MCA

Ms. Loggins - MCA Seniors

HOSA Research Posters

TYPES OF RESEARCH

Surveys, interviews, observations, and experimental studies are all types of scientific studies that can be used to collect data and answer research questions. The type of study that's best for a research question depends on the specific circumstances. For example, if you want to examine eating habits, you could observe students eating lunch or survey them about their eating behavior. For this assignment the easiest method is a survey; however, which type you choose to do depends on your topic.

Survey

A survey is a collection of questions about a topic that participants answer. Surveys can be administered in person, by phone, or electronically. They are a popular choice because they can be adapted to many research needs. You can do a survey in one class period (say, this class or the class you are in for ME Time). It can be a Google form or you can do it on paper. Let's say that your topic is ADHD - you do not ask "Do you have ADHD?" or try to only give the survey to students with ADHD. That is private and you will not be able to find many students. If you happen to know at least five students who have ADHD and you think they would be comfortable being in your study, you can do an interview (see below). Instead, for the survey you can put, for example, questions about signs and symptoms of ADHD. One sign, according to the CDC, is forgetting or losing things a lot. So one of your questions could be "Do you forget or lose something at least once a week?" or "How often do you forget or lose something? A) every day B) at least once a week C) once a month D) only rarely" etc. You could ask about at least five symptoms and then prepare graphs, etc. showing the results. You want to get at least 20 responses in order for your data to be more valid and to have enough answers to create graphs, etc.

Interview

An interview is a direct conversation with a participant, where the researcher asks questions. Interviews can be conducted face-to-face, or phone, Zoom, etc. It is generally not a good idea to do interviews by email - but it can be done in a pinch. They can be open-ended or more structured, and often provide more personalized information than surveys. If your topic is teenagers and vaping, for example, and you think you can find at least five teenagers who vape - you can interview them separately or together (make sure they are comfortable). You would not use their names or other identifying information. You can ask them questions about vaping (similar to the survey type questions above) but you can also get them to tell you longer stories, etc. It depends on what data would be useful for your topic. For example, if you topic is something like how to prevent teens from starting to vape, then you might ask them to tell the story of how they started vaping. Maybe you will notice a pattern that many of them said they started becase of older brothers or sisters or something and then you can share those results as part of your project. If all five teens started for different reasons then you project can be about the many different reasons teens start vaping.

Observation

An observational study involves observing events, people, and interactions related to a topic of interest. This method can help establish the authenticity of findings. As mentioned above. if you want to say that a health issue is students not eating school lunch, then you can go to the cafeteria one day at lunch and count how many students get food. Then you can compare that to how many students we have at our school total. You could also do an interview where you walk up to students at lunch who are not eating and ask them if they ever eat in the cafeteria and why or why not? You could also do a survey where you ask a class of students if they eat school lunch or not, etc.

Experimental Study

An experimental study tests a hypothesis by manipulating independent variables and measuring the effects on dependent variables. Randomization is important in experimental studies to ensure that the treatment given to the population caused the observed change. This is not a recommended method for this project - but in some cases you might want to do this. Logistically, it can be very difficult to get permission from participants, etc. It can be a lot of work where something like a Google Form survey might work just as well. An example of an experimental study would be something like finding a group of kids who do not eat lunch and giving them a quiz at the end of the day and then giving the same group (or another group) some lunch to eat and then giving them a quiz to see if maybe eating lunch helps students do better on a quiz because they can focus, etc.

POSSIBLE TOPICS

Remember that. for the most part, we are trying to pick a health topic related to where we live that affects teens (since you are probably going to use students at this school for your survey or interview, etc.). Based on that. here are some topics you can choose if you do not already have a topic. 

Parks

Source: San Gabriel/Rosemead/Alhambra pdf pg. 7 - there are not that many parks in San Gabriel, Rosemead, and Alhambra. Access to green spaces is good for your health.

Lack of Exercise/Physical Activity

Source: San Gabriel/Rosemead/Alhambra pdf pg. 8 - the data is about adults but you could probably say that many adults grew up here or that someone's parents' physical activity has an effect on the teen (if your parents go to the gym maybe you are more likely to go to the gym, etc.)

Farmer's Markets

Source: San Gabriel pdf pg. 9 - there are no farmers markets in San Gabriel. Farmer's markets can be a great way to eat more vegetables and for young people to learn about healthy eating and different types of food, etc. 

School Lunches

Source: San Gabriel/Rosemead/Alhambra pdf pg. 9 - 64% of students are eligible for free lunch in San Gabriel, 82% in Rosemead, and 66% in Alhambra - but do they actually eat it?

Diabetes

Source: San Gabriel pdf pg. 10 - Similar to the ADHD example above, you probably do not want to survey students who have diabetes - it would be more like researching the things young people can do to avoid getting diabetes in the future, etc.

Tobacco Use

Source: San Gabriel/Rosemead pdf pg. 11-12 - This can also include vaping.

Housing Burden

Source: Rosemead pdf pg. 16 - Housing burdens can negatively impact health by causing significant stress and limiting the amount of money available to spend on other life necessities such as food or healthcare.

Alcohol

Source: San Gabriel pdf pg. 16 - There are more liquor stores/bars etc. in San Gabriel than on average.

California Clean Environment Score

Source: Alhambra pdf pg. 16 - The score for Alhambra is very low - but this is a topic that will be very hard to do a report on for this assignment - so think carefully before choosing this topic.

Uninsured Adults/Adults Having Difficulty Accessing healthcare

Source: Rosemead pdf pg. 23-24 - The number of uninsured children is not bad but uninsured adults is higher than average. Difficulty Accessing Healthcare could be due, in part, to language issues and a lack of translators.

California Healthy Places Index

Source: Rosemead pdf pg. 25 - Rosemead is in the 17th percentile (where the higher the number the healthier the place).

LINKS

Access the ProQuest Central Student Database here.

Access Google Scholar here.

SAMPLE RESEARCH POSTERS

ETHICS IN RESEARCH

"Ethics in research" refers to the set of moral principles that guide researchers in conducting their studies, ensuring the well-being of participants, upholding scientific integrity, and acting responsibly throughout the research process, often including aspects like informed consent, confidentiality, and minimizing potential harm to subjects; it essentially dictates how research should be conducted ethically, prioritizing the welfare of individuals involved while pursuing knowledge acquisition.

Key points about ethics in research:

Core principles:

Major ethical principles in research include beneficence (maximizing benefits), non-maleficence (minimizing harm), autonomy (respecting participants' choices), and justice (fair distribution of research benefits and burdens). 

Informed consent:

Participants must be fully informed about the research, potential risks and benefits, and have the right to choose whether to participate. Do not pressure your friends and classmates into participating, for example.

Confidentiality:

Researchers must protect the privacy of participants' personal information. You will not collect the names  emails of survey participants, for example.

Vulnerable populations:

Special considerations are required when researching groups like children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities. Every student at this school is a child and therefore you should probably avoid choosing very sensitive/controversial topics altogether.

Institutional review boards (IRBs):

Most research involving human subjects needs to be reviewed and approved by an ethics committee to ensure adherence to ethical guidelines. For this project we do not have such a board - this is another reason to avoid very sensitive topics. You must run your topics, survey/interview questions, etc. past Ms. Loggins and/or Ms. Naylor.

Research misconduct:

Fabricating data, plagiarism, or failing to disclose conflicts of interest are considered serious ethical violations.

STEP ONE: THE RESEARCH QUESTION

1. Competitors must be familiar with and adhere to the General Rules and Regulations 

2. Competitors must pose a topic and research question that can be researched in their community.

3. Topics must be health-related, but flexibility is given to competitors to select something of interest and of local importance and relevance.

4. Examples of topics:

A. Community-Based Strategies to Reduce Mental Health Stigma

B. Combating Postpartum Depression in Teen Moms

C. Decreasing Juvenile Incarceration Rates by increasing the Presence of Positive Male Role Models 

You can read more about how to develop a research question here:

https://www.monash.edu/library/help/assignments-research/developing-research-questions

LIBRARY RESEARCH

You can conduct research in the SGHS library in a number of ways. Exploring these options will help you narrow down your research question.

1. Physical Books: Nonfiction books on medical topics and issues can be found in and about the 610 section of the library. For example, a book about mental health is 616.89 and a book about smoking is 612. However, there are books about health and medical issues in other areas of the library as well.  Search the online library catalog or ask the librarian for help. You can also search for books/topics in the library catalog here: https://sangabrielhs.goalexandria.com/

2. Online Research Databases: Go here https://sangabrielhs.goalexandria.com/ to access our library's online databases for topics, articles, research, and more. ProQuest eLibrary is a good place to start.

3. Research online: You can start by checking out the links on this page. If you are doing research online, make sure you are using reliable sources. In general, sources will need to have an author, for example, so if there is not an author listed on a webpage you will probably not be able to cite it as a source.

4. Take notes! You might find a good website to use as a source but then forget where it was - write it down and keep your notes (on paper or on a Google Doc) organized. If you are working with a group, you will want to create a shared Google Doc. See below for information about APA Style.

CITING SOURCES

The American Psychological Association (APA) is the preferred resource in Health Sciences. 

Visit this link for more information about APA style: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html

Literature Review

https://forms.gle/1R9fo9tC3ni3qVFCA