| Course | HLTH 4205 Introduction to Research Methods and Analysis |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 2 |
| Paper type | Research question set |
| Length | About 660 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | BS in Healthcare Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HLTH 4205 Week 2
From Topic to Question: Five Versions of a Research Question on Medicaid Coverage and Access to Care, Including the Ones That Failed
Student Name
Walden University
HLTH 4205: Introduction to Research Methods and Analysis
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
From Topic to Question: Five Versions of a Research Question on Medicaid Coverage and Access to Care, Including the Ones That Failed
The Starting Concern
My starting concern is that low-income adults in my clinic's county struggle to get health care. That is a topic, not a question: it names an area of interest without saying what would be observed, in whom or compared with what. The versions below record how it became a question someone could study. Each version is followed by the reason it was revised, judged against the familiar test that a question worth studying is one a team can actually carry out, that matters to someone, that adds something new, that can be done ethically and that bears on practice (Hulley et al., 2013).
Version 1: Why Is Health Care Hard to Get for Poor People?
Why it failed. It is too broad to study and assumes the answer is one thing. Hard to get could mean cost, distance, waiting time or discrimination, and poor people is undefined. No single study could answer it, and the question invites opinion rather than observation.
Version 2: Does Health Insurance Help People?
Why it failed. It names a cause, insurance, but help is not an outcome anyone can measure. It also covers every kind of insurance and every person. A study built on it would not know what to count. The version did make progress: it moved from a complaint to a relationship between two things.
Version 3: Does Medicaid Coverage Improve Access to Care for Low-Income Adults?
Why it was revised. It names the population and the cause, but access to care is still a broad concept with several meanings. It also has already been studied at scale: a lottery study in Oregon found that coverage increased the chance of having a usual place of care in the first year (Finkelstein et al., 2012), and studies of state expansions have found improvements in access measures (Sommers et al., 2012). A new study would need to add something those studies did not, which this version does not yet say.
Version 4: Do Newly Insured Adults at Our Clinic Have a Usual Source of Care Six Months After Enrolling?
Why it was revised. This version is feasible: the clinic enrolls about 30 adults a month in Medicaid and could survey them. It names one measure of access, a usual source of care. It is relevant to the clinic's work. But it has no comparison, so it could describe the newly insured without saying whether coverage made a difference, and it does not say what a usual source of care means.
Version 5: The Question to Study
Among adults aged 19 to 64 who enrolled in Medicaid through our clinic's enrollment office, what proportion report a usual source of care, defined as a specific clinic or provider they would go to when sick, six months after enrolling, and how does that compare with the proportion when they enrolled?
This version names the population, defines the measure, sets a time frame and builds in a comparison, the same people before and after. It is feasible within the clinic's resources and ethical, since it involves only a survey of consenting adults. It is novel in a limited sense: it describes our county's experience, which the national studies do not. Its main weakness is that a before-and-after comparison cannot separate the effect of coverage from other changes over six months, such as recovering from the illness that prompted enrollment. The design match next week will need to address that.
What the Narrowing Taught
The narrowing showed that each step forced a choice: one population, one cause, one outcome, one comparison, one time frame. It also showed that the broad question had been studied well by others, which pushed the final version toward what a small clinic study could add rather than repeating what national studies have shown (Sommers et al., 2017).
References
Finkelstein, A., Taubman, S., Wright, B., Bernstein, M., Gruber, J., Newhouse, J. P., Allen, H., Baicker, K., & Oregon Health Study Group. (2012). The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment: Evidence from the first year. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 127(3), 1057-1106. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjs020
Hulley, S. B., Cummings, S. R., Browner, W. S., Grady, D. G., & Newman, T. B. (2013). Designing clinical research (4th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Sommers, B. D., Baicker, K., & Epstein, A. M. (2012). Mortality and access to care among adults after state Medicaid expansions. New England Journal of Medicine, 367(11), 1025-1034. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa1202099
Sommers, B. D., Gawande, A. A., & Baicker, K. (2017). Health insurance coverage and health: What the recent evidence tells us. New England Journal of Medicine, 377(6), 586-593. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsb1706645
HLTH 4205 Week 2 instructions, in plain terms
Question sets at this stage typically ask you to show how a broad topic became a researchable question. Write down your starting concern. Then record each version of the question as it narrowed, keeping the versions that failed, and explain why each was revised. Judge each version by whether it is feasible, interesting, novel, ethical and relevant. Check what existing studies have already answered, since that shapes what your question can add. The final version should name the population, the measure, any comparison and the time frame. Admit its remaining weaknesses, especially in what it can show about cause, and note what the next stage will need to address.
How this HLTH 4205 Week 2 example is built
The opening states the starting concern and the criteria used, citing Hulley and colleagues. Version 1 fails as too broad and opinion-based. Version 2 names a cause but not a measurable outcome. Version 3 names population and cause but leaves access undefined, and the note shows it has been studied, citing Finkelstein and colleagues and Sommers, Baicker and Epstein. Version 4 becomes feasible and local but has no comparison. Version 5 states the final question with population, definition, time frame and before and after comparison, and admits it cannot separate coverage from other changes. A closing section explains what each narrowing step forced and cites Sommers, Gawande and Baicker on the evidence base.
Reading the HLTH 4205 Week 2 rubric
The failures are what is assessed. Graders look for every intermediate version, including those that did not work, with a clear reason for each revision. Testing versions against recognized criteria shows method rather than intuition. Checking the existing literature, and adjusting the question to add something new, earns credit. The final question should name a population, a defined measure, a comparison and a time frame, and it should be feasible for the writer's setting. Admitting what the final question cannot show, especially about cause, demonstrates understanding that will matter in later weeks. A short, well-organized document with each version clearly separated and accurate references completes what is graded.
Common HLTH 4205 Week 2 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Question sets often present only the final question, with a sentence about how it was developed, which skips the part being graded. Others narrow the population but never define the outcome. Some end with a question that has already been answered by large studies. Keep a running list as you revise: write each version, then write one line on what is wrong with it. Check a database for studies on each version before narrowing further. When the question names who, what, compared with what and over what time, you are close. For your own topic, our writers can prepare a question set that records every version and explains each revision.
Get a HLTH 4205 Week 2 example written to your instructions
Topic in, narrowing out: every round stays visible on the page and the final elements arrive labeled. Send the prompt and the rubric your classroom posted, and the first custom sample comes back inside 24-48h at no charge. A topic drawn from a workplace is described by the student, and the reasoning gets built around it.
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HLTH 4205 Week 2 questions, answered
Where can I find a free HLTH 4205 Week 2 sample paper?
You can read the entire question set, all five versions included, on this page without charge.
What starting concern does the HLTH 4205 Week 2 set begin with?
That low-income adults in the writer's county struggle to get health care, which is a topic rather than a question.
Why did the early versions fail?
They were too broad, assumed one answer, named no measurable outcome or had no comparison, and one had already been answered by national studies.
What is the final question?
Among adults aged 19 to 64 who enrolled in Medicaid through the clinic, what proportion report a usual source of care six months after enrolling compared with at enrollment.
What weakness does the final question admit?
Comparing the same people before and after cannot isolate the effect of coverage from other changes over six months, such as recovering from the illness that prompted enrollment.