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HPAC.3 Develop: Research and Plan with the Community
Credible sources, a sharp research question, partners, a mini-grant and a timeline
Your materials
Slides (PowerPoint) Handout (Word)
For instructors
Facilitator guide Printable pre and post tests Quiz (LMS import)
What you will learn
- Judge whether a source is credible using lateral reading
- Write a clear research question for your team topic
- Identify community partners and reach out professionally
- Build a simple mini-grant budget and project timeline
Start here
You see a post saying a new drink cures stress. How would you find out, in two minutes, if it is true?
Lesson
Reading down vs reading lateral
Reading down (weak)
- Stay on one page and read every word
- Trust a page because it looks professional
- Believe the site's own About page
Reading lateral (strong)
- Open new tabs and search the source's name
- See what others say about who made it
- Check who funds it and what they want
Where to find trusted health facts
- Government: CDC, NIH, MedlinePlus, Ohio Department of Health and the county board of health.
- Research: Google Scholar finds studies; use quotation marks for exact phrases and check 'Cited by'.
- Health systems: Hospital community health needs assessments describe local needs and plans.
- The community: People who live it: interviews, surveys and your asset walk notes.
Writing a research question
A good question is focused, honest and answerable this year.
- Start with your topic: Example: stress among students.
- Name who: Example: tenth graders at our school.
- Name what you will change: Example: knowing three ways to calm down.
- Put it together: Can a peer workshop help tenth graders learn three calming skills?
- Test it: Can we measure the answer by spring? If not, narrow it.
Planning upstream with partners
- What we see: Students in Slavic Village say they feel stressed and cannot sleep.
- Why it happens (upstream): Noise, worry about money at home, long bus rides, and few safe places to hang out after school.
- What we can build on (assets): A counselor, a rec center with evening hours, a youth pastor, a local yoga teacher, and students who can lead peers.
A sample mini-grant budget
| Item | Why we need it | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Printing flyers | Promote the workshop | Ask a partner |
| Healthy snacks | Draw students in | Get real prices |
| Stress balls | Hands-on calming tool | Get real prices |
| Room | Rec center donates space | In-kind, $0 |
| Total | Add up every line | Must match the ask |
Building your timeline
- Work backward: Start from Scholars' Day in spring and count back the weeks.
- List every task: Research, partner meetings, permissions, buying supplies, the event, the survey.
- Give each task an owner: One name per task, even when a team helps.
- Add check-ins: Meet weekly to see what is done and what is stuck.
Situation: the first partner email
Situation: Jasmine's team in Clark-Fulton wants to hold a workshop at a nearby library. She plans to text the librarian 'yo can we use ur room'.
How should Jasmine reach out instead?
- Use a professional email with a clear subject line
- Say who she is, her school, and HPAC
- Explain the project and exactly what she is asking for
- Copy her adult supervisor and say thank you
Talk it over
- Which partner could give our team something besides money?
- What part of our plan is most likely to fall behind, and why?
- How will we know if a website is trustworthy before we use it?
Study sheet
The big idea: A strong plan uses trusted facts, a focused question, real partners, an honest budget and a timeline everyone owns.
Key points
- Lateral reading means opening new tabs to check who made a source and what others say about it.
- Trusted health facts come from government agencies, research, health system reports and the community itself.
- A good research question names a topic, a group of people and a change you can measure this year.
- Partners can give space, skills, people or supplies; these in-kind gifts count.
- A mini-grant budget lists each item, why you need it and its real cost.
- Build the timeline backward from Scholars' Day and give every task one owner.
Remember
- Check the source before you trust the page
- In Google Scholar, use quotation marks and 'Cited by'
- Every task needs one owner and a due date
- Always copy your adult supervisor on partner emails
Ask yourself
- How do I usually decide if something online is true?
- Which adult in my community would say yes to helping our team?
Vocabulary
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Credible source | A source you can trust because experts made it, it is checked, and it shows its evidence. |
| Lateral reading | Leaving a web page and opening new tabs to check who made it and what others say. |
| Google Scholar | A free search tool for research articles, studies and books. |
| Research question | A focused question your project tries to answer. |
| Partner | A person or group that helps your project with space, skills, people or supplies. |
| Mini-grant | A small amount of money given to a team to carry out a project. |
| Budget | A plan that lists what you need, why, and how much it costs. |
| In-kind | A gift of goods, space or time instead of money. |
| Timeline | A schedule showing what tasks happen when and who does them. |
| Community health needs assessment | A report hospitals publish about a community's top health needs. |
Real-life situations
The flashy website
Dante, from East Cleveland, finds a slick site claiming a supplement prevents asthma attacks. He wants to put it on the team poster.
What to do
- Open a new tab and search the website's name plus 'review' or 'who funds'
- Check whether CDC, NIH or MedlinePlus say the same thing
- Notice if the site is selling the product
- Leave the claim out unless trusted sources back it
Why: A site that sells a product is not a neutral source. Lateral reading protects the team and the people who trust its poster.
The partner who does not answer
Ana's team in Lorain emailed a clinic two weeks ago about a health fair table. No reply yet, and the event is in four weeks.
What to do
- Send one polite follow-up email with the supervisor copied
- Ask the supervisor if a phone call would help
- Reach out to a backup partner from the asset map
- Update the timeline so the team knows the plan
Why: Busy partners miss emails. A polite follow-up and a backup plan keep the project on track.
The budget that does not add up
Malik's team budget lists $300 in snacks for a 20-student workshop at a Fairfax church.
What to do
- Ask the team to check real store prices
- Ask if a partner could donate snacks
- Move savings to items that serve the project goal
- Make sure each line says why it is needed
Why: Funders trust budgets that are honest, reasonable and tied to the goal.
Activity: Our project plan, version one
About 40 minutes.
- Write your team's research question using the five steps on the slide.
- Find two credible sources about your topic. For each, write one sentence on how you checked it.
- List three possible partners from your asset map and what you will ask each one for.
- Draft a mini-grant budget with at least four lines and real prices.
- Build a timeline back from Scholars' Day with an owner for every task.
Post-test
Ten questions. You need 75% to pass, with one retake. Your result is saved in this browser.