HLSC122 Evidence for Practice
Semester 1, 2020
Assessment Task 3
SCENARIO 2: Stress in university students
Chooseya is a first-year international student studying at university in Australia. She recently received her first semester results, which were not good, with a fail in one unit. Chooseya feels that she too stressed and not capable of completing her three-year degree program. A friend of Chooseya’s - Joanne - encourages her to pick herself up emotionally and to continue to peruse her studies. Joanne feels that failing a unit in your first semester of university can be due to many factors. Joanne decides to search for literature on how stress affects academic grades in university students, in an effort to support her friend.
Clinical question
Does stress affect academic performance in university students?
Reference
Frazier, P., Ga
iel, A., Merians, A., & Lust, K. (2019) Understanding stress as an impediment to academic performance. Journal of American College Health, 67(6), XXXXXXXXXXdoi: 10.1080/ XXXXXXXXXX1499649
Here is LEO link to this quantitative study
https:
acu-edu-primo.hosted.exli
isgroup.com/permalink/f/sb9f4f/TN_informaworld_s10_1080_07448481_2018_1499649
HLSC122
Evidence for Practice
Semester 1, 2020
Assessment
Task
3
SCENARIO
2
:
Stress in
university students
Chooseya is a first
-
year international student studying at university in Australia. She recently
eceived her first semester results, which were not good, with a fail in one unit. Chooseya
feels that she
too stressed and
not capable of completing her thre
e
-
year degree program. A
friend of Chooseya’s
-
Joanne
-
encourages her to
pick herself up
emotionally and to
continue to peruse her studies. Joanne feels that failing a unit in your first semester of
university can be due to many factors. Joanne decides t
o search for literature on
how stress
affects academic grades
in university students
,
in an effort to support her friend.
Clinical question
D
oes stress affect academic performance in university students?
Reference
Frazier,
P.,
Ga
iel,
A.,
Merians
,
A.,
& Lust
, K.
(2019)
Understanding stress as an impediment
to academic performanc
e.
Journal of American College Health
,
67
(
6
),
562
-
570
.
doi
:
10.1080/ XXXXXXXXXX1499649
Here is LEO link to
this
quantitative
study
https:
acu
-
edu
-
primo.hosted.exli
isgroup.com/permalink/f/sb9f4f/TN_informaworld_s10_1080_07448481_2018_
1499649
HLSC122 Evidence for Practice
Semester 1, 2020
Assessment Task 3
SCENARIO 2: Stress in university students
Chooseya is a first-year international student studying at university in Australia. She recently
eceived her first semester results, which were not good, with a fail in one unit. Chooseya
feels that she too stressed and not capable of completing her three-year degree program. A
friend of Chooseya’s - Joanne - encourages her to pick herself up emotionally and to
continue to peruse her studies. Joanne feels that failing a unit in your first semester of
university can be due to many factors. Joanne decides to search for literature on how stress
affects academic grades in university students, in an effort to support her friend.
Clinical question
Does stress affect academic performance in university students?
Reference
Frazier, P., Ga
iel, A., Merians, A., & Lust, K XXXXXXXXXXUnderstanding stress as an impediment
to academic performance. Journal of American College Health, 67(6), XXXXXXXXXX.
doi: XXXXXXXXXX/ XXXXXXXXXX1499649
Here is LEO link to this quantitative study
https:
acu-edu-
primo.hosted.exli
isgroup.com/permalink/f/sb9f4f/TN_informaworld_s10_1080_07448481_2018_
1499649
PLEASE DELETE ALL BLUE TEXT & HIGHLIGHTED TEXT BEFORE UPLOADING TO TURNITIN
Title
Assessment 3: Critical appraisal of evidence
Student name:
Student number:
HLSC122 Semester 1, 2020
Assessment 3: Research Study 1 or 2
Word count: XXXX
ACU requires assignments to follow APA style version 6 or 7 guidelines in semester one, 2020, as follows:
· Size font 12 Black, bold for headings, double spacing throughout
· Font Style is plain: Times New Roman, Cali
i or Arial
· Align to the text to the left and leave the right side uneven (no justifying)
· Microsoft Word format or PDF only
· Use 1in or 2.5cm margins on all sides (top, bottom, left and right)
· APA references in-text and a reference list, no footnoting, appendices or images
· Page numbers to bottom right hand side footer – simple number only
· Keep quoting to a limit of 1 or 2 for essay only
· Do not use HLSC122 lecture or journal club notes, lecturer comments or LEO resources as references Your writing, in each paragraph - apart from introduction and conclusion- should be supported by at least one high-quality varied academic reference (check textbooks in unit outline reference list). This assignment requires that you use at least four academic references, apart from research study being critiqued This reference is supporting your knowledge and understanding of critical appraisal related to the research study.
· An objective and impersonal style of writing is used in academic essays, with third person only and not reference to ‘I’, ‘we’, or ‘myself’ (ACU Study guide: Skills for success, 2017, pp. 74-5).
· Most text needs to be supported by references, even your opinions on the weaknesses and strengths of the study.
Suggested headings & Approximate Word counts per section
Introduction
133 words (11% of word count)
Your introduction should include an in-text reference to your research study being critically appraised. Do not restate the scenario or clinical question.
PART A – Critical appraisal
Authorship
133 words (11% of word count)
Research question & Justification
133 words (11% of word count)
Research design
133 words (11% of word count)
This section can also include possible source of bias
Research methods
133 words (11% of word count)
Results and Limitations
133 words (11% of word count)
PART B – Enablers and Ba
iers
266 words (22% of word count)
Your discussion in Part B should refer to the scenario and clinical question.
Conclusion
133 words (12% of word count)
References
All in alphabetic APA style
Drafted Dr Jacqueline Randle
8. 4.20
2
1
Title
Assessment 3: Critical appraisal of evidence: Exemplar Essay Using Fictious References
Student name: Mary Jo Smith-Jones
Z0001234
HLSC122 Semester 2, 2019
Assessment 3: Scenario 3, Critical appraisal of research study examining bacteria on student’s
mobile phones
Word count: 1263 words
2
Introduction
There is a scarcity of research on the bacterial contamination of mobile phones of health care
workers worldwide (Kent, Marsh, May & XI, 2020, p.5). This paper will critically appraise one of
the few primary research studies on this subject (Tailor, Nikita, Naiker, Naivalu, & Kumar, 2019)
using a set of questions to identify the strengths and weakness of key sections of the study,
namely: authorship, research question, research design, research methods and lastly limitations
and results. In addition, an outline enablers and ba
iers to the adoption of the study
ecommendations or findings in relation to a given scenario and clinical question.
PART A – Critical appraisal
Authorship
White XXXXXXXXXXmaintains that an appraisal of research literature should include an appraisal of
the quality of authorship, which may include, “cited credentials, affiliations and known
expertise in the health discipline on the research topic” (p.12). The authorship of the study
eing appraised in this paper (Tailor et al, 2019), comprised four authors who had a Bachelor of
medical laboratory science, and one who was a qualified dentist, affiliated with universities. It
can therefore be concluded that the authorship was a strength of this study, given cited
credentials, qualifications and affiliations. However, a weakness of this study was the omission
of a disclosure statement in the study, indicating that there was no ‘conflict of interest’. A
conflict of interest is described by White (2018, p. 6) as a situation when there are commercial,
legal, financial, or any other opposing interests that may affect the study.
3
Research question & Justification
This study (Tailor et al., 2019) sought to identify the “colonisation of microorganisms and the
variety of bacteria present” on the mobile phones of students at a university in Fiji (p XXXXXXXXXXThe
justification for the research – found in the ‘introduction’ – was a weakness of this paper, as
discussion was supported by only eight studies, and these were studies published from 2009 to
2014, rather than close to the date of the study’s publication of 2019. However, the authors did
note three key points in this section, being: mobile phones are used by health care
workers(HCW) in clinical settings; studies have reported that HCWs frequently touch their
mobile phones, and seldom clean them; and argued that their study was filling a gap in the
literature, on how contaminated these devices can be. Thus, the discussion within the
introduction section was a strength of this study, as it was well structured, and demonstrated
several solid arguments to support the undertaking of this study.
Research design
The authors stated that they used a cross-sectional research design, with randomisation (Tailor
et al, 2019, p XXXXXXXXXXA cross-sectional design is described as a quantitative approach, that
samples a population, at a given time, and when used with randomisation for sample selection
educes the risk of sampling or selection bias (White, 2020, p.100). The authors’ choice of a
quantitative approach was appropriate for the study aim, given the need to obtain quantitative
laboratory data, at a specific time in a sample of a population (i.e. undergraduate health
professional students), which is a strength of this study. However, the authors did not explain
4
their rationale for choosing their design, which is a weakness of the study. Further discussion of
ias will follow in the ‘research methods’ section.
Research methods
With regard to sample selection, a weakness of the study, was the authors’ omission details
elated to selecting the 50 students, such