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Developing a Paper: From Discussion Post to Course Paper
Kelly Chermack, PhD, Dissertation EditorKelly Chermack, PhD, Dissertation Editor
Rachel Grammer, Writing InstructorRachel Grammer, Writing Instructor
Kayla Skarbakka, Writing InstructorKayla Skarbakka, Writing Instructor
Questions and Recording
• Type in the Questions box• Access captioning
• Download slides• View recording
• Walden Writing Center website:– www.writingcenter.waldenu.edu– webinars
Session overview & objectivesIn this presentation, we will cover:
Writing a discussion postWriting a discussion post
Responding to discussion postsResponding to discussion posts
Finding a thesisFinding a thesis
Creating an outlineCreating an outline
POLL: What is the purpose of a discussion post?
A. Prepare for future papers
B. Evaluate authors you read
C. Interact with peers
D. Ask questions
Discussion posts are meant to…
Sample Discussion Post (question)
Anderson, Hussey, Frogner, and Waters (2005) suggested that the reason the United States spends so much in healthcare is not because of malpractice suits. Do you agree or disagree, and why? Cite three sources to defend your argument.
Think about responding to posts as you would if you were writing a smaller paper…
Body
• In the body portion of your response, you should:– Make a claim– Compare and contrast– Support with evidence– Practice scholarly writing
Sample Student Response Post
It may appear to the general public that malpractice is the leading cause of healthcare costs, Anderson et al. (2005) noted that the amount of money spent on malpractice is minimal, less than 1% of the overall healthcare cost in 2001. With the large amount of money being put toward other facets of healthcare, malpractice cannot be a significant factor in United States’ healthcare costs.
Other authors would concur…
• In this sample student response, we can see elements of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion, although not necessarily as separate entities
• We can also note the scholarly voice• Although “I” is appropriate in some papers, we do
not see “I” here. The author formulates the argument without saying “I agree/disagree”
Sample Student Response Post
Critical Interaction
Do I agree? Why?Do I disagree? Why?
Can I make a counterargument? Are there any gaps in the research?
Are there any flaws in the logic?What do my other sources say?
Are there any related ideas that need to be explored?*
Sample Student Response PostMalpractice costs, and the frequency of suits, undeniably affects the United States’ healthcare system. But this does not appear to be the largest drain on health care in the United States. According to PBS Thirteen (2012) the United States spends 30% of it’s healthcare budget on elderly, end of life care. After all, according to Anderson et al. (2005), from the original post, in 2002, the United States spent 53% more on health care, per capita, than other countries.
But research on this topic does not seem to be in total agreement. According to the Harvard School of Public Health (2010), the amount the United States spends on malpractice may have risen in recent years, and now may be as high as 2.4% of annual healthcare spending. In the United States. While other researchers found this to be closer to 1% (Towers Watson, 2010; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2011). Part of the confusion among these statistics may be that heath and government researchers have different ways of defining and measuring medical malpractice.
Health researchers and scholars need to be more specific about how they operationalize malpractice in their studies. No matter how malpractice is defined, the amount is still minimal when compared to the total budget for healthcare spending, to other aspects of health care in the United States that require more spending, and when compared to the total amount spent by other nations.
Next Steps
Responding Critically (and Constructively)
• What questions jump out at you from this last post?
• Are you convinced that medical malpractice is not a significant portion of US health care spending?
• What is not clear?• What else does this make you think of?• Are there related ideas that need to be
explored?
My Question
Why is malpractice prevalent in the United States?
POLL: What is the next step?
Original Post, Response Post, Question, _________.
A.Post Again
B.Evaluate
C.Research
D.Write
Next Steps
ResearchLook for answers to the question:
http://library.waldenu.edu/
Thesis
See our webpage on Thesis Construction.
POLL: Which sentence best fits the definition of a thesis statement?
A. I will show why medical malpractice is prevalent in the United States.
B. This paper will explore medical malpractice.
C. My purpose in this paper is to examine malpractice and defensive medicine in the United States.
Thesis
Malpractice cases may be higher in the United States than in other countries due to medication errors, diagnosis errors, increased prevalence of cancer, and difficulty in correctly diagnosing pediatric cases.
I. IntroductionA. Background of the topicB. General topic or problemC. Thesis
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
• Introduction• Opening statement• Background of the topic (general information)• Identification of the main idea or problem• Thesis• Concluding statement
Introduction
A. Prevalence of malpractice in the United States and other industrialized nations (citation for stats on malpractice) B. Increase in malpractice in the United States in last 20
years (citation for stats on malpractice over time) C. Characteristics of cases
1. Medication errors (Phillips et al. 2004) 2. Diagnosis errors (Phillips et al. 2004)
3. Increase in breast cancer and other diseases (Elmore et al. 2005) 4. Difficulty correctly diagnosing children (McAbee et al. 2008).
D. Malpractice cases may be higher in the United States than in other countries due to medication errors, diagnosis errors, increased prevalence of cancer, and difficulty in correctly diagnosing pediatric cases.
Introduction
Thesis Point #1The high incidence of malpractice suits in the United States may
be due to increased medical errors. A. Medication errors (Phillips et al. 2004)
A. Typical kinds of medicationsB. Specializations of doctors
B. Diagnosis errors (Phillips et al. 2004)A. Common misdiagnoses and treatmentsB. Specializations of doctors
C. [more research]
Thesis Points #2 & #3There has been an increase in the diagnoses of breast
cancers and surgeries related to breast cancerA. Surgical errors on bodies and individuals (Elmore et
al. 2005)B. [more research]
Problems correctly diagnosing childrenA. Prenatal diagnoses and treatments (McAbee et al.
2008)B. Children who cannot accurately describe symptoms
(McAbee et al. 2008)C. [more research
Outline
I. IntroductionII. Thesis point 1III. Thesis point 2IV. Thesis point 3V. Conclusion
Discussion Post → Paper
THESISTHESIS
ReferencesAnderson, G. F., Hussey, P. S., Frogner, B. K., & Waters, H. R. (2005). Health spending in the United States and the rest of the
industrialized world. Health Affairs, 24(4), 903–914.
Elmore, J.G., Taplin, S.H, Barlow, W., Cutter, G.R, D'Orsi, C.J., Hendrick, R.E., . . . (2005). Does litigation influence medical practice? The influence of community radiologists' medical malpractice perceptions and experience on screening mammography. Radiology, 236, 37-46.
Harvard School of Public Health. (2010). Medical liability costs in U.S. pegged at 2.4 percent of annual health care spending. Retrieved from http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/medical-liability-costs-us/
PBS, THIRTEEN. (2012). Before I die: How much do we spend on healthcare? Retrieved June 28, 2013 from http://www.thirteen.org/bid/sb-howmuch.html
Phillips, Jr., R.L., Bartholomew L.A. , Dovey, S.M., Fryer, Jr. G.E., Miyoshi, T.J., Green, L.A . (2004). Learning from malpractice claims about negligent, adverse events in primary care in the United States. :Qual Saf Health Care, 13, 121–126. doi: 10.1136/qshc.2003.008
McAbee, G.N., DO, JD, Donn, S.M. , Mendelson, R.A., McDonnell, W.M., Gonzalez, J.L., Ake, J.K. (2008). Medical diagnoses commonly associated with pediatric malpractice lawsuits in the united states. Pediatrics, 122(6), 1282-1286.
Towers Watson. (2010). 2010 Update on U.S. Tort Cost Trends. Retrieved from http://www.towerswatson.com/assets/pdf/3424/Towers-Watson-Tort-Report-1.pdf
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2011). Calculated with data from the footnote above and: "National Health Expenditures by Type of Service and Source of Funds, Calendar Years 1960-2009. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/index.html?redirect=/NationalHealthExpendData/02_NationalHealthAccountsHistorical.asp#TopOfPage
