Assignment

Measurement and Operationalization

Please read the research article:

Article: Agreement Among Measures of Asthma Status: A Prospective Study ofLow-Income Children With Moderate to Severe Asthma by Paul J. Sharek, Michelle L. Mayer, Lisa Loewy, Thomas N. Robinson, Richard S. Shames, Dale T. Umetsu and David A. Bergman.

The original full research study by Sharek et al. was about assessing the effectiveness of a disease management program for children with asthma, the findings of which are presented elsewhere in a different publication.

This study publication utilizes the original data but focuses on examining different measures of asthma status.

In this assignment, you will analyze this validation study. (Note - do not discuss the original intervention study).

Please answer the following questions in about 4 pages:

1. What was the objective of this validation study?

2. What is the relevance/importance of the study?

3. What was the sampling frame, and how were the participants recruited?

4. What variables were analyzed? What do these variables measure? How did the researchers operationalize these variables? Use the following table (add rows as needed):

5. What does a high/low correlation finding between measure A and measure B mean?

6. Briefly describe the results.

7. What were the conclusions? What are the implications for asthma care in children? What would you say are the implications for further research?

Case Assignment Expectations:

Use information from the assigned journal article to provide your responses to the specific questions that I have posed above.

LENGTH: Approximately 4 pages typed and double-spaced

The following items will be assessed in particular:

1. PRECISION: Each of the questions of the assignment is specifically addressed in the paper.

2. CLARITY: The paper reads clearly (i.e., it is not confusing) and is well-structured.

3. BREADTH: The paper presents appropriate breadth covering the questions of the assignment.

4. DEPTH: The paper presents points that lead to a deeper understanding of the matters and/or issues being discussed and integrates several points into coherent conclusions.

5. CRITICAL THINKING: You set aside your own personal biases and instead approach the subject matter using available scholarly evidence. You consider the strengths and weaknesses of competing arguments/perspectives on this topic. Having read these scholarly sources, you make a judgement as to the merit of the arguments presented therein.

Keep in mind that "A" papers are truly exceptional works that go beyond simply answering the questions.

Additional expectations for the assignment:

1. Your references and citations should be consistent with a particular formatting style, such as APA.

2. Your response should be based on scholarly material, such as peer-reviewed articles, white papers, technical papers, etc.. Do not include information from non-scholarly materials such as Wikis, encyclopedias, www.freearticles.com (or similar websites).

3. Your response should incorporate the objectives of the module with the requirements of this assignment.

Your Case paper will be further evaluated based on the following criteria:

Precision (Excellent; Good; Average; Poor)

• Each question and or assignment requirement is addressed in the paper
• Accuracy of your answers, key points and supporting discussion

Clarity (Excellent; Good; Average; Poor)

• The paper is well organized, concise, reads clearly, and it is not confusing.

Breadth (Excellent; Good; Average; Poor)

• The paper presents appropriate breadth covering the assignment questions/requirements

Depth (Excellent; Good; Average; Poor)

• Presents key points that lead to deeper matters and issues
• Integrates several points into coherent conclusions

Critical Thinking (Excellent; Good; Average; Poor)

• The paper demonstrates good understanding and synthesis of the module background material
• Logically incorporates key concepts presented in the background material into the overall analyses, key points and supporting discussions
• Present well-reasoned conclusions and positions as well as convincing arguments in support of the same

Writing Mechanics

• Grammar (Excellent; Good; Average; Poor)
• Spelling (Excellent; Good; Average; Poor)
• Vocabulary (Excellent; Good; Average; Poor)
• Referencing (Excellent; Good; Average; Poor)

Additional considerations to keep in mind while working on your case assignments:

Originality and Use of directly quoted material

• The purpose of each assignment is for you to present your understanding and synthesis of the background material and key concepts.

Accordingly, this must be accomplished substantially in your own words.

• Use directly quoted material sparingly and only when preserving the exact words of an author is necessary. For purposes of this course, rarely should directly quoted material represent more than 5-10 percent of your entire case paper's content. Composing a paper patched together from mostly quoted material is not acceptable.

• Be sure to properly reference all directly quoted material and include the in-text citations.