics, a generalized linear mixed model was estimated that illustrated hospital characteristics account for variance in hospital charges (32.2%), length of stay (28.5%), and mortality risk (12.5%), while, patient residence bares no effect on outcomes. The finding from this study establishes patient health outcomes are associated to differences in access to quality care provided by hospital relative to environmental risk factors. Although the study methodology and patient sample size supports the correlation between hospital designation status and health outcome, the study suggests further research is needed to better define confounding factors and explore whether hospital designation requirements influence patient outcomes.
Good but how do you get hospital accreditation status? You must address it.
Windorski J, Reyes J, Helmer SD, Ward JG, & Haan JM. (2019). Differences in hospital outcomes following traumatic injury for patients experiencing immediate transfer to a level I trauma facility versus resuscitation at a critical access hospital (CAH). Am J Surg, 217(4): 643-647. doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2018.10.050.
Windorski et al. (2019) conducted a 5-year retrospective study investigating the effectiveness of initial care of trauma patients (n=1,478) treated at Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) relative to Level I Trauma Hospital (L1TH) extracted from the Kansas Trauma Registry. The authors performed a t-test, chi-square analysis and estimated a negative binomial regression model which highlighted that treatment at hospital type did not influence mortality rate, whereas, patients transferred from CAH to L1TH after initial resuscitation were more likely to have short ICU and hospital days relative to patients who did not receive transferred care at L1TH. The findings from this study signifies and supports the notion that hospital type influence patient outcomes but emphasizes the need to further identify the contributing hospital-level factors that influences the differences in health outcomes. Even with the several limitations (information and selection bias, incomplete data, unknown stabilization and treatment techniques utilized) presents in this study, the methodology serves as an excellent reference for this investigation to mirror a similar approach to investigate whether hospital designation requirements influence patient outcomes while controlling for hospital’s patient-service population.
Same here
Lutfiyya MN, Sikka A, Mehta S, Lipsky MS. (2009). Comparison of US accredited and non-accredited rural critical access hospitals. Int J Qual Health Care, 21(2):112-8. doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzp003. Epub 2009 Feb 4. PMID: 19193656.
Lufiyya et al. (2009) conducted a study to examine whether hospital designation status influences CMS quality measures among critical access hospitals. A retrospective cross-sectional study found statistical differences between accredited and non-accredited rural critical access hospital in which accredited hospitals had quality indicators on: AMI patients given aspirin at discharge (OR: 1.12), b-blocker at arrival and discharge (OR: 1.05), and stroke failure patients given adult smoking cessation advice/counseling (OR: 1.26). The study had several limitations such as bias as the findings were based on hospital-self-reported data, validity in secondary data, and quality measures limited to four diseases. Overall, the study illustrates hospital with designation status are more likely to provide comprehensive care which have a positive impact on patient outcome, the hospitals
Schmaltz SP, Williams SC, Chassin MR, Loeb JM, Wachter RM. (2011). Hospital performance trends on national quality measures and the association with Joint Commission accreditation. J Hosp Med. 6(8):454-61. doi: 10.1002/jhm.905. PMID: 21990175; PMCID: PMC3265714.
Schmaltz et al. (2011) examined the impact of Joint Commission accreditation status on hospital performance. Through a retrospective descriptive approach found accredited hospitals have better baseline performance and greater quality improvement growth compared to non-accredited hospitals. Although the findings are generalizable, the results were limited as the model only adjusted for hospital characteristics and focused on 16 quality measures which fails to comprehensively capture the hospital overall performance. The study supports the notion that hospital designation status influence patient outcomes, but further study is warranted to include additional confounding variables.
Lichtman JH, Allen NB, Wang Y, Watanabe E, Jones SB, Goldstein LB. (2009). Stroke Patient Outcomes in US Hospitals Before the Start of the Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center Certification Program. Stroke, 40(1): 3574- 3579. doi: https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.109.561472Stroke. 2009;40:3574–3579.
A notable cross-sectional study conducted by Lichtman et al., (2009) investigated the immediate efficacy the Joint Commission accreditation has on hospital outcomes. The study focused on comparing the difference in outcomes of seniors (65+) being treated for ischemic stroke between accredited- and non-accredited stroke facility. The findings from the hierarchical logistics regression model found relative to non-accredited hospital, recently accredited-certified hospitals had lower rates of in-hospital mortality, 30-day mortality and readmission for both pre- and post- accreditation. Due to the lack of generalizability, the study provides insights as to how hospital resources may influence the hospital’s performance and its ability to easily attain a designation status, thus further supporting the need to relationship between hospital designation status and patient outcomes using a comprehensive model.
Lorch, S. A., Baiocchi, M., Ahlberg, C. E., & Small, D. S. (2012). The differential impact of delivery hospital on the outcomes of premature infants. Pediatrics, 130(2), 270–278. doi: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-2820.
Numerous factors can influence a hospital performance which directly impacts the patient outcomes. Lorch et al., (2012) performed a retrospective population-cohort study over a 10-year period looking focusing on perinatal centers with NICU in three states to examine the influence perinatal regionalization system approach has on new-born infant’s mortality rate. The findings indicated that hospitals with advance perinatal designation status are significantly more likely treat complex pregnancy/delivery and reduce new-born infant mortality rate. Although the finding maybe be limited due to heterogeneity in how hospital code pregnancy complications and premature birth, the study highlights the impact the community health (geographic location of the hospital) has on the hospital’s performance. Based on the location influences the hospital’s patient service population, which will provide an estimation of the community health’s need and severity of illness. For instance, hospital located in community of low socioeconomic status are more likely to treat more patients with complex and severe illness which are typically treated by university or public hospitals that are more likely to attain a designation status.
Torian, L. V., Xia, Q., & Wiewel, E. W. (2014). Retention in care and viral suppression among persons living with HIV/AIDS in New York City, 2006-2010. American journal of public health, 104(9), e24–e29. doi: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302080.
Torian et al., (2014) conducted descriptive study using NYC HIV/AID publicly available data to investigate the impact hospital type has on virally suppression among PLWHA. Using a log-binomial regression model, the findings illustrated that PLWHA treated at accredited-certified hospitals had better outcomes (viral load suppression towards undetectable and retained in- and continuous- care) relative to non-accredited hospitals. The study had a few limitations such as poor data quality as a result of underreporting due to incomplete charting and excluded patients without a HIV-related test within 5 years , however, the overall finding alluded that patient characteristics (race, gender) may be a contributing factor that influences the impact a hospital designation status has on patient outcomes. Thus, this study illustrated the critical need to investigate the correlations between hospital designation status and patient outcomes using a comprehensive model that accounts for various factors.
Man S, Schold JD, Uchino K. (2017). Impact of Stroke Center Certification on Mortality After Ischemic Stroke: The Medicare Cohort From 2009 to 2013. Stroke. 48. 2527-2533. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.016473.
Man et al., (2017) conducted to further explore the effects hospital designation status has on patient’s outcomes, specifically the mortality rate among the elderly population (65 years and older). The study found hospital and patient characteristics differ based on hospital type, however, after adjusting for both patient and hospital characteristics, the multivariate logistics regression analysis highlighted that patient treated at designated-accredited hospitals had better adjusted mortality rates relative to non-accredited hospitals. The findings were limited based on secondary data, yet, this study supports the need to further investigate relationship between hospital designation status and outcomes using a comprehensive model.
Demetriades, D., Martin, M., Salim, A., Rhee, P., Brown, C., & Chan, L. (2005). The effect of trauma center designation and trauma volume on outcome in specific severe injuries. Annals of surgery, 242(4), 512–519. doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.sla.0000184169.73614.09.
Demetriades et al, (2005) investigated whether patient volume exacerbates the impact hospital designation status has on trauma patient’s outcomes. Using the publicly available National Trauma Data Bank, logistic regression models were estimated while controlling for patient characteristics, found that patient volume does not influence patient outcome, but rather the type of trauma-certified hospital designation status influences patient outcome. Overall, the study provided insights as to how accredited-certifications programs demanding high-standards aids inexperienced hospitals, thus supporting the impact hospital designation status have on outcomes but warrants further investigation to examine the relationship between hospital and patient characteristics and its impact on patient outcome.
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Rubric Standard | Justified > Is evidence presented that this problem is significant to the discipline and/or professional field? |
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Problem |
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Based on all of the above information (social problem, literature review, gap), in one sentence, what is your research problem ? |
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Rubric Standard | Meaningful > Has a meaningful problem and gap in the research literature been identified?
Rubric Standard | Original > Does this project have potential to make an original contribution? |
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Purpose To address your stated research problem, what is the purpose of your study? Will you describe, compare, explore, examine, etc.? Complete the purpose sentence below and be sure to clarify your variables/concepts of interest.
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The purpose of this Quantitative study is to retrospectively investigate whether the differences in patient outcomes among NYS hospitals are influenced by the strict adherence requirements set forth by the Joint Commission Accredited Certification (designation status) and whether patient outcomes are superior at multi-accredited hospitals. Be careful here: My understanding is you are comparing or investigating the relationships between accreditation status of hospitals and patient outcomes. You will deal with the various JC accreditation designated hospitals and the patient outcomes. Do not specifically name New York: may you use Hospitals within the Northeastern region of the United States |
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Framework (Conceptual or Theoretical) What theory(ies) and/or concept(s) support (frame) your study and who are the original authors? Provide an in-text citation with your response, and the complete APA reference entry with summary in the Background section.
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The theories and/or concepts that ground this study include studies that have illustrated the influence a hospital accredited certification (designation status) type has on a patient’s: length of stay (Coffield, Thirunavukkarasu, Ho, et al., 2020), choice of hospital and treatment (Dealey, 2005), morbidity (Ingraham, Cohen, Raval, et al., 2011), and mortality (Bell, Zarzaur, 2013). The conceptual theory[What is the theory, specifically:] of this study aims to compare patient outcomes among NYS hospitals stratified by (1) accredited-designation statuses; (2) adherence to accreditation requirements; (3) patient service population (county-level health); and (4) the number of accredited-hospital-based centers attained by the hospital. The theory stems from the conceptual framework that examines the connection between the NYS hospitals inpatient admission records (designation status, patient-level admission records), NYS county-level health outcomes, patient HCAHPS satisfaction scores, and state-certification requirements. Notably, accredited hospital-based programs may have better patient outcomes due to stringent policies and practices, however, further detailed investigation into whether designation statuses are valid metric to rank the hospital’s overall delivery-of-care performance. Please give me a specific conceptual framework dealing accreditation status and patient outcomes or something similar. Give me a name for the model. See study: https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-015-0784-5 You can use the Donabedian Model that use structure, process and outcomes in relation to quality care. See article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donabedian_model See if you can use this or find something else. |
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How do these theories and/or concepts relate to your research problem, purpose, and the nature of your study? |
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Rubric Standard | Grounded > Is the problem framed to enable the researcher to either build upon or counter the previously published findings on the topic? |
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Research Question(s) and Hypotheses (if applicable) List the question(s) that you plan to use to address the research problem. Your question(s) must align with your study purpose and include the variables and/or concepts and how they will be examined. |
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RQ1: Based on the hospital’s accredited-designation status, what are the differences in the patient outcomes? H0 - Based on the hospital’s accredited-designation status, there are no statistically significant differences in patient outcomes. H1 - Based on the hospital’s accredited-designation status, there are statistically significant differences in patient outcomes. RQ2: Based on the hospital’s accredited-designation status stratified by pre-certification and post-certification, what are the differences in the patient outcomes? H0 - Based on the hospital’s accredited-designation status stratified by pre-certification and post-certification, there are no statistically significant differences in patient outcomes. H1 - Based on the hospital’s accredited-designation status stratified by pre-certification and post-certification, there are statistically significant differences in patient outcomes. RQ3: Based on the hospital’s accredited-designation status by county-level (patient service population health) , what are the differences in the patient outcomes? H0 - Based on the hospital’s accredited-designation status by county-level (patient service population health) , there are no statistically significant differences in patient outcomes. H1 - Based on the hospital’s accredited-designation status by county-level (patient service population health) , there are statistically significant differences in patient outcomes. RQ4: Based on multi-accredited hospital designation status (attained more than one certified-accreditation), what are the differences in the patient outcomes? H0 - Based on multi-accredited hospital designation status, there are no statistically significant differences in patient outcomes. H1 - Based on multi-accredited hospital designation status, there are statistically significant differences in patient outcomes. Good
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Nature of the Study What systematic approach/method and research design do you plan to use to address your research question(s)? |
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To address the research questions in this Quantitative study, the specific research design will include a descriptive retrospective longitudinal causal-comparative approach [State the use of secondary data!!! You don’t have time to conduct a longitudinal study. You can do a relationship or association study here. In that case, you either look for a relationship or differences among the parameters] to investigate the impact of hospital designation status (state-certified hospital-based programs) has on patient outcomes. The primary outcomes include: hospital length of stay (LOS), and in hospital mortality rate. Descriptive statistics will be performed to evaluate and summarize the data, in order to provide an insightful premature understanding based on the potential unadjusted trends emerging from the data (Coffield et al., 2020). Two-way ANOVA will be performed to determine if there are differences between the hospital designation status. Regression models will be estimated while controlling for confounding (hospital, patient, community characteristics) variables. Negative binomial regression models will be estimated to determine if hospital designation status influences the hospital length of stays (in days) and satisfaction rate (Coffield et al., 2020). Moreover, logistic and multivariate logistic regression models will be estimated to determine if hospital designation status influences mortality (Coffield et al., 2020).
Reference entry for the work on which this research design is based: Coffield, E., Thirunavukkarasu, S., Ho, E., Munnangi, S., & Angus, L. (2020). Disparities in length of stay for hip fracture treatment between patients treated in safety-net and non-safety-net hospitals. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 100. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-4896-1. Good study |
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What data points from these sources do you plan to use to answer your research question(s)? |
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The New York State's Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) dataset will comprise of data points that include the following: age, admission year (2009-2016), gender (male, female), race (African American/Black, White, Other), Ethnicity (Hispanic, Non-Hispanic), Length of Stay, Type of admission, IDGs, APR-DRG severity illness (minor, moderate, major, extreme), APR-DRG risk of mortality (minor, moderate, major, extreme), insurance status (Commercial, Medicaid, Medicare, Dual Eligible, Self-Pay, Other/Unknown), total cost, total charge, disposition (Expired/Died, Home, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility, Nursing Home/Long Term Care, Skilled Nursing Facility, Other).
The County Health Rankings of NYS database will consist of county level data that will provide a better understanding of the hospital target service population and health disparities (CHR, 2020). The dataset will comprise of data points that include the following: health outcomes (premature death, poor/fair health percentage, poor physical health days, poor mental health days, low birthweight, life expectancy, premature age-adjusted mortality, child mortality, infant mortality, frequent physical distress, frequent mental distress, diabetes prevalence, HIV prevalence); health behavior (adult smoking percentage, adult obesity percentage, food environment index, physical inactivity percentage, access to exercise opportunities percentage, excessive drinking percentage, alcohol-impaired driving deaths percentage, sexually transmitted infections ratio, teen births); clinical care (uninsured percentage, primary care physicians ratio, dentists ratio, mental health providers ratio, preventable hospital stays, mammography screening percentage, flu vaccinations percentage); social and economic factors (high school graduation percentage; some college percentage, unemployment percentage, children in poverty percentage, income inequality, children in single-parent households percentage, social associations, violent crime, injury deaths) and physical environment (drinking water violations, severe housing problems percentage, driving alone to work percentage, driving long commute alone percentage).
The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) measures patients’ perception of their hospital experience (satisfaction with hospital care received) which is comprised of: composite topics (nurse communication, doctor communication, responsiveness of hospital staff, communication about medicines, discharge information. care transition); individual topics (cleanliness of hospital environment, quietness of hospital environment) and global topics (overall hospital rating, willingness to recommend hospital) (Medicare, 2020). The Joint Commission requirements (2) hospital designation status; and (3) all the state-certified requirements (services-provided, policies and practices).
The New York State Health Profiles provides a list of all the hospitals (name, county, zip code) that have earned a State-certified designation status. Based on the designation status earned, all NYS hospitals will be stratified into one or more of the 19 hospital designation status classifications which are encompassed within six major designation status categories: AIDS, Burn, Prenatal, Stroke, Trauma, and Safety-net. The study will identify hospitals as a(n): (1a) Safety-Net Hospital (SNH), (1b) Non-Safety-Net Hospital (NSNH); (2a) AIDS Center, (2b) Non-AIDS Center; (3a) Burn Center, (3b) Non-Burn Center; (4a) Level I Perinatal Center (L1PC), (4b) Level II Perinatal Center (L2PC), (4c) Level III Perinatal Center (L3PC), (4d) Regional Perinatal Center (RPC); (5a) Primary Stroke Center (PSC), (5b) Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC), (5c) Non-Stroke Center (NSC); and (6a) Level I Pediatric Trauma Center (L1PTC), (6a) Level II Trauma Pediatric Center (L2PTC), (6b) Level I Adult Trauma Center (L1ATC), (6c) Level II Trauma Adult Center (L2ATC), (6d) Level III Adult Trauma Center (L3ATC), (6e) Non-Trauma Center (NTC) (NYSDOH, 2020; NYSDOH, 2020).
Please be concise and include only data that you will use here. |
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The limitations, challenges, and/or barriers that need to be addressed while conducting this study are obtaining hospital-level accreditation requirement, specifically detail-level of which requirements are hospitals adhering to. Therefore, this study will make the assumption that hospitals with state-certified accreditation designation status adhere to all the accreditation requirements. Furthermore, the findings from this study may be limited due to the fact that the results will be based on secondary data. Conducting study using secondary data poses additional limitations due to heterogeneity in how hospital report data, the possibility of poor data quality and validity as a result of hospitals under- or mis- reporting because of incomplete charting or to inflate hospital performance. Furthermore, secondary data are also limited to the data provided, causing this investigation to only deduce findings on what is provided which can limit the generalizability depending on the data points the hospital provide.
Can you please list here? |
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Rubric Standard | Feasible > Can a systematic method of inquiry be used to address the problem; and does the approach have the potential to address the problem while considering potential risks and burdens placed on research participants? |
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Significance How will your study address the meaningful, discipline-specific issue that you identified and therefore contribute to your field, discipline, professional practice, etc. contributing to positive social change? |
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This study is significant in that it further explores the policies and practices of NYS designated state-certified centers in a comprehensive method in efforts to evaluate whether a hospital designation status influences the hospital’s ability to provide safe, accessible, high quality, patient-centered care. The research question aims to explore the impact hospital designation status has on care delivery by assessing NYS hospitals: accessibility, accountability, coverage, quality of care. Given that numerous studies focused on one specific type of designation status, no studies have conducted a comprehensive investigation that compares the differences in outcome among various designation statuses. Notably, hospitals may attain multiple designation status, and no research have examined the impact of being treated at a multi-accredited relative to single-accredited or non-accredited hospital. A hospital’s state certified accredited designation status entail that the hospital has met a set of unique requirements that define the facility’s roles and parameters to serve the community, which may influence the patient’s treatment eligibility and outcome. Hospitals with a designated state-accredited center are more likely to provide higher quality of comprehensive multidisciplinary patient-centered care coordination to patients relative to non-accredited hospitals (Joint Commission, 2010). This study will be the first study that uses a comprehensive model that accounts for patient, hospital, and community characteristics to examine the impact hospital designation status(es) have on patient outcome.
You are not sure of this statement. Your findings will always add to knowledge or hopefully help close the gap in knowledge
The social change facet of this proposed study dissertation focuses on identifying the importance of hospitals practicing standardized policies regardless of designation status to ensure patient outcomes (health and satisfactions) are associated with best-practiced in efforts to reduce the disparity gap in hospital care. The proposed study aspires to utilize a novel quantitative methodology to estimate regression models to examine which designated state-certified hospital-based center policies should be mandated across all NYS hospitals [You recommend here, not mandate].
The study aims to produce evidence-based findings which National Institutes, Professional Associations, and The Joint Commission could use as evidence to redefine the hospital policies and practices, admission care, and post-hospitalization discharge care and planning for any medical conditions. [Again, recommend for consideration to the JC.]
All in all, the social change that will incur from this dissertation is determining whether changing at least one policy or standardizing policies among all hospitals will help reduce the inequalities amongst the inpatients’ outcomes. Leading to the question whether it gives substantial reasons to evaluate the policies with the objective to employ the most cost-effective policies with the goal to significantly improve the US’ overall health status and hospital bed utilization, while parallelly reducing the US healthcare expenditure.
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Rubric Standard | Impact > Does this project have potential to affect positive social change?
Rubric Standard | Objective > Is the topic approached in an objective manner? |
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Partner Site Masking Self-Check Walden capstones typically mask the identity of the partner organization. The methodological and ethical reasons for this practice as well as criteria for exceptions are outlined here (link to posted guidance). |
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☒ Check here to confirm that you will mask the identity of the organization in the final capstone that you publish in ProQuest.
☐ If you perceive that your partner organization’s identity would be impossible to mask or if there is a strong rationale for naming the organization in your capstone, please check this box so that your Program Director can review your request for an exception. If granted, that exception must be confirmed by the IRB during the ethics review process. The IRB will also ensure that your consent form(s) and/or site agreement(s) permit naming the organization. |
Research Design Alignment Table | Using an alignment table can assist with ensuring the alignment of your research design.
Research Design Alignment Table Video Tutorial (YouTube) | Doctoral Research Design Alignment Appointments or Office Hours
Note . At the prospectus stage, not all items in the table below can be identified (e.g., data points, data analysis). Please complete the items that you have identified in this form. During proposal development, you will revisit this plan to adjust, as needed, and finalize your research design.
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Research Problem, Purpose, and Framework Provide one sentence for each. These must align with all rows. |
Research Question(s), Method, & Design List one or more RQs, as needed; select method; identify design. Use a separate form for additional RQs. |
Data Collection Tools & Data Sources List the instrument(s) and people, artifacts, or records that will provide the data for each RQ. |
Data Points List the variables, specific interview questions, scales, etc. that will be used for each RQ. |
Data Analysis Briefly describe the statistical or qualitative analysis that will address each RQ. |
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Problem: Replace text with response. Purpose: Replace text with response. Framework: Replace text with response. |
RQ1: Examine whether community health influences a hospital designation status. Method: Quantitative Design: Retrospective descriptive longitudinal study approach. |
Historically collect publicly available data between the years of 2009-2016 of the (1) inpatient records extracted from the New York State's Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS); (2) County Health Rankings of New York State; (3) Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS); and (4) New York State Health Profiles (hospital state-certified accreditation requirements). |
See above under data points. |
Estimating negative binomial regression models will determine if hospital designation status influences the hospital length of stays (in days) and satisfaction rate (Coffield et al., 2020). Logistic and multivariate logistic regression models will be estimated to determine if hospital designation status influences mortality. Descriptive statistics -- |
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RQ2: Examine whether outcomes differed between pre- and post- State-certification. Method: Quantitative Design: Retrospective descriptive longitudinal study approach. |
Historically collect publicly available data between the years of 2009-2016 of the (1) inpatient records extracted from the New York State's Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS); (2) County Health Rankings of New York State; (3) Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS); and (4) New York State Health Profiles (hospital state-certified accreditation requirements). |
See above under data points. |
T-Test will determine if there are differences between pre- and post- state-certification. Estimating negative binomial regression models will determine if hospital designation status influences the hospital length of stays (in days) and satisfaction rate (Coffield et al., 2020). Logistic and multivariate logistic regression models will be estimated to determine if hospital designation status influences mortality.
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RQ3: Examine whether mutli-accredited hospitals have better outcome performances compared to hospitals with one or no designation status.. Method: Quantitative Design: Retrospective descriptive longitudinal study approach.
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Historically collect publicly available data between the years of 2009-2016 of the (1) inpatient records extracted from the New York State's Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS); (2) County Health Rankings of New York State; (3) Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS); and (4) New York State Health Profiles (hospital state-certified accreditation requirements). |
See above under data points. |
Two-way Anova will determine if there are differences between pre- and post- state-certification. Estimating negative binomial regression models will determine if hospital designation status influences the hospital length of stays (in days) and satisfaction rate (Coffield et al., 2020). Logistic and multivariate logistic regression models will be estimated to determine if hospital designation status influences mortality. |
Note. The information in the first column must align with all rows, and each individual RQ row must show alignment across the columns for that row.
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Once your Research Design Alignment Table is completed, reflect on your design alignment. Ask yourself:
1. Is there a logical progression from the research problem to the purpose of the study?
2. Does the identified framework ground the investigation into the stated problem?
3. Do the problem, purpose, and framework in the left-hand column align with the RQ(s) (all rows)?
4. Does each RQ address the problem and align with the purpose of the study?
5. Does the information across each individual row match/align with the RQ listed for that row?
· By row, will the variables listed address the RQ?
· By row, will the analysis address the RQ?
· By row, can the analysis be completed with the data points that will be collected?
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Rubric Standard | Aligned > Do the various aspects of the prospectus align overall? |
Appendix
The Doctoral Prospectus
The Doctoral Prospectus is a brief document that provides preliminary information about your dissertation research and is used in two ways:
· It serves as the tentative plan for developing the proposal and is evaluated to ensure doctoral-level work (e.g., feasibility, alignment, etc.).
· It provides information used to assign the committee University Research Reviewer.
Prospectus milestone approval from the committee chair, second committee member, and a program-level designee is required for you to move forward and work on your proposal. The plan is subject to change, and parts of your research design may need to be adjusted after you complete your exhaustive review of the literature during proposal development.
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Title
Quantitative (QN) Example
Differences in the Quality of Problem Statements Written Throughout the Capstone
Qualitative (QL) Example
How Online Doctoral Students Develop a Dissertation Problem Statement
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Background Literature
Probably the most important step in the research process is searching recent, peer-reviewed literature and reading articles related to the general area you want to investigate. The area is based on an identified social problem. As you read and learn, you will narrow your focus. This is how you will identify a discipline-specific research problem.
[Note: Scholarly, empirical articles and how to find them.]
First, you’ll need to determine your search terms or keywords and the databases you should search. As you conduct your search of the literature, stay organized by keeping a search log.
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Search Log Example |
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Database |
Search Terms |
Results |
Notes |
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Thoreau |
online doctoral program completion; limited to peer reviewed, 2016-present |
1175 |
Search too broad; Narrow by using multiple terms |
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Thoreau |
online doctoral program completion AND ABD; limited to peer reviewed, 2016-present |
13 |
Much better; Several relevant articles found |
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Education Source |
Etc. |
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Example for this Form
The keywords and databases searched included ABD , online doctoral program completion , doctoral capstone completion , online research training , and online learning in the databases Education Source, ERIC, and SAGE Journals, as well as in a Thoreau multidatabase search.
As you read and evaluate literature, you also need to organize your research. A literature review matrix is one way to help you visualize what has and hasn't been done in your field. It will help you understand the scholarly works related to your area of interest. The importance of organizing and recording your review of literature cannot be overstated. You will refer to your notes as you write, so start on the right track from the beginning!
[Suggestion: If you keep your search log in an Excel workbook, use the second tab in the same workbook for your literature review matrix.]
For this form, include the complete, APA reference entry and (a) an in-text citation; (b) what they studied; (c) what they found; and (d) why this is important in relation to your study. This evidence provides the justification for your research problem. These sources provide justification that this problem is meaningful to the discipline or professional field. These references should ideally be from the past 5 years. Reference entries related to the framework should be included here, too. [Note: During proposal development, you will conduct an exhaustive review and synthesize your sources, rather than summarize.]
Example (for one article; at least 10 are required)
Ismail, H. M., Majid, F. A., & Ismail, I. S. (2013). “It’s complicated” relationship: Research students’ perspective on doctoral supervision. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences , 90 , 165–170. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.07.078
(a) Ismail, Majid, and Ismail (2013); (b) focused on the student experience with supervision while learning to conduct research; (c) found three issues of lack of positive communication, lack of expertise, and power conflicts; and (d) this is important in relation to my study because it may help explain progress on the development of a problem statement in the capstone process.
Rubric Standard | Justified > Is evidence presented that this problem is significant to the discipline and/or professional field?
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Problem
Social Problem
The situation or issue being experienced by a population or within your discipline that prompted you to search the literature to find out more is sometimes called a social problem. It is the issue that students see “on the ground” so to speak. The social problem is often what prompts students to think about a topic of interest. Usually such a topic is one that students identify with, sometimes having personally experienced some aspect of the problem as it exists in the world.
Example
The issue that prompted me to search the literature is the low completion rate of students in doctoral programs. It is common knowledge in the education discipline that only about half of the students who enter doctoral programs will complete, and the lack of progress is often due to the dissertation process. A search in The Chronicle of Higher Education will result in numerous articles about supporting doctoral students with their capstone research to improve the completion rates of doctoral programs.
Gap
The need to address an identified gap in the research literature must be clear and there must be current relevance to the discipline and area of practice. Keep in mind that a gap in the research is not, in and of itself, a reason to conduct research. The gap relates to the rubric standard: Meaningful.
Example
Although researchers have investigated this issue, there is very little or no literature on the development of problem statements by students in online doctoral programs.
Research Problem
A research problem is a focused topic of concern, a condition to be improved upon, or troubling question that is supported in scholarly literature or theory that you study to understand in more detail, and that can lead to recommendations for resolutions. It is the research problem that drives the rest of the dissertation: the purpose, the research questions, and the methodology.
QN Example
In one sentence, the specific research problem is that it is not known whether the quality of problem statements written by online doctoral students varies over time in the program.
QL Example
In one sentence, the specific research problem is that there is a lack of information on how online doctoral students go about developing their research problem statement for their dissertations.
Rubric Standard | Meaningful > Has a meaningful problem and gap in the research literature been identified?
Rubric Standard | Original > Does this project have potential to make an original contribution?
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Purpose
To address your stated research problem, what is the purpose of your study? Will you describe, compare, explore, examine, etc.? Be sure to clarify your variables/concepts of interest. For example:
· In quantitative studies, state what needs be studied by describing two or more factors (variables) and a conjectured relationship among them related to the identified gap or problem.
· In qualitative studies, describe the need for increased understanding about the issue to be studied, based on the identified gap or problem.
· In mixed-methods studies, with both quantitative and qualitative aspects, clarify how the two approaches will be used together to inform the study.
QN Example
The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine differences in the quality of problem statements written by doctoral students in online programs during the various stages of their doctoral studies.
QL Example
The purpose of this qualitative study is to improve the understanding of the process by which doctoral students in online programs arrive at a viable problem statement for their dissertations.
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Framework
The framework includes the theories and/or concepts relevant to your topic. Align the framework with the problem, purpose, research questions, and background of your study. This theoretical or conceptual framework is the basis for understanding, designing, and analyzing ways to investigate your research problem (data collection and analysis). Provide the original scholarly literature (citing original authors) on the theory and/or concepts, even if it is more than 5 years old. Please do not cite secondary sources.
Example Theoretical Framework
The theories and/or concepts that ground this study include Perry’s (1970) theory of epistemological development.
Example Conceptual Framework
The theories and/or concepts that ground this study include Perry’s (1970) theory of epistemological development, focusing specifically on the concepts of online learning and the pedagogical challenges associated with online learning and dissertation writing.
Next, explain how these theories and/or concepts relate to your research problem, purpose, and the nature of your study. Your topic/approach should align with the identified framework so that you will either build upon or counter the previously published findings on the topic.
Example Connection for the Theoretical Framework
The logical connections between the framework presented and my study approach include Perry’s theoretical work, which has been used extensively in all aspects of higher education, albeit more frequently with undergraduates than with doctoral students. The approach provides details on cognitive-structural changes that emerge as a result of development and learning.
Example Connection for the Conceptual Framework
The logical connections between the framework presented and my study approach include Perry’s theoretical work, which has been used extensively in all aspects of higher education, albeit more frequently with undergraduates than with doctoral students. Further, subsequent research and application of Perry’s theory offer guidance on ways to facilitate academic development, thus allowing for insight into the pedagogical challenge of the dissertation.
Rubric Standard | Grounded > Is the problem framed to enable the researcher to either build upon or counter the previously published findings on the topic?
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Research Question(s) and Hypotheses (if applicable)
List the overarching question and/or a series of related questions that are informed by the study purpose, that will be used to address the research problem. A research question informs the research design by providing a foundation for:
· generation of null and alternative hypotheses in quantitative studies,
· questions necessary to build the design structure for qualitative studies, and
· a process by which different methods will work together in mixed-methods studies.
QN Example
H 01—Based on objective ratings by doctoral faculty, there are no statistically significant differences in the overall quality of problem statements as students progress through the doctoral study process.
H 1—Based on objective ratings by doctoral faculty, there are statistically significant differences in the overall quality of problem statements as students progress through the doctoral study process.
QL Example
For students with a high-quality problem statement at the dissertation stage, what themes emerge in their reports of the process that they used to develop it?
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Nature of the Study
Explain the systematic approach/method and research design you plan to use to address your research question(s). Examples of study design are as follows:
· Quantitative—for experimental, quasiexperimental, or nonexperimental designs; treatment-control; repeated measures; causal-comparative; single-subject; predictive studies; or other quantitative approaches
· Qualitative—for basic/generic qualitative design, ethnography, case study, grounded theory, narrative inquiry, phenomenological research, policy analysis, or other qualitative traditions
· Mixed methods, primarily quantitative—for sequential, concurrent, or transformative studies, with the focus on quantitative methods
· Mixed methods, primarily qualitative—for sequential, concurrent, or transformative studies, with the focus on qualitative methods
· Other—for another design, to be specified with a justification provided for its use
QN Example
To address the research questions in this quantitative study, the specific research design will include a repeated-measure design (Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, 2008) with objective ratings of student work products examined across time. This quantitative analysis should help pinpoint the amount of growth from the beginning to the end of the project.
Reference entry for the work on which this research design is based:
Frankfort-Nachmias, C., & Nachmias, D. (2008). Research methods in the social sciences cd-rom spss cd-rom vol 15. (7th ed.). Worth Pub.
QL Example
To address the research questions in this qualitative study, the specific research design will include a single descriptive case study (Yin, 2014) with interviews with students and faculty. This qualitative analysis using pattern matching and cross case analysis will improve the understanding of the process by which doctoral students in online programs arrive at a viable problem statement for their dissertations.
Reference entry for the work on which this research design is based:
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (Fifth edition). SAGE.
Then, for your planned research design, present the type of data you will need, and a list of possible data collection tools and sources that could be used to address the proposed research question(s), such as test scores from college students, employee surveys, observations of a phenomenon, interviews with practitioners, historical documents from state records, de-identified medical records, or information from a federal database. At this point, you should have an idea of the type of data needed to address your research question(s). Explain whether you will be collecting primary data (collected by the you, the researcher) or accessing secondary data (preexisting or public data collected by others). If you are collecting data, you should present the tentative plan for instrument(s) and potential participants. If using secondary data, identify the data source, how the data will be accessed. Possible secondary data sources, by program, are available on the Center for Research Quality website. [Note. This is your tentative plan, so keep in mind that things might need to be modified during the proposal stage—particularly after you have completed your exhaustive review of the literature.]
QN Example
For my planned research design, I will need to request access to preexisting/secondary data from the W University’s online doctoral program related to problem statement development of at least 300 students.
QL Example
For my planned research design, I will need to recruit both student and faculty participants for individual interviews. Interview protocols will be developed to address the problem and purpose of the study.
Next, provide the data points from these sources you plan to use to answer your research question(s). Data points are the specific variables or type of information that you will use in your analysis. For example, they may include items on a survey or types of interview questions (not the actual survey or interview questions). If using secondary data, you must ensure the data include the variables or data points that you need to address your research question.
QN Example
The program collects and rates doctoral problem statements written at four key points in a doctoral student’s career: the premise, the prospectus, the proposal, and the doctoral study writing stage. The data will be deidentified and contain the scores by stage of program for 300 online doctoral students. Other data may be collected from surveys of instructors.
QL Example
The data will include responses to the faculty and student interview questions regarding how online doctoral students go about developing their research problem statement for their dissertations.
Finally, provide information on limitations, challenges, and/or barriers that may need to be addressed when conducting this study. These may include access to participants, access to data, separation of roles (researcher versus employee), instrumentation fees, etc. If you are thinking about collecting data on a sensitive topic or from a vulnerable population, an early consultation with the Institutional Review Board (IRB; [email protected]) during your prospectus process is recommended to gain ethics guidance that you can incorporate into your subsequent proposal drafts and research planning. [Note. Find more information on research ethics and potential “red flag” issues on the IRB Guides and FAQs.]
QN Example
A potential barrier when using secondary data is that data access will probably include a partner-site agreement and potentially an external research ethics review (IRB), which may take some additional time. A possible barrier for collecting survey data is difficulty in recruitment of participants. I will attend IRB Office Hours to ask questions about these issues.
QL Example
A potential barrier when collecting primary data include partner site agreement and possible difficulty recruiting participants for interviews. Ensuring clear separation of my role at the institution from my role as researcher may also be a challenge.
Rubric Standard | Feasible > Can a systematic method of inquiry be used to address the problem; and does the approach have the potential to address the problem while considering potential risks and burdens placed on research participants?
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Significance
Here you explain how your study addresses the meaningful, discipline-specific issue that you identified and will therefore contribute to your field, discipline, professional practice, etc. contributing to positive social change. Detail how your findings might support professional practice or allow practical application (answer the So what? question).
Example
This study is significant in that it will fill a gap in understanding by focusing specifically on development of problem statements by students in online doctoral programs. The results of this study should aid doctoral committees and academic programs in helping students to succeed in their final projects, thus supporting eventual degree attainment. Education has long been a force for social change by addressing inequities in society. Because a broad range of students attends online institutions, supporting their successful attainment of a terminal degree allows for increased diversity among individuals in key academic and scholarly leadership positions.
Rubric Standard | Impact > Does this project have potential to affect positive social change?
Rubric Standard | Objective > Is the topic approached in an objective manner?
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My Doctoral Research (MyDR)
If you have not done so already, you should familiarize yourself with the My DR system. The MyDR system was designed to assist you and your committee in navigating your doctoral research journey, from the very beginning through the final approval. The various landing pages in MyDR will track your progress and will serve as a central location for resources to support that progress. There is a process flow tool in which you exchange and store faculty evaluations of and feedback on your work as you progress along that journey.
