research paper

Term Paper Guidelines: Keys to Course Project Success

In this assignment, you will write a term paper comparing the U.S. health care system to a country of your choice. CANADA IS MY CHOICE!!

Deliverables for your paper will be due in Modules 1, 3, 5, and 7. APA formatting is required. When submitting each of your assignments, please use the following filename format: HCA302_AssignmentName_FirstInitialLastName.docx. So if your name is John Smith and

you are submitting Writing Assignment 1, the name of the file will be

HCA302_WritingAssignment1_JSmith.docx. Points will be deducted for any late submissions.

Module 1 (Writing Assignment 1): Term Paper Topic/Title: Choose a Country (Graded)

Students may choose any country to submit for approval in Module 1. This is the beginning of the Term Paper project, and you may use the template located in the Doc Sharing. This assignment requires a cover page with the title indicating the country you wish to compare to the U.S. health care system.

Before you submit your country, make sure you are able to find at least three primary sources with enough information to write a quality paper that meets the length requirements and for comparing key indicators of the U.S. health care system to your choice country.

Primary sources are the WHO, NIH, CDC, OECD, the county’s national health care website, government websites, and so on.

NOTE:

There is a comprehensive database of health care statistics for 30 different countries, including

the U.S., from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This is an international organization that collects economic and health care data. The database has 1,200 different data elements, with a time series from 1960 to 2010. It is used by the World Health Organization, the U.S., and other OECD reporting participants. The entire world accesses and utilizes this data to determine what may be the most efficient and effective way to deliver health care. The OECD, HCQI data may be used for your papers. It will show where these 30 developed countries are in healthcare services and which of these countries are making progress. Click here or type the URL in the reference below (OECD, 2011) into your browser.

Students may choose any other country outside of the 30 in the spreadsheet, as long as there are

enough quality references.

Module 3 (Writing Assignment 3): Term Paper Outline and References (Graded)

Using the course project template in Doc Sharing as a guide and the references found, prepare an outline of the Term Paper to assist in later writing it (sample outline format below). The template is only a guide and you do not have to write the paper verbatim from the outline. It will help you formulate the paper outline, and guide you in your research and writing. An outline is very important because it helps you organize research topics and write the paper. It also helps the flow of your paper, e.g., transitions from one subtitle topic to the next. Each outline will vary depending on your research findings. Students will

I. Title Page

II. Introduction

III. Body of Paper

a. Topic Heading

i. Sub Topic 1

1. Content 1

2. Content 2

3. Content 3

b. … and so on

IV. Conclusion

V. References

Module 5 (Writing Assignment 5): Term Paper Draft with References (Graded)

There is no such thing as an incorrect draft. The purpose of the draft is so the instructor can provide feedback before you submit your final paper. The project requirement is a 10-15-page paper. Note that APA formatting is double-spaced with 1-inch margins left, right, top, and bottom, and a 12-point standard font. The cover sheet, table of contents, long or multiple quotations, and reference page do not count toward the page count.

(This Dropbox basket is linked to Turnitin.)

Module 7: Final Term Paper (Graded)

Before you submit your final draft, you need to do a spelling and grammar check and correct any content errors. Additionally, you will need to do a quality assurance check to ensure the following:

1. Your introduction is concise and clear and reflects the paper’s content.

2. Topics and subtopics transition well throughout each section of your paper.

3. All concepts, quotes, numbers, statistics, graphs, and graphics are properly cited.

4. Each citation has a corresponding reference listed on the References page.

5. The conclusion is consistent with the paper’s content.

6. The title page, paper, in-paragraph citations, and reference page are all in the APA format. Before

submitting your final draft, check to make sure your paper meets all of the criteria identified in the

other credible sites:

WHO, NIH, CDC

References…must be quality, primary sources.  If there is no date on the reference, no author (aka, a blog); don’t use it.  If the reference is from Wikipedia, Answer.com…don’t use it.  Anyone can write in open dictionaries and encyclopedias, and they are not peer reviewed, so the information may not be correct, or it may not be current.

Source Reference example:

Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development [OECD]. (2011). OECD health data

2011: Stat Extracts. Retrieved from

http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=HEALTH_STAT