| Course | PAC 799A Addiction Studies Capstone |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 7 |
| Paper type | Capstone method plan |
| Length | About 1,036 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PAC 799A Module 7
Two Phases, Two Kinds of Evidence: Planning the Method for a Jail Naloxone Evaluation
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PAC 799A: Addiction Studies Capstone
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Two Phases, Two Kinds of Evidence: Planning the Method for a Jail Naloxone Evaluation
This capstone examines the naloxone kits offered as people leave the Pine Hollow County Detention Center, the fictional Georgia jail used throughout this course. Chapters 1 and 2 set out the problem, questions and evidence. This plan describes how the evidence will be gathered and analyzed. It will be defended in the next module and carried out in PAC 799B.
Design
The project is a two-phase mixed-methods program evaluation. Phase one, during the remainder of PAC 799A and the first weeks of PAC 799B, describes the current opt-in offer through twelve months of release records and explores reasons for acceptance and refusal through interviews. Phase two, during PAC 799B, follows uptake for six months after the jail changes to an opt-out offer. The quantitative strand answers RQ1 and RQ3, the qualitative strand answers RQ2 and the integration answers RQ4. The design fits the questions because the reasons people decline cannot be learned from records and the effect of the default cannot be learned from interviews.
Setting and Participants
Pine Hollow releases about thirty-four eligible people a month, defined, as in Chapter 1, through the booking screen and withdrawal care records. Phase one uses records of all eligible releases in the twelve months before the change. For interviews, Avery will recruit up to twelve people released within the past three months, through the county's peer recovery organization, which already meets many of them after release; recruitment will deliberately include people who declined a kit. Both jail nurses, who make every offer, will also be interviewed. Interviews will take place outside the jail, without custody staff present.
Data Collection
A jail records officer will provide de-identified extracts, with a study number in place of each name.
| Source | Content | When |
|---|---|---|
| Release log | Date and time of release, type of release, offer made, kit accepted or declined | Twelve months before the change; six months after |
| Booking screen | Eligibility; number of prior bookings | Same periods |
| Interviews with released people | Experience of the offer, reasons, what happened to the kit | Months two to four of PAC 799B |
| Interviews with nurses | How the offer is made, what people say, changes under opt-out | Before and after the change |
Interview Guide Outline
The guide for released people covers five areas. It asks people to describe the moment of release and who was present, to recall what they were told about the kit and how they responded, to explain in their own words why they took it or left it, to describe what happened to the kit afterward, if they took one, and to suggest what would make the offer easier to accept. Questions are open and avoid assuming drug use; participants choose what to share. The guide will be piloted with a peer mentor from the recovery organization before use.
Analysis for Each Question
For RQ1, Avery will calculate the share of eligible releases with a kit accepted, overall and by night or day release, type of release and prior bookings, with confidence intervals and simple comparisons. For RQ2, transcripts will be analyzed following Braun and Clarke (2006): reading and rereading, generating codes, grouping codes into candidate themes, reviewing themes against the data, defining and naming them and writing them up with quotations. A peer mentor will review the themes to check that they ring true. For RQ3, Avery will follow Lopez Bernal et al. (2017) and fit a segmented regression to monthly uptake, estimating the pre-change level and trend and the change in level and in trend after the switch. They note that seasonality and autocorrelation, the tendency of neighboring months to resemble each other, should be checked, and that series with few points give imprecise estimates; with twelve points before and six after, the analysis will report estimates with wide confidence intervals and will be interpreted cautiously.
Integration
Fetters et al. (2013) describe integration at the levels of design, methods and interpretation, and recommend joint displays, tables that place quantitative and qualitative results side by side. For RQ4, Avery will build a joint display in which each row is a pattern from the records, such as lower uptake at night, set beside the interview accounts that bear on it, such as nurses' descriptions of overnight releases, with a column stating whether the two agree, expand on each other or conflict.
Timeline
Because six months of post-change data cannot fit within one term, the jail will begin the opt-out offer once approvals allow, and the final month's data may be added after the term in a short addendum if the instructor agrees; Avery has raised this with the capstone instructor.
| Period | Activity |
|---|---|
| PAC 799A, final weeks | Method defense; submit to Aspen and jail review |
| PAC 799B, weeks one to three | Approvals final; extract baseline records; pilot interview guide |
| PAC 799B, weeks three to five | Nurse interviews before change; jail switches to opt-out |
| PAC 799B, weeks four to ten | Released-person interviews; monthly uptake tracking |
| PAC 799B, weeks ten to fourteen | Final records extract; analysis; joint display; Chapters 4 and 5 |
Data Management
Records will sit on a jail-issued drive that is encrypted and locked by password, with the study number as the only identifier. Interview recordings will be transcribed within a week, with names and identifying details removed, and the recordings then deleted. A data log will record every extract received, every correction made and every decision about excluding a record, so that the analysis can be traced from the raw files.
Contingencies
If fewer than eight released people can be reached, Avery will add interviews with two peer mentors who discuss kits with people after release. If the opt-out change is delayed, phase two will be shortened and the limit reported. If records prove incomplete for night releases, Avery will compare log entries with nurses' records for a sample of nights.
Conclusion
The plan pairs each research question with data and analysis, uses segmented regression with the cautions Lopez Bernal and colleagues set out, follows Braun and Clarke for interviews and integrates the strands with a joint display as Fetters and colleagues recommend. The timeline fits both terms with stated contingencies, preparing the method for defense in the next module.
References
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Fetters, M. D., Curry, L. A., & Creswell, J. W. (2013). Achieving integration in mixed methods designs: Principles and practices. Health Services Research, 48(6, Pt. 2), 2134-2156. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.12117
Lopez Bernal, J., Cummins, S., & Gasparrini, A. (2017). Interrupted time series regression for the evaluation of public health interventions: A tutorial. International Journal of Epidemiology, 46(1), 348-355. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyw098
PAC 799A Module 7 instructions, in plain terms
The seventh module of PAC 799A usually asks you to plan the method that will become Chapter 3. Let the Module 7 instructions in your Aspen course set the requirements; this jail is invented. Identify the design and argue for its fit with your questions and site. Describe the setting, participants and how they will be recruited. Set out each data source and instrument. Give an analysis plan for each research question, including software and decisions you will make. Explain how strands will be integrated if you use mixed methods. Include a timeline that fits both capstone terms. Cite methods sources in APA 7 throughout. Add a short section on contingencies, saying what you will do if recruitment, approvals or data fall short, because reviewers will ask.
How this PAC 799A Module 7 example is built
The composite plan has Avery extract twelve months of release records, interview about ten released people through the county's peer recovery organization and both nurses, then help the jail switch to an opt-out kit for six months. The segmented regression for RQ3 follows the tutorial by Lopez Bernal and colleagues, which shapes the model for RQ3. The six-phase thematic method from Braun and Clarke governs RQ2. Fetters and colleagues' Health Services Research article supports a joint display for RQ4. A timeline table spans both terms, and an interview guide outline lists five topics, from the release desk to what happened to the kit. Contingencies cover too few interviews, a delayed switch and gaps in night records.
PAC 799A Module 7 rubric: what earns full marks
Method plans earn credit for a design matched to the questions, procedures specific enough to follow and analysis planned before data arrive. This example pairs every research question with a data source and analysis. The time series plan names its model and acknowledges the short post-change period. Recruitment for interviews is realistic, using the peer organization to reach people after release. The interview guide outline shows the questions are open and nonjudgmental. Integration is planned, not left for the end. The timeline fits the work into the two capstone terms while leaving room for slow approvals. Contingencies are stated in advance, including a fallback for interviews if released people prove hard to reach, which shows realistic planning.
PAC 799A Module 7 help: mistakes that cost marks
Method plans often describe data collection without saying how the data will be analyzed. Plan each analysis now. Be specific about recruitment, especially with hard-to-reach groups such as people recently released. Write your interview guide early and test it on a colleague. Plan how strands will be integrated; mixed methods without integration is two separate studies. Build slack into the timeline for approvals and recruitment, which almost always take longer than expected. Name what you will do if something fails, such as too few interviews. Keep the plan consistent with your Chapter 1 wording, since reviewers compare the two. For a time series, decide your number of data points in advance and do not add or drop months after seeing the results.
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PAC 799A Module 7 questions, answered
What does PAC 799A Module 7 usually ask for?
Aspen's PAC 799A covers planning the method in this module, so a design, data collection and analysis plan that will become Chapter 3 is typical. Open your Module 7 prompt.
What is segmented regression?
An analysis for interrupted time series that estimates the level and trend before an intervention and the change in level and trend afterward, as Lopez Bernal and colleagues describe.
What is a joint display in mixed methods?
A table or figure that places quantitative results and qualitative findings side by side so they can be compared and interpreted together.
Where can I find a free PAC 799A Module 7 sample paper?
This page holds the full method plan: a two-phase mixed-methods design, analysis for each question, an interview guide outline and a timeline.
How many interviews does a capstone need?
It depends on the question; for a focused thematic analysis in one setting, around eight to twelve participants is common, with the number justified in the plan.