Spring Semester, 2008 (3 Credit hours)

Day/Time of Course: Tuesdays 10 am-12 pm
Location of course: 1025 Orr Major

Instructors:
S. Omar Ahmad, OTD, Ph.D.
Jeff Radel, Ph.D

Office:
Occupational Therapy Education Dept.
Rm. 3033 Robinson, KUMC
Tel: 588-7195
Office hours: by appointment

• Click here to send Omar e-mail.

• Click here to send Jeff e-mail.

The unfortunate reality is that faculty members do have responsibilities other than those related to students. Please understand that even if we are not available when you stop by the office, we are committed to responding to the needs of students. If we are not unavailable, take the time to send an e-mail message or to leave a note with a secretary indicating other possible meeting times and a telephone number where you may be reached. We will contact you as soon as an opportunity presents itself.

The Professional and Technical Writing portion of this course will meet weekly, on Tuesdays from 10am to 12pm in Orr-Major 1025.

The Research Experience component of this course has no designated meeting times this term, due to the varied natures of the research projects. Regular meetings among your research group and with your mentor are encouraged, and I will facilitate and act as a resource as needed or requested. The instructors of the OCTH 790 (Research Practicum) and OCTH 727 (Technical and Professional Writing) courses will coordinate activities so that I am able to track progress on your project throughout the term.

Guiding Principle: Understanding the research process is a key element for developing occupational therapy principles and guiding practice, and skill in conveying meaning through professional and technical writing is essental for communicating outcomes, interpretations, and instructions.

Course Description:
The Professional and Technical Writing portion of this course will allow students to achieve competency in scientific writing and use of the American Psychological Association (APA) style. The Research Practicum portion of the course provides an opportunity for students to carry out a research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor. The course will culminate with both a formal, written report and an oral presentation of your findings.

Key Questions: As this courses progresses, students will consider the following questions:

1. Why is conducting research important to Occupational Therapy?
2. What does it mean to be a researcher on a research project?
3. What distinguishes qualitative, descriptive, and experimental research paradigms?
4. Why are research ethics essential for research, and what is the purpose of an Institutional Review Board?
5. How do researchers conduct descriptive data analyses, and how are inferential statistics used?
6. How does a consumer of research intelligently critique research studies appearing in research, clinical practice, or popular literatures?

Scheduling of research activities will be negotiated among group members, research mentors, and other associated individuals. Students will be required to meet with their research mentors and research group on a regular basis, with the frequency of meetings to be determined by the group and mentor together. These meetings are for the purpose of discussing research projects in enough detail so that students are prepared to read literature related to their research project, pursue the research, collect and analyze data, then report their findings in a formal research paper and an oral presentation.

The anticipated outcome of these experiences is production of an entry-level occupational therapist who is aware of the relation between good research and good practice, is capable of critical analysis of scientific and clinical research literatures, is aware of the need for problem identification, good research design and methodology, and the appropriate evaluation, interpretation, and presentation of research findings in a professional setting.

Required Texts/Materials:

1. Cozby, Paul C. Methods In Behavioral Research (2004). McGraw-Hill (8th ed.) ISBN: 0072523425

2. Lunsford, A. (2005). The everyday writer (3rd ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's
3. American Psychological Association (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.) Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Attendance Policy: Department policies state that students are expected to notify instructors of an absence before class begins and that prompt arrival is expected. Extended absences of three weeks or more requires withdrawal from semester coursework. Extended absences of less than three weeks requires that student assume responsibility for meeting with the instructor, plan a process to make up work and learning, and thoughtfully review and discuss appropriateness of return to the curriculum. Absence from a required weekly group meeting will constitute a mandatory one grade reduction from the weekly assignment grade.

Disability: If you require an accommodation because of a disability in order to complete the course requirements you should contact the instructor or the Equal Opportunity / Disability Specialist (913-588-7813, TDD 913-588-7963) as soon as possible so that appropriate accommodations may be considered.

Performance Expectations/Evaluation Methods/Grading Scale: The grade earned in OCTH 790 will be based on (1) your completion of the Human Subjects Research Compliance tutorial and quiz, (2) a Conflict of Interest Disclosure, (3)the research paper, and 4) the oral presentation. The Course assignments are summarized on-line.

Please note that learning assistance, academic performance enhancement, and psychological services at KUMC are free, confidential, and available at Student Counseling & Educational Support Services by calling 913-588-6580 or visiting G116 Student Center.

Assignments: All written assignments for this course should be double-spaced and printed in 12 point font.

Please refer to the Assignments webpage for details. Course meetings follow a writer's workshop format, so all assignments are due upon their assigned date without extension. All incomplete writing assignments will receive a maximum grade of "D". Due to the vagaries of data collection and analysis, your research mentor may apply for an individual assignment extension on your behalf. This must be from your mentor, in an email or written format, and sent to the instructor(s) prior to the assignment due date.

Final grades will be assigned according to the following scale:

Additional information:

We encourage all students to read the School of Allied Health's Student Handbook (link downloads a .pdf file) for policies regarding academic and non-academic misconduct. In addition, you will be required to observe any policies for professional conduct specific to the site(s) at which you may find yourself conducting research (e.g., school dress codes, etc.)

Professional Writing: Clear professional writing is an essential skill in professional practice. Developing skill in professional and technical writing is an important aspect of your learning within this curriculum. To support this learning each instructor will consider elements of language use in the grading of written communications, including appropriate content, style, word choice, syntax and mechanics. If you need help with your writing, please contact the Student Center at ext. 8-6580 or visit the KU writing center website: http://www.writing.ku.edu

Weather Policy: The KU Medical Center's standard policy is to remain open for business as a medical institution and as an academic institution in spite of weather conditions (even though KU-Lawrence may not be having classes). You are responsible for all material related to this course.
Early in the term, each research group also should clarify expectations with the research mentor as to conducting research in such situations, particularly if research subjects may be expecting to take part in a study on that day.

Student Responsibility: Any student who does not understand and/or accept the contents and terms of this syllabus must notify the instructors in writing within one week after receiving the syllabus.

For a schedule of class meeting times, topics to be covered, and assigned materials, please refer to the OCTH 790 course timetable.

NOTE: This electronic version of the course syllabus for OCTH 790 represents a binding contract between instructors and students, and may not be altered without express consent of the individuals concerned.

End of OCTH 790 syllabus

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