In this class I learned about the many dimensions of research specific to the social sciences. Social science can be viewed from differing philosophical angles. The positivist social scientist believe that ultimately, even something as complex as human behavior can be explained in terms of universal causal laws based on that which is externally observable. The interpretive social scientist, in contrast look inward and seek to understand how human beings experience life and what is meaningful to them, what is the purpose and intent that underlie their behavior. Critical social scientists endeavor to uncover misunderstandings groups of people hold in order to empower them to change their condition. In addition to the ways in which Robson (Real World Research) differentiated qualitative from quantitative research methods, Neuman includes reconstructed logic vs. logic in practice. Reconstructed logic is more explicit, codified and standardized, while logic in practice relies more on implicit knowledge and experiences of the researcher. Reconstructed logic is easier to define and learn. Login in practice, however, is more difficult to learn and is learned much like an apprentice from a master. In this class I truly internalized how important it is for the novice researcher to learn what issues and topics are being taken up by the research community as important. This is part of the journeyman model of entering into a community of people who do specialized work. Though I am keenly interested in the agile software development process, In an analysis of 1,996 studies from the literature (through the year 2005) Dyba and Dingsoyr [1] found that only 33 were found to be primary research studies of acceptable rigor, credibility and relevance, and of those, only 7 found its way into publication in a journal %u2013 3 in IEEE Software and one each in Computer Supported Cooperative Work, Empirical Software Engineering, Journal of Database Management, and Software Quality Journal. Based on this, research on agile software development would not be an appropriate topic for a novice researcher. I learned in more detail: 1) sampling techniques for qualitative and quantitative methods; 2) survey techniques and issues that surround the use of surveys; 3) statistical methods; 4) non-reactive research and secondary analysis, in particular content analysis using manifest or latent coding; 5) field research and the importance of maintaining an attitude of strangeness in order to be able to %u2018see%u2019 beyond what we take for granted in the familiar; 7) historical-comparative research; and, 6) the importance of reporting back to the research community and the ideal types of positions social researchers take relative to their research (Rule%u2019s model of relevance). In this class we also reviewed six research articles in terms of identifying the claims, reasons, evidence, warrants and acknowledgements and responses. We were challenged to question and to evaluate critically the assertions and underlying assumptions. Are the claims meaningful? Were terms defined and operationalized clearly? Do the researchers provide enough justification in terms of evidence? Did they handle missing data appropriately (i.e., without distorting results)? Was there an academic contribution? Do we know what theories exist and how the study ties into it? Most importantly, does the research contribute in a meaningful way to knowledge, to topics that are of interest to the relevant community of researchers? We were encouraged to attend conferences to see first hand how research is presented and discussed among researchers. It was very informative for me to attend the final session of the Persuasive 2009 Conference and see first hand how several research efforts were presented and the questions (very similar to the kinds of questions we asked in reviewing papers) were being asked by the audience. While I learned a lot in this class, there is still much more for this novice researcher to learn! [1] Dyba, T. & Dingsoyr, T. Empirical studies of agile software development A systematic review. Information and Software Technology, 50, 833-859.

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In this class I learned about the many dimensions of research specific to the social sciences. Social science can be viewed from differing philosophical angles. The positivist social scientist believe that ultimately, even something as complex as human behavior can be explained in terms of universal causal laws based on that which is externally observable. The interpretive social scientist, in contrast look inward and seek to understand how human beings experience life and what is meaningful to them, what is the purpose and intent that underlie their behavior. Critical social scientists endeavor to uncover misunderstandings groups of people hold in order to empower them to change their condition. In addition to the ways in which Robson (Real World Research) differentiated qualitative from quantitative research methods, Neuman includes reconstructed logic vs. logic in practice. Reconstructed logic is more explicit, codified and standardized, while logic in practice relies more on implicit knowledge and experiences of the researcher. Reconstructed logic is easier to define and learn. Login in practice, however, is more difficult to learn and is learned much like an apprentice from a master. In this class I truly internalized how important it is for the novice researcher to learn what issues and topics are being taken up by the research community as important. This is part of the journeyman model of entering into a community of people who do specialized work. Though I am keenly interested in the agile software development process, In an analysis of 1,996 studies from the literature (through the year 2005) Dyba and Dingsoyr [1] found that only 33 were found to be primary research studies of acceptable rigor, credibility and relevance, and of those, only 7 found its way into publication in a journal %u2013 3 in IEEE Software and one each in Computer Supported Cooperative Work, Empirical Software Engineering, Journal of Database Management, and Software Quality Journal. Based on this, research on agile software development would not be an appropriate topic for a novice researcher. I learned in more detail: 1) sampling techniques for qualitative and quantitative methods; 2) survey techniques and issues that surround the use of surveys; 3) statistical methods; 4) non-reactive research and secondary analysis, in particular content analysis using manifest or latent coding; 5) field research and the importance of maintaining an attitude of strangeness in order to be able to %u2018see%u2019 beyond what we take for granted in the familiar; 7) historical-comparative research; and, 6) the importance of reporting back to the research community and the ideal types of positions social researchers take relative to their research (Rule%u2019s model of relevance). In this class we also reviewed six research articles in terms of identifying the claims, reasons, evidence, warrants and acknowledgements and responses. We were challenged to question and to evaluate critically the assertions and underlying assumptions. Are the claims meaningful? Were terms defined and operationalized clearly? Do the researchers provide enough justification in terms of evidence? Did they handle missing data appropriately (i.e., without distorting results)? Was there an academic contribution? Do we know what theories exist and how the study ties into it? Most importantly, does the research contribute in a meaningful way to knowledge, to topics that are of interest to the relevant community of researchers? We were encouraged to attend conferences to see first hand how research is presented and discussed among researchers. It was very informative for me to attend the final session of the Persuasive 2009 Conference and see first hand how several research efforts were presented and the questions (very similar to the kinds of questions we asked in reviewing papers) were being asked by the audience. While I learned a lot in this class, there is still much more for this novice researcher to learn! [1] Dyba, T. & Dingsoyr, T. Empirical studies of agile software development A systematic review. Information and Software Technology, 50, 833-859.

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In this class I learned about healthcare policy and reforms and the implications for public health informatics through a fascinating set of readings and videos selected for the class, through presentations by guest speakers, through reading articles of my choice on selected topics, and through lively discussions in class. The need for healthcare reform was presented through George Halverson%u2019s book, Healthcare Reform Now! I learned that Health care cost per capita in the United States is the highest in the world and that in 2007, total health expenditures in the US reached $2.2 trillion, representing $7,421 per person or 16.2 percent of the nation%u2019s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This places an extreme burden on individuals%u2019 abilities to pay for care, on businesses%u2019 ability to remain competitive in the global economy, and the on nation%u2019s ability to fund health care programs for government workers, the elderly and the lowest-income at the current rates without bankrupting its coffers. I also learned that this extremely high cost is driven by: 1. Lack of universal insurance coverage %u2013 There are 47 million people without health insurance or who are underinsured. These people make inappropriate use of very expensive emergency room care, which the hospitals %u201Ccost-shift%u201D as increases in health care costs and insurance premiums. 2. Lack of sufficient information for health care for consumers to make informed cost-quality trade-offs 3. Little financial reward is provided for preventing health care crises that avert expensive medical procedures. 4. Fee for service reimbursement structure rewards performing many, expensive procedures. 5. High cost does not necessarily mean better care (Rand Study; Dartmouth Projec0 I also learned about the Public Health discipline and how Public Health Informatics is used for: 1. Health Surveillance through disease registries, communicable disease reporting, ongoing analysis and reporting to practitioners. 2. Health Protection through restaurant inspections, water treatment and air quality monitoring. 3. Disease and Injury Prevention through immunizations, investigation and outbreak control, population-based screening programs. 4. Population Health Assessment through community health needs assessment, health status report/system report card. The HICSS Symposium on Cyberinfrastructure for Public Health had Panels present thoughts/issues on cyberinfrastructure from the perspectives of agencies that fund projects, researchers or organizations seeking funds, practitioners, Journal and Publication Opportunities. The Report of the Blue Ribbon Panel provided a very detailed insight into the vision for cyberinfrastructure not only for large scale collaborative research, but also the cyberinfrastructure as itself the object of study. The lectures provided by Dr Noam Artz on standards and interoperability in pubic health with specific examples of work in Vermont and Utah were very informative. Nathan Bott%u2019s guest lecture on PHRs (HealthATM) for underserved populations. Sue Feldman%u2019s lectures on the role of Public Health in large scale disasters was fascinating. There are many agencies at the local, state and federal levels involved in large scale disaster response; the %u2018who does what%u2019 is determined based on whether responding during the first 72 hours after the disaster or thereafter. The lack of volunteer registry and subsequent tracking of their health created issues in the aftermath of 9/11 . I also learned about global public health issues and the importance of using information and communication technologies to deliver healthcare services to remote population. Desmond Tutu%u2019s impassioned plea for e-Health was memorable for his depth of understanding about the technologies. Sue Feldman%u2019s presentation on the trip to Andrha Pradesh where over 580,000 people had a disability was heart wrenching for the social stigma attached to the self-reporting of disabilities and the high correlation of disability with low income, unemployment, isolation, and lack of social network Also, it was fascinating to follow the healthcare reform events unfold in Washington, D.C. The passage of the ARRA that included provisions for HIT, the appointment of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, etc.

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In this class I learned about healthcare policy and reforms and the implications for public health informatics through a fascinating set of readings and videos selected for the class, through presentations by guest speakers, through reading articles of my choice on selected topics, and through lively discussions in class. The need for healthcare reform was presented through George Halverson%u2019s book, Healthcare Reform Now! I learned that Health care cost per capita in the United States is the highest in the world and that in 2007, total health expenditures in the US reached $2.2 trillion, representing $7,421 per person or 16.2 percent of the nation%u2019s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This places an extreme burden on individuals%u2019 abilities to pay for care, on businesses%u2019 ability to remain competitive in the global economy, and the on nation%u2019s ability to fund health care programs for government workers, the elderly and the lowest-income at the current rates without bankrupting its coffers. I also learned that this extremely high cost is driven by: %uF0A7 Lack of universal insurance coverage %u2013 There are 47 million people without health insurance or who are underinsured. These people make inappropriate use of very expensive emergency room care, which the hospitals %u201Ccost-shift%u201D as increases in health care costs and insurance premiums. %uF0A7 Lack of sufficient information for health care for consumers to make informed cost-quality trade-offs %uF0A7 Little financial reward is provided for preventing health care crises that avert expensive medical procedures. %uF0A7 Fee for service reimbursement structure rewards performing many, expensive procedures. %uF0A7 High cost does not necessarily mean better care (Rand Study; Dartmouth Projec0 I also learned about the Public Health discipline and how Public Health Informatics is used for: %u2022 Health Surveillance through disease registries, communicable disease reporting, ongoing analysis and reporting to practitioners. %u2022 Health Protection through restaurant inspections, water treatment and air quality monitoring. %u2022 Disease and Injury Prevention through immunizations, investigation and outbreak control, population-based screening programs. %u2022 Population Health Assessment through community health needs assessment, health status report/system report card. The HICSS Symposium on Cyberinfrastructure for Public Health had Panels present thoughts/issues on cyberinfrastructure from the perspectives of agencies that fund projects, researchers or organizations seeking funds, practitioners, Journal and Publication Opportunities. The Report of the Blue Ribbon Panel provided a very detailed insight into the vision for cyberinfrastructure not only for large scale collaborative research, but also the cyberinfrastructure as itself the object of study. The lectures provided by Dr Noam Artz on standards and interoperability in pubic health with specific examples of work in Vermont and Utah were very informative. Nathan Bott%u2019s guest lecture on PHRs (HealthATM) for underserved populations. Sue Feldman%u2019s lectures on the role of Public Health in large scale disasters was fascinating. There are many agencies at the local, state and federal levels involved in large scale disaster response; the %u2018who does what%u2019 is determined based on whether responding during the first 72 hours after the disaster or thereafter. The lack of volunteer registry and subsequent tracking of their health created issues in the aftermath of 9/11 . I also learned about global public health issues and the importance of using information and communication technologies to deliver healthcare services to remote population. Desmond Tutu%u2019s impassioned plea for e-Health was memorable for his depth of understanding about the technologies. Sue Feldman%u2019s presentation on the trip to Andrha Pradesh where over 580,000 people had a disability was heart wrenching for the social stigma attached to the self-reporting of disabilities and the high correlation of disability with low income, unemployment, isolation, and lack of social network Also, it was fascinating to follow the healthcare reform events unfold in Washington, D.C. The passage of the ARRA that included provisions for HIT, the appointment of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, etc.

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In this class, I learned about academic research from various perspectives - the philosophies of scientific inquiry and their historical evolution; the craft of tightly framing the inquiry (setting forth claims, reasons, evidence, warrants, acknowledgements); theory construction and testing; research designs (fixed and flexible) found in the real world and techniques for enhancing validity and reliability; iconic research found in the IT&S field; how to plan and manage the Ph.D. dissertation project; and, finally, sage advice for those enrolled in graduate school, seeking an academic career. The classroom environment %u2013 a veritable United Nations - was particularly rich. My classmates brought their cultural perspectives (China, Korea, Egypt, Thailand, Nigeria, USA) to bear. We prepared for each session by completing blog entries on the text readings and research article critiques. The result was many lively and interesting discussions when we met. The blog entries required me to understand the material sufficiently to be able to extract the most salient points of the reading (which often exceeded 100 pages) and to reduce it to a posting of several hundred words. The articles from MISQ provided great examples of various research designs and the IS&T community%u2019s concerns re: establishing identity for IS&T (the importance of IT artifacts), building theories, recapping the field%u2019s development through literature reviews, conducting research that has rigor and relevance to real world problems, and accepting flexible research designs as alternatives to the strict fixed designs. Annotatiesysteem provided an interesting way of commenting on the article and to exchange comments with classmates. Most eye-opening for me was seeing just how difficult and demanding the process of rigorous scientific inquiry is - both from the perspective of the researcher and from the perspective of reader evaluating the quality of published work. Going through the exercise of reviewing the literature, selecting a narrow research topic and preparing a proposal was very difficult, but provided us an opportunity to apply the concepts we were learning. The final article/exam provided an opportunity to critical review the article from the various perspectives - craft, theory, philosophy, design, and contribution to the field of IT&S.

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In this class, I learned about academic research from various perspectives - the philosophies of scientific inquiry and their historical evolution; the craft of tightly framing the inquiry (setting forth claims, reasons, evidence, warrants, acknowledgements); theory construction and testing; research designs (fixed and flexible) found in the real world and techniques for enhancing validity and reliability; iconic research found in the IT&S field; how to plan and manage the Ph.D. dissertation project; and, finally, sage advice for those enrolled in graduate school, seeking an academic career. The classroom environment %u2013 a veritable United Nations - was particularly rich. My classmates brought their cultural perspectives (China, Korea, Egypt, Thailand, Nigeria, USA) to bear. We prepared for each session by completing blog entries on the text readings and research article critiques. The result was many lively and interesting discussions when we met. The blog entries required me to understand the material sufficiently to be able to extract the most salient points of the reading (which often exceeded 100 pages) and to reduce it to a posting of several hundred words. The articles from MISQ provided great examples of various research designs and the IS&T community%u2019s concerns re: establishing identity for IS&T (the importance of IT artifacts), building theories, recapping the field%u2019s development through literature reviews, conducting research that has rigor and relevance to real world problems, and accepting flexible research designs as alternatives to the strict fixed designs. Annotatiesysteem provided an interesting way of commenting on the article and to exchange comments with classmates. Most eye-opening for me was seeing just how difficult and demanding the process of rigorous scientific inquiry is - both from the perspective of the researcher and from the perspective of reader evaluating the quality of published work. Going through the exercise of reviewing the literature, selecting a narrow research topic and preparing a proposal was very difficult, but provided us an opportunity to apply the concepts we were learning. The final article/exam provided an opportunity to critical review the article from the various perspectives - craft, theory, philosophy, design, and contribution to the field of IT&S.

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