Write a 3,000 word essay that describes your literature search strategy, research question and critically review/appraise three (3) peer-reviewed and published scientific journal articles on your chosen public health research

Research Methods and Critical Appraisal: Suggested Guidance

1.Formative assessment 1: submission of three articles on one drive in IRMM folders

Guidance for selecting papers for Research Methods Assessment

• Number of papers: 3
• Types of papers:
• One RCT, One cohort, One Qualitative  for critical appraisal
• The RCT should focus on effectiveness of an intervention on the chosen public health issue and specific population group.
• Cohort- it should be based on public health issue and the specific population group.
• Qualitative study- it should be based on public health issue and the specific population group. (You get brownie point if it discusses similar intervention as RCT)
• No systematic reviews, study protocols, editorials, opinions, reviews, perspectives, policy documents etc. However, these can be used for referencing in the background or discussion sections.
• You will get one chance to get your papers approved.
• Your papers should be within 2012-2025
• Searching for papers: It is your responsibility to search for your papers and get approval from your tutor.
• Saving papers:  Please save your papers with the title of the papers as pdf files in safe place. It is better to save them in more than one place so that your can retrieve them without losing.
• Uploading papers: You must upload your papers on one drive for review by 28^nd March 2025
• Final papers: You must upload your final papers on one drive by 13^th May 2025: 23:45.
• Formative assessment 2:  PowerPoint presentation

Submission Date and Time:  09.04.2024, in class presentation and submit on file exchange by 08.04.2024, 10 pm (so that Mina can download on her USB for next day)

Slide 1: Name and student number, your research question (PH topic of interest)

Slide 2: A rationale/significance/background for your chosen topic.

Slide 3: Your research question using the PICO framework.

Slide 4: The search strategy used to complete your literature search? What key words did you use? Did you use Boolean and Truncation? Any other strategy?

Slide 5: Inclusion and exclusion criteria used to choose your three articles

Slide 6: References

3.Summative Assessment: (Essay)

Assignment brief: Write a 3,000 word essay that describes your literature search strategy, research question and critically review/appraise three (3) peer-reviewed and published scientific journal articles on your chosen public health research topic that use at least three different epidemiological study designs -one experimental/randomised trial, one cohort and one qualitative paper.

Weighting: 100%

Submission Date and Time: 13.05.2025, 23:45 on Turnitin

Submission of Three final articles and relevant CASP sheets, search histories for three studies and search strategy workbook on One drive, 13.05.2025; 23:45

Core text: This is only for guidance. The bullet points are provided as different pointers to consider whilst developing your essay. You can order bullet points/sections and add more in the way of your understanding and for clarity of your writing on your chosen topic.
Learning Outcomes: Please ensure that you meet all the learning outcomes in your summative assessment  LO1.Distinguish between different research methods, methodologies and study designs, and their value to public health. LO2.Devise a suitable literature review question and search strategy, and identify relevant research studies. LO3.Critically appraise research studies and recognise their implications for public health policy and practice.
Core	Your notes (weighting plus others)
Introduction- approx 100 words  Write what the assignment is about Summarise what your chosen public health topic is.
Background and rationale (sources and evidence must be cited)-  approx. 500 words  Summarise the importance of your chosen topic in the context of Public Health- for example obesity, cancer, smoking Briefly describe the rationale for choosing the topic- epidemiological data, risk and protective  factors, relevant existing interventions and policies
Methodology  (sources and evidence must be cited)- approx 900 words What is literature review and its types. What is critical appraisal and its purposes. What tools are used in critical appraisal (generalisability, validity, reliability etc) Explain different types of study designs and its strengths and weaknesses Your chosen library data base(s) Discuss the framework used to formulate the research question (PICO). Describe the key words used in your search for all the studies Describe the use of Boolean operators and Truncation Discuss the inclusion/exclusion criteria in detail (did you limit the search to any number of years? What about language, geography, gender, age, disease, type of intervention?) Number of articles as a result of your search, number of abstracts read, number of articles chosen to include and appraise. What are the ethical principles in research and how they are used in research.
Critical Appraisal  (sources and evidence must be cited)- approx. 1000 words Describe the three articles briefly . Do this one article at a time (each article should be one clear section, about 300 words of description per article). Describe and Appraise the study design, population, analysis and results using specific CASP sheet for each study type. How did you identify and apply critical appraisal tools in your articles- generalisability, validity and reliability? What are the strengths and limitations of the studies? Any ethical issues in the papers highlighted, and how research ethics principles were applied.
Implications for public health policy and recommendations- (sources and evidence must be cited)-  approx. 400 words Discuss the relevant policy and its pros and cons on your chosen research topic  Explain how the three studies you appraised contribute to towards the policy in terms of providing evidence in favour or against the policy
Conclusion approx 100 words Highlight the main points discussed in the main text.	.
References No word limit. Use Harvard Referencing.
Appendix Search strategy flow diagram

Tips for writing

Format and style

1. You should write in active voice.
2. Avoid informal words, colloquial language in writing.
3. Avoid contractions (Can’t/don’t is wrong, use can not, do not).
4. Explain your abbreviations first before using them. For example- World Health Organisation (WHO)
5. Use British English.
6. Do not write in first person. (I think, I read, I believe etc.)
7. Please be careful with your spellings and punctuation marks. Poor grammar is poor writing and results in poor understanding and misleading.
8. The writing should be formal and should create a flow through linking sentences clearly.
   1. Use clear and concise academic language in writing.
   2. No anecdotal stories.
   3. Try not to be too descriptive. You need to do a ‘critical analysis’.
   4. Make sure the format of your essay is Arial font, 12, The margins for each page are 2.54 cm (the default in MS Word) and the line spacing is double, and justified (right and left side of paragraphs is straight, like in a book or published report). 

Referencing

1. You MUST use Harvard Referencing system in your assignment
2. This should be for both in the body of the essay (citation) and references. Please signpost your references clearly and accurately in the body of the essay.
3. Use only academic peer-reviewed published articles, academic books, government websites or reliable international data sets from UN or other international agencies.
4. Avoid grey literature, non-academic articles. For example-