500

This is a gateway course that reviews the principles of graduate academic writing and introduces students to principles and methods of applied research for social sciences and professional programs. It prepares students to apply writing and research skills to both future coursework in their respective programs and their professional careers. The course emphasizes the research context for decision making, program evaluation, information assessment, and clear communication of findings. Pre-requisite(s): Admission to a CPSA graduate program or part of the Undergraduate concentration courses in Health Services Administration as Advanced Pathways to Graduate Programs. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

This course provides an overview of quantitative and qualitative approaches used in identifying and solving challenges in a wide variety of fields, including business and management, health and human services, and social and behavioral sciences. Aided by spreadsheet applications software, students gather, sort, and manipulate data; compute statistics related to central tendency and variance; identify trends and patterns; forecast/predict future values of data; and coupled with information gathered in qualitative analysis, recommend actions and/or identify opportunities for additional research and inquiry. They further communicate their findings to varied audiences in visually rich communications. Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing; or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours