DENTAL HYGIENE ONLINE DEGREE COMPLETION COURSES

Offered through the IDEAL Program

COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Dear Student,

 

Please read the following course syllabus carefully, especially the course dates, times and location. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to communicate with the Dental Hygiene department, your dental hygiene academic advisor, or the instructor.

 

The BSDH degree completion program is designed with the adult learner in mind. Adult learners approach learning with specific goals, want to be able to directly apply new learning to their work and personal lives, and tend to learn best when the coursework is problem-centered so that they are actively engaged in the learning process. In addition, adults bring rich and varied experience to the classroom, which becomes a valuable learning resource for other students.

 

The BSDH Online Degree Completion Program assumes joint responsibility in the learning process. The activities and assignments in our classes build on the shared experience of all learners in each class. This is why each student’s preparation, participation and interaction in class activities and discussions are critical to the success of each course. The accelerated format of each course requires a significant amount of time outside the classroom to prepare for and complete the course assignments. This varies between students and courses; however, students typically spend a minimum of ten-twelve hours per week on course material.

 

To participate in the BSDH Online Degree Completion Program, it is expected that you will do the following:

  1. Participate in and complete the online orientation prior to your first online course.
  2. Obtain the required course materials prior to the course start date.
  3. Login to your course a minimum of three times per week.
  4. Complete all assignments to the best of your ability.
  5. Participate in the class discussions and demonstrate respect and consideration to the instructor and other students when they express themselves in discussion.
  6. If you have any technical difficulties, you must contact the Office of Distance Education immediately.

Have questions about taking an online course?

“Instructions for Taking a UB Online Course”

 

If you cannot perform these expectations, it is recommended that you drop the course.  If you do not participate during the first week of the course, you will be dropped from the course.

 

Ethics Statement of Confidentiality

An integral component of the BSDH Online Degree Completion Program is student and faculty expression of personal experiences for the purpose of facilitating coursework.  Students enrolled in the program are expected to honor confidentiality as it pertains to student disclosure.  Shared information, comments, or opinions expressed by another student or the faculty member during the course of classroom discussion should never be used in a manner which is intended to humiliate, embarrass, harass, damage, or otherwise injure other students in their personal, public, or business lives.  In addition, confidentiality must be upheld by not disclosing any information that would identify any particular individual.

The BSDH Online Degree Completion Program

 

 

 

DHYG 305

Dental Hygiene Research

 

Course Dates: Monday, March 10, 2008 – Friday, May 16, 2008

 

Course Description:

 

This course will introduce the student to the fundamentals of research design and process. This course

will enable Dental Hygiene students to develop skills in the analysis of dental research findings and the

evaluation of dental issues through critical analysis. Students will also gain exposure to the development of

research protocols.

 

Required Text & Materials:

 

1.       Leedy, P. & Ormrod, J., Practical Research: Planning and Design, 8th Edition, Prentice-Hall, Inc.  

Companion website info: www.prenhall.com/leedy      Text ISBN:  0-13-110895-6

2.       UBNet Account:  All UB students and faculty can set up a UBNet account.  With a UBNet account you can access the online Library databases, and get a yourname@bridgeport.edu email account. 

      To set up your account, please visit http://www.bridgeport.edu/ubnet and click "New UBNet Account" on the left.  It takes 24 hours for your account to be activated, so you will need to complete this assignment after receiving your ID.  Pease check your yourname@bridgeport.edu email account often for official University information.

      All email correspondence between Instructor and student will be through the UB account.

  1. PowerPoint software & Presentation materials

 

Instructor:

 

Katherine Russell, RDH, MS                   krussell@bridgeport.edu                  

Assistant Professor

University of Bridgeport                           Office telephone: (203) 576-4138

Fones School of Dental Hygiene             Department fax:   (203) 576-4220

60 Lafayette Street                                      

Bridgeport, CT 06604                                                                 

 

Course Goals:

 

·         Introduce the student to the various types of clinical studies done in research.

·         Enable the student to understand the factors to be considered when evaluating a study.

·         Strengthen the student’s ability to critically evaluate current literature in the oral healthcare field.

·         Elevate the student’s awareness to keep current on emerging knowledge in the profession.

 

Course Objectives:

 

·         Describe the various research designs utilized in dental hygiene research.

·         Identify the major trends and issues in research related to the profession.

·         Apply library and computer research skills.

·         Utilize professional journals in oral health research.

·         Examine the role of research in advancing the profession of dental hygiene.

·         Interpret the scientific method and approaches for oral health research.

·         Distinguish between the various statistical tests that are employed in data analysis.

·         Question the legal and ethical considerations in oral health research.

·         Compare the various data collection/sampling aspects of scientific research.                 

·         Organize a literature search relevant to a contemporary Dental Hygiene issue and critique.

  • Demonstrate the ability to implement a recognized format for submitting an article for   publication and for documenting literature sources.

 

 

 

 

Evaluation of Student Performance:

 

Students are expected to meet all posted deadlines.

  • PubMed Assignment                                          5%       
    • PubMed is a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine that includes over 17 million citations from MEDLINE and other life science journals for biomedical articles back to the 1950s. PubMed includes links to full text articles and other related resources.
    • Differentiate between MEDLINE and PubMed.
    • Search for evidence using PubMed including how to limit retrieval to a specific date range, age group, language, and type of study.
    • Complete the PubMed exercises and questions and submit via Digital Drop Box.

 

  • Article Critique of Research                             10%      
    • Choose an article of interest from a recent peer-reviewed Dental Hygiene Journal.
    • Follow the guidelines posted under the Assignments section of the course.

 

  • Online participation                                         15%

o        Questions from weekly readings are posted on Monday on the discussion board.     

    • One original posting and one response to classmates are required by Sunday each week. 
    • “Thoughts on Research” assignment due end of week one.  Details in Assignment section.

o        This is a valuable learning tool in an on-line environment.

o        The emphasis will be on quality rather than the quantity of these postings.

o        There is a “general” discussion section on the discussion board.  This section is for    general questions about the course and its content.

 

  • 2 Essay Exams                                                 20%
    • During weeks 4 (Exam 1) and 9 (Exam 2), essay questions will be posted in the Assignments section of the course.
    • Due dates will be specified and all completed work will be sent to the instructor via the Digital Drop Box.

 

  • Research Proposal / Presentation                   50%
    • A research proposal and presentation will be developed through the collaborative efforts of two or three students. 
    • The research proposal and presentation will include a review of Journal articles. 
    • Approval of the research topic must be made by the course instructor before development. 
    • Submit your research topic and ideas on or before March 26th.  
    • Parameters for the proposal and presentation will be discussed during the course. 
    • The proposal becomes the focus of your work in DHYG 306: Contemporary Dental Hygiene Practice.
    • A letter grade of “C” or better is required for the research proposal in order to continue on to DHYG 306: Contemporary Dental Hygiene Practice.

 

Dental Hygiene majors must earn a letter grade of “C” or better in all dental hygiene courses in order to continue in the dental hygiene program.  The student is responsible for contacting the professor if he/she feels the need for additional clarification or instruction.

 

About the Instructor:

 

Katherine Russell, RDH, MS graduated from Fones with an Associates degree ‘87, received a Bachelor of Science degree from UCONN and a Master’s of Science degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport.  After 16 years of clinical practice, Katherine began teaching as a clinical instructor at the Fones School.   In August 2005, she joined the full time faculty as an Assistant Professor and currently teaches Dental Materials, Dental Radiology and Dental Hygiene Research (in house and on-line). 

 

Katherine serves on the Academic Standards Committee, the Internal Review Committee, and is the Library

Liaison for Fones School.  Her professional affiliations include the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, Connecticut Dental Hygienists’ Association, and local component associations.  At present, she serves on the Council of Administration Committee for CDHA.

DHYG 305: Dental Hygiene Research

Course Schedule

 

Week One

March 10                                                                                                                  

Topics:

  • Introduction: What is Research?
  • Necessity for Dental Hygiene Research
  • Tools of Research
  • A Look at The National Dental Hygiene Research Agenda

http://www.adha.org/research/nra.htm

Readings:

Assignment

  • “Thoughts on Research” assignment

 

Week Two

March 17

 

Topics:

  • The Problem: The Heart of the Research Process
  • Review of the Related Literature
  • PubMed Tutorial and Exercises

Readings:

Assignment:

  • PubMed Exercises

 

Week Three

March 24       (Research Topics Due by the 26th)

 

Topics:

  • Planning Your Research Project
  • Writing the Research Proposal

Readings:

  • Chapters 5 & 6

 

Week Four

March 31

 

Topics:

  • Review Chapters 1-6 & PubMed Material

Assignment:

  • Essay Exam 1
    • Assignments section of course

 

Week Five

April 7

 

Topics:

  • Qualitative Research

 

Readings:

  • Chapter 7

 

 

 

Week Six

April 14

 

Topics:

  • Descriptive Research

 

Readings:

  • Chapter 9

 

Week Seven

April 21                      (Article Critique Due)

 

Topics:

  • Experimental and Ex Post Facto Designs

 

Readings:

  • Chapter 10

 

Week Eight

April 28

 

Topics:

  • Statistical Techniques

 

Readings:

  • Chapter 11

 

Week Nine

May 5

 

Topics:

  • Review Chapters 7, 9-11

Assignment:

  • Essay Exam 2
    • Assignments section of course

 

Week Ten

May 12

 

Topics:

  • Technical Details: Style, Format, and Organization of the Research Report

 

Readings:

  • Chapter 12

 

 

Research Proposal and Presentation Final Due Date:  May 28, 2008.

 

* Course Schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the Instructor.