PHE 505 Module 1 Discussion Example

Reviewed by Delia Ravenscroft, MSN, RN

This PHE 505 Module 1 Discussion sample shows how a research question can grow out of public health practice. It was written for SNHU PHE 505 (PHE-505), the MPH research methods course, whose first module asks students where research questions come from and what makes one worth pursuing. The idea began with an emergency physician in a composite Midwestern university city who said that injured scooter riders almost never wore helmets. The post narrows that remark into a question about helmet use and head injury among injured riders, tests it against the FINER criteria and early published studies, and admits what it does not yet know. It asks classmates where their own questions started and how much they had to narrow them.

CoursePHE 505 Research Methods in Public Health
ModuleModule 1
Paper typegraduate discussion post on developing a research question
LengthAbout 360 words, 3 pages
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolSouthern New Hampshire University
ProgramMPH
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for PHE 505 Module 1

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Module One Discussion

From a Hallway Remark to a Research Question

My research question started in a hospital hallway. I was at the emergency department for a health department meeting when a physician said, half joking, that she could tell which patients came off a shared scooter because none of them had a helmet and too many had a head injury. Four years after scooters arrived in our city, nobody had checked whether she was right.

What this page is doingThe idea's origin is concrete.
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A remark is not a question. My first version, are scooters dangerous, was far too broad. I narrowed it in steps: to riders, not pedestrians; to those treated in our two emergency departments; and to one relationship, between helmet use and head injury. My working question is now: among adults treated for injuries from riding shared electric scooters in our city, is not wearing a helmet associated with head injury?

Hulley et al. (2013) offer a five-part test, known as FINER, that asks whether a question can be done, whether it engages people, whether it adds something new, whether it is ethical and whether it matters. It seems feasible, because both hospitals record the mechanism of injury and, often, helmet use. It interests the health department and the city council, which is weighing scooter rules. It is not entirely novel. Trivedi et al. (2019) reviewed 249 injured riders in Los Angeles and found that only 4.4% had worn a helmet and that 40% had head injuries, and Namiri et al. (2020) showed national scooter injuries and admissions rising steeply. But no one has studied our city, where riders are mostly students and streets differ. A record review raises privacy questions an ethics board would need to approve, and the answer is relevant to a real decision about helmets.

What I do not know yet is whether helmet use is recorded consistently enough to analyze. That may decide the design. If it is not, an observational study of riders on the street, like the one Trivedi and colleagues added to their record review, could answer part of the question.

What this page is doingThe question is tested against named criteria.
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For classmates: where did your research question start, and what did you have to cut to make it answerable?

What this page is doingThe question invites peers' own origin stories.
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References

Hulley, S. B., Cummings, S. R., Browner, W. S., Grady, D. G., & Newman, T. B. (2013). Designing clinical research (4th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Namiri, N. K., Lui, H., Tangney, T., Allen, I. E., Cohen, A. J., & Breyer, B. N. (2020). Electric scooter injuries and hospital admissions in the United States, 2014-2018. JAMA Surgery, 155(4), 357-359. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2019.5423

Trivedi, T. K., Liu, C., Antonio, A. L. M., Wheaton, N., Kreger, V., Yap, A., Schriger, D., & Elmore, J. G. (2019). Injuries associated with standing electric scooter use. JAMA Network Open, 2(1), Article e187381. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.7381

What the PHE 505 Module 1 instructions ask for

For Module One, PHE 505 asks you to discuss how research questions arise and what makes one worth studying. A page-length post citing a few APA 7 sources is typical, plus replies. Describe where your own idea came from, whether practice, data, the literature or the community, and show how you narrowed a broad interest into a specific question with a population, an exposure and an outcome. Test your question against recognized criteria, such as FINER, using early evidence from published studies. Be honest about what you do not yet know, and finish by inviting classmates to share the origins of their questions. Note a fallback if your data may be thin.

How this PHE 505 Module 1 discussion example is built

In this PHE 505 post, a composite MPH student hears an emergency physician remark that injured scooter riders rarely wear helmets. The student narrows the idea from are scooters dangerous to whether helmet nonuse is associated with head injury among adults treated after riding shared scooters in one Midwestern city. Hulley and colleagues' FINER criteria test the question, Trivedi and colleagues' Los Angeles study shows 4.4% helmet use and 40% head injuries, and Namiri and colleagues show national injuries rising. The student admits uncertainty about whether hospital records capture helmet use well enough. A fallback design is noted if records fall short. Peers are asked what they cut.

Where the PHE 505 Module 1 rubric puts the points

Graders of the PHE 505 opening discussion usually look for a clear account of where the question came from, a visible narrowing process, a question with a defined population, exposure and outcome, correct use of a recognized criteria set, relevant early evidence and APA 7 citations. Posts that score highest are honest about uncertainty and feasibility. Graders mark down questions that remain broad topics or that cannot be answered with available data. Concise writing and an ending that invites classmates to compare their starting points complete stronger posts, and replies that help a peer narrow a question earn credit. Noting a fallback if data prove thin shows foresight. Specific populations matter.

PHE 505 Module 1 help: the mistakes that cost points

Opening posts for PHE 505 often lose points by stating a topic rather than a question, skipping the narrowing step or citing no studies. If you are still shaping your idea, share the prompt and the problem that interests you, and the post will narrow it into a question with a population, exposure and outcome and test it against the FINER criteria with early evidence. Ideas from work or volunteering often make the strongest questions. Our PHE 505 opening posts set up a question that can carry through all four milestones, so the topic milestone in Module Two follows naturally. A fallback design is suggested when data may be thin.

Get PHE 505 Module 1 written to your instructions

Share the PHE 505 Module 1 prompt and the problem that interests you. The post will trace the idea's origin, narrow it into a question with a population, exposure and outcome, test it against FINER with early evidence and close by asking peers about theirs. Expect it in two days or so; the first sample is free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.

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PHE 505 Module 1 questions, answered

Where can I find a free PHE 505 Module 1 Discussion sample?

This page carries the full PHE 505 Module 1 post turning an emergency physician's remark about scooter head injuries into a researchable question.

What are the FINER criteria for a research question?

Feasible, interesting, novel, ethical and relevant, a checklist described by Hulley and colleagues.

How do you narrow a broad research interest?

Specify the population, the exposure or factor of interest and the outcome, and limit the setting to one you can study.

Where do public health research questions come from?

Often from practice, such as observations by clinicians or staff, as well as from data, the literature and community concerns.

Why must a research question be feasible?

A question that cannot be answered with available data, time or money will not produce results, however important it is.