Week 7: Assignment 2

“How do adolescents get involved with eating disorders?”

            This week after further reviewing my past sources, I made some changes and found new sources. I made this change because I made a few changes to my research question and I felt that some of the first few sources that I found were irrelevant to my question. My current sources explain several influences such as social norms, cultural practices and expectations, and also personal disapproval and self-image. I decided to continue using the EBSCOHost tool to find more sources because I have used this tool in the past and feel most comfortable with it. I also used the CRAAP tool in order to research and double check that the articles/sources were relevant, credible, and accurate.

            Because my question is a little broad, I feel that I found several different sources which not only answer my question but also provide extra information. I have information in regards to several causes which may influence adolescents into eating disorders as well information in regards to history, statistics, and possible treatments. I personally feel that the most interesting part of my research would be the causes and influences which lead to eating disorders. People are already aware of the large amount of eating disorders, however they are still unsure about the many causes which lead adolescents to fall into such extremities. 

Week 6: Assignment 2

Overall this week’s readings and tutorials served more as a reminder of the rules and expectation of academic integrity. Being a college students for several years now, I have repeatedly read and been told about plagiarism and cheating. I have always tried to improve my referencing skills in order to make sure I never fall into the unfortunate error of plagiarizing. I also feel that by doing your own work and referencing others, it makes your work much more professional. The one new thing I learned this week was that it is allowed to use past work for a new course if both instructors agree. I had always thought that it was unacceptable no matter what.

            This week also provided me with two new and resourceful tools. I enjoy finding new search databases because it expands the amount of results and sources I can find and provides me with more information and supportive evidence for future papers.

Week 5: Assignment 2

Or this week’s research, finding an empirical peer-review study was interesting. The database I went into provided me with several studies completed which focused on many different aspects of my research question. I found comparative, clinical, and observational studies all of which were relevant. Although last week my research question addressed two aspects, I have now decided to focuses on one. My new research question is “How do adolescents fall into eating disorders?” With this question, I will look at different influential aspects such as physiological/cognitive/emotional problems, social norms, and cultural expectations.

            Throughout these past weeks I have also learned several different research techniques which have expanded the amount of information I have been able to gather. I am no longer relying on Google for the answers, instead I am using several different databases and researching articles and books. I feel like these past weeks have also taught me to double check the sources and make sure they are legitimate and accurate.

Week 4: Assignment 2

            From this week’s research, I gained a lot of information and supportive statistics. Before this week I tried to look for information that focused on cognitive and cultural aspects in relation to eating disorders. I felt that eating disorders was caused more by cognitive problems or cultural practices and expectations. Now I have learned that there are other influential factors such as peer involvement and social norms. The information I gathered today also made me realize that it is important to look at the characteristics of eating disorders differently between girls and boys. By seeing the differences, hey can be addressed and treated better.

            Aside from the knowledge I obtained, I also learned a new search strategy. The Advanced Search Premier allowed me to narrow down my options to peer –reviewed articles only. I found these articles to be more helpful because they discuss actual studies done and include their methods and results rather than simply including other references to statements and findings made. The only difficulty I had was that some of the articles are long and include some information that is not necessary or unclear.