Category: Unit 2

I have learned many new and more efficient ways to use the TWU library search page and I believe that this will help me to be more successful with my research. Although I found some of the topics for e-books very interesting, I believe that I will find the most current and valuable information through peer reviewed articles. In Clark and Creswell’s Understanding Research, they state, “when reading about research on a specific topic, journal articles are generally the best source.” (Clark and Creswell, 2015, P 11). The explain that journal articles are the best source because they are written by the people who actually conducted the research. This provides an unbiased viewpoint.

To ensure that the articles are credible and reliable, I will invest time in not only reading th research article, but researching the background/credentials of the author(s). Also, I noticed with some of the articles that you can tell how many times it has been cited. I will look for this as well because if it has been cited by other authors of peer review journals, it is more reliable. I will also make sure that the majority of the articles that I reference have a publishing date that is current.

Once I have found a reliable article, I will also access the sources referenced within that article for further information.

Even though most of my resources will be peer reviewed articles, I will still access some information found in e-books on the TWU website as I feel that the information is valuable and helpful.

My topic that I have started with is as follows. It is formatted according to the 3 step statements that were provided to me by Dr. Strong.

1. I am researching chemicals or dyes in processed and packaged foods and children with special needs (topic)
2. because I want to find out if chemicals/dyes in processed and packaged foods have an effect on the behaviour of children with special needs(issue/question)
3. in order to develop a nutrition program at our school that promotes the health and well-being of our students (application – audience).

 

As I learn more about being an effective researcher, I believe that this topic will change and evolve so that I can more effectively and efficiently find reliable sources.

References:

Plano-Clark, V., Creswell, J. (2015). Understanding research: A consumer’s guide (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

The e-book I have found for this learning activity is Hope for the autism spectrum [electronic resource] : a mother and son journey of insight and biomedical intervention. The author of this books is Sally Kirk. It was published by Jessica Kingsley out of London, Philadelphia in 2008, c2009. http://library.twu.ca/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/?ps=pDd8hy8duD/MAIN/16210070/9

The author, Sally Kirk, is a mother of a son who has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. When her son was diagnosed, she took it upon herself to learn all that she possibly could about treatment and therapy for this disorder.

In this book, the author intended to share her family’s experience with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She intends to target other families who may be experiencing similar situations.The book provides a wealth of information on biomedical interventions for ASD. Her information is intended to target family’s, physiologists, practitioners and pediatricians who may be able to share the information with other families as well.

This book is published in 2008 and copyright in 2009. According to the Unit 2 notes, this follows the general rule that a source published within the last 10 years is up to date.

I found it more difficult to determine if the e-book is peer reviewed. I do not believe it is peer reviewed. You can find reviews of the book online, written by authors of other books on similar subjects and founders of recognized societies such as the Autism Society of America, and the Director of the Autism Research Institute.

The book may have biases in that it is a personal experience told from Sally Kirk. Her experiences may not be the same for others in similar situations.

This is an article that I found in my search in the Academic Search Complete database:

Exposures to Environmental Toxicants and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in U.S. Children (http://ezproxy.student.twu.ca:2152/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&sid=dfb18b79-999d-4e90-a886-bd5ec14eef2b%40sessionmgr4006)

There are 5 authors for this article. They are Joe M. Braun, Robert S. Kahn, Tanya Froehlich, Peggy Auinger, and Bruce P. Lanphear. There credentials are as follows:

Joe M. Braun: College of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA;

Robert S. Kahn: Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA;

Tanya Froehlich:Cincinnati Children’s Environmental Health Center, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA;

Peggy Auinger: Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA;

Bruce P. Lanphear: Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, New York, USA

This article was published on December 1, 2006. According to the Unit 2 notes, a current article is one that has been published within the past 10 years. According to this general rule, this article would not be considered current.

The authors intentions in the publications of this journal were to study the effects of exposures to tobacco smoke and environmental lead with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In Clark and Creswell’s Understanding Research (2015), they discuss that intended audiences are usually found in the Introducation. (Clark and Creswell, 2015). Intended audiences for this research article are not listed, however they may include health practitioners, tobacco companies, advocates for prenatal health, pediatricians, ADHD specialists, and other audiences as well.

The article was published by Environmental Health Perspectives. Dec2006, Vol. 114 Issue 12, p1904-1909. This article is peer reviewed. I confirmed this by selecting the peer reviewed articles filter in my search.

The author does not acknowledge obvious biases within the article. They discuss and consider all angles and factors of their research. I believe this research is unbiased. The authors used rigorous statistical analysis and the sample size was significant.