RESEARCH METHODS
ACTIVITY #3 – LEARNING TO ANALYZE THE LITERATURE
Overview of Assignment
Deadline: Monday, February 19 at 7PM
Submission Format: D2L Dropbox
Points: 3
The objective of this assignment is for you to learn how to analyze rather than just summarize the literature, which is something you will have to do for your own Proposal. You will also get to see additional examples of in-text citations and references.
For this activity, you will write two paragraphs that analyze the literature related to the research question I picked for us to study together over this semester: How does news coverage of security breaches in electronic health record systems influence the public’s view of the privacy and security of these systems?
You don’t need to search for articles to perform this literature review, as three articles are already available for you. These are located in our course’s D2L website (see “Articles for Activity #3” on our course’s D2L website).
You will use in-text citations in your paragraphs to refer to these three articles in your writing. You will also prepare a list of references using these three articles. You may use either the style of the American Psychological Association (Help write my thesis – APA) or the American Sociological Association (ASA) for your in-text citations and reference list.
Your two paragraphs using in-text citations and a list of references is the writing portion you will upload on the designated Dropbox for this activity on our course’s D2L website.
This worksheet will walk you through how to analyze the articles, write paragraphs using a template, use in-text citations, and prepare a reference list.
Analyzing the Articles
Remember from the slides for Module 3 that literature reviews are more than just summarizing the literature. You need to analyze these three articles on our D2L website.
As you read the articles, practice thinking and notetaking about the following because you will do this for the literature review of your own Proposal:
• What are the similarities and differences in the findings?
• What are the similarities and differences in the research methods?
• What are the common concepts?
• What are the common theoretical frameworks or hypotheses?
• How does one study build on the others?
As a side note, too, notice these articles don’t perfectly overlap with the research question. However, they are related to it. No one has studied this particular research question, and so there aren’t any articles that overlap perfectly with it. A literature review analyzes articles related to the research question.
Once you have finished reading and analyzing the articles, you are ready to practice writing paragraphs of a literature review. These paragraphs will comprise part of the writing portion for this activity, which you are uploading on the designated D2L Dropbox for this activity.
Writing Your Analysis: Templates for Paragraphs
You are going to be tasked to write a lengthy literature review for your research proposal (about 4-6 pages). The task may seem daunting, but that’s where this activity comes into play.
You are going to learn about templates for writing paragraphs. When you rely on a template, all you have to do is fill in the blanks. There are several correct ways to use the templates you’ll learn about to analyze the set of articles, and it is up to you to decide how you will do so. Essentially, think of this assignment as playing a game of madlibs (Never heard of madlibs? Let me Google that for you: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+are+madlibs%3F).
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You will learn to write two types of paragraphs: 1) a paragraph summarizing common findings; and 2) a paragraph describing common research methods.
Boring? Seems too lazy? There’s no way real researchers use templates, right? Oh, but we do!
Your professors are researchers. We are expected to teach, mentor, and do research. How do we fit all of that into our schedules? And get over the writer’s block from being too tired from lecturing and meeting with students and research assistants all day? There are many books and resources written to help us manage our time and overcome writer’s block. A popular book is How to Homework help – Write a Lot (https://monkessays.com/write-my-essay/apa.org/pubs/books/4441010.aspx?tab=1). Many mentors give this to their mentees to help them, and mine give this one to me. Among the tips is: create templates for writing research papers. The logic behind relying on templates is that it speeds up writing (helps writing fit into your schedule) and makes it easier for the words to flow because you already know what you have to say (helps overcome writer’s block).
For example, take a look at the article, Campos-Castillo and Anthony (2015). Look at the third paragraph of the “Background and Significance” section, which begins with: “Empirical support for one or the other relationship between EHRs and patient disclosure is somewhat mixed. For example, a recent consumer survey found…” It’s a twist on the template below for writing a paragraph summarizing findings in a real, published research article. Not to toot my own horn, but this article has won awards and received attention in the news media. Real researchers rely on templates, get published using them, and garner attention with them. You’re training just like a real researcher.
Of course, these templates you’ll learn about will not neatly align with the articles you find for your own literature review. It’s therefore important to understand the general structure of these templates. For each template, notice it follows a more general template, a “mega template” of sort:
• The first sentence is a topic sentence in that it identifies patterns common to the studies. Usually this is your analysis and you don’t need to use in-text citations.
• The next few sentences expand on the topic sentence by giving more details on the studies. Here is where you will usually use in-text citations.
• The last sentence tells readers what can be learned from these studies. This is still your analysis and you usually don’t need to use in-text citations.
Onto the templates. You need to fill-in the blanks in the templates. Samples of these templates filled out using in-text citations will appear in the next section titled, “Using In-Text Citations.”
Template #1: Summarizing Common Findings
Studies show patients ________(a)_________. For example, one study found patients ______(b)__________. Another study adds that patients ____(c)_________. Therefore, health policy makers should consider how the use of electronic health records should address ______(a)_________.
How to fill-in the blanks:
(a) = A finding you see as common among the three articles. No need to use an in-text citation here as these are your thoughts based on your own analysis of the articles.
(b) = A specific finding from one of the three articles. Use an in-text citation to the article.
(c) = A specific finding from another of the three articles. The article must be different from what you used in (b). Use an in-text citation to the article.
Template #2: Describing Common Research Methods
Most research on this topic uses ____(a)________. For example, several recent studies ____(b)____ used ____(a)_______. Relying on mostly this research design can bias conclusions drawn from findings because designs have advantages, but also disadvantages. As such, more research is needed that uses other research designs besides ___(a)_______.
How to fill-in the blanks:
(a) = A research method you saw commonly used in at least two of the three studies. For now (based on where we are on this course), this could be: the type of study, sampling method, or operationalization of concepts. You only need to pick one and use this one throughout the paragraph. No need to use an in-text citation as these are your thoughts based on your own analysis of the articles.
(b) = In-text citation to the studies you’re using in (a)
Using In-Text Citations
Here, you’ll see completed samples of the two templates. You’ll also learn more about how to use and format in-text citations.
You may use either Help write my thesis – APA or ASA style for you in-text citations. The only requirement is that you pick one and consistently use it throughout the templates. Further, you must use a reference list style matching the in-text citation style you pick (more details on this in the section titled, “Preparing Your Reference List”).
Let’s *pretend* the three research articles you are analyzing for this assignment were about how patients love watching action movies where the main hero is a woman, as opposed to movies where a man is the main hero. A completed Template #1 using ASA in-text citation style would look like:
Studies show patients prefer to watch action movies where the main hero is a woman. For example, one study found patients had watched three movies in a calendar year featuring a woman as the main hero, but only one movie during the same timeframe featuring a man as the main hero (Walker et al. 2017). Another study adds that patients in focus groups stated they are tired of watching movies with men as the main hero (Campos-Castillo and Anthony 2015). Therefore, health policy makers should consider how the use of electronic health records should address patients’ preferences to watch action movies where the main hero is a woman.
This same completed Template #1 using Help write my thesis – APA in-text citation style would look like:
Studies show patients prefer to watch action movies where the main hero is a woman. For example, one study found patients had watched 3 movies in a calendar year featuring a woman as the main hero, but only 1 movie during the same timeframe featuring a man as the main hero (Walker, Johnson, Ford, & Huerta, 2017). Another study adds that patients in focus groups stated they are tired of watching movies with men as the main hero (Campos-Castillo & Anthony 2015). Therefore, health policy makers should consider how the use of electronic health records should address patients’ preferences to watch action movies where the main hero is a woman.
Notice in both examples that the text underlined is what I used to fill-in the blanks in the template. You do not have to underline your text, as I’m only doing it here to show you how to fill-in the blanks. Notice also that the text I used to fill-in (a) in the template is essentially repeated in the first and last sentence, and not repeated word-for-word. I had to alter the text a bit, but the idea behind the text is the same. You may find yourself having to do this.
Now, let’s *pretend* the set of research articles you are analyzing for this assignment used electric shock to operationalize a stressful encounter. A completed Template #2 using ASA in-text citation style would look like:
Most research on this topic uses electric shock to operationalize a stressful encounter. For example, several recent studies (Agaku et al. 2014; Campos-Castillo and Anthony 2015; Walker et al. 2017) used electric shock to operationalize a stressful encounter. Relying on mostly this research design can bias conclusions drawn from findings because designs have advantages, but also disadvantages. As such, more research is needed that uses other research designs besides using electric shock to operationalize a stressful encounter.
This same completed Template #1 using Help write my thesis – APA in-text citation style would look like:
Most research on this topic uses electric shock to operationalize a stressful encounter. For example, several recent studies (Agaku, Adisa, Ayo-Yusuf, & Connolly, 2014; Campos-Castillo & Anthony, 2015; Walker, Johnson, Ford, & Huerta, 2017) used electric shock to operationalize a stressful encounter. Relying on mostly this research design can bias conclusions drawn from findings because designs have advantages, but also disadvantages. As such, more research is needed that uses other research designs besides using electric shock to operationalize a stressful encounter.
Again, the text underlined is what I used to fill-in the blanks in the template and you do not have to underline your text. Notice that here I cited more than one article in a sentence. In both Help write my thesis – APA and ASA in-text citation style you have to separate multiple in-text citations within the parentheses with a semicolon (the comma with a dot over it ; ). The order in which the articles are cited inside the parentheses must either be alphabetized by the last name of the first author (so, Agaku, and then Campos-Castillo, and then Walker), or by the publication date (in this case, it results in the same order as if we were to alphabetize).
You now know enough to fill-in the templates for the writing portion of this activity. Homework help – Write them up using a Word document. Don’t upload the document onto D2L just yet, as you have to add your reference list.
Preparing Your Reference List
After you’ve filled-in both templates and used in-text citations, the next step is to prepare your reference list.
Regardless of which of the two reference styles (Help write my thesis – APA or ASA) you use, the reference list is always on a brand new page in a Word document. Also, for either of these reference styles, sources on the list must be alphabetized by the last name of the first author listed.
Your reference style must be the same as the in-text citation style.
Because you’re still learning about reference styles, below are the references for the three articles using Help write my thesis – APA style and ASA style. Notice the similarities but also the differences. You may notice it looks like the article by Walker and colleagues (2017) only has one page (“e2”). That’s because the journal, Journal of Medical Internet Research, is an online only journal. Since it’s online, there are no pages.
Copy the reference list using the style matching the in-text citation style you used. Paste it onto a brand new page in the Word document you’re using to write your two paragraphs. You’re done!
Help write my thesis – APA Style Reference List:
Agaku, I. T., Adisa, A. O., Ayo-Yusuf, O. A., & Connolly, G. N. (2014). Concern about security and privacy, and perceived control over collection and use of health information are related to withholding of health information from healthcare providers. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 21(2), 374-378.
Campos-Castillo, C., & Anthony, D. L. (2015). The double-edged sword of electronic health records: implications for patient disclosure. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 22(e1), e130-e140.
Walker, D. M., Johnson, T., Ford, E. W., & Huerta, T. R. (2017). Trust Me, I’m a Doctor: Examining Changes in How Privacy Concerns Affect Patient Withholding Behavior. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(1), e2.
ASA Style Reference List:
Agaku, Israel T., Akinyele O. Adisa, Olalekan A. Ayo-Yusuf and Gregory N. Connolly. 2014. “Concern About Security and Privacy, and Perceived Control over Collection and Use of Health Information Are Related to Withholding of Health Information from Healthcare Providers.” Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 21(2):374-78.
Campos-Castillo, Celeste and Denise L. Anthony. 2015. “The Double-Edged Sword of Electronic Health Records: Implications for Patient Disclosure.” Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 22(e1):e130-e40.
Walker, Daniel M, Tyler Johnson, Eric W Ford and Timothy R Huerta. 2017. “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor: Examining Changes in How Privacy Concerns Affect Patient Withholding Behavior.” Journal of Medical Internet Research 19(1):e2.
Grading Rubric
Item Points
Filled-in text onto Template #1 and it makes sense 1
Filled-in text onto Template #2 and it makes sense 1
Used in-text citations correctly throughout (no partial credit, either you did or you didn’t) 0.5
Includes reference list matching the style used for in-text citation (no partial credit, either you did or you didn’t) 0.5
Total 3
Privacy Risks of EHR
Studies show patients there is a rising patients’ concern about their medical information privacy. Some patients have withheld their medical information to their healthcare providers in fear of the safety and privacy of their data or information. For example, one study found patients 13% of the patients involved in the survey reported to have withheld information from their providers in fear of the risks and privacy concerns of Electronic Health Record (EHR) (Campos-Castillo, & Anthony, 2014). Another study adds that patients 12.3% of the patients involved in the research reported having hidden some information from their healthcare providers in fear of their information security or privacy (Agaku, Adisa, Ayo-Yusuf, & Connolly, 2013). Majority of these patients are the ones who feel to have a very little impact or say on how their medical record or information was being held. Therefore, health policymakers should consider how the use of electronic health records should address quality care concerns and also the patient privacy. They should address the perceived and real security and privacy risks or issues of EHR.
Most research on this topic uses multivariable and bivariate logit regressions techniques to analyze the data obtained from Health Information National Trends Survey. For example, several recent studies in a medical field used survey or questionnaire mode of research (Walker, Johnson, Ford, & Huerta, 2017). Relying on mostly this research design can bias conclusions drawn from findings because designs have advantages, but also disadvantages. As such, more research is needed that uses other research designs besides the use of questionnaire mode of research. The use of questionnaire mode of research leads to biased outcomes due to the issue of the language barrier and also the mode of sample selection may be biased as well as the self-reported nature of the information.
Reference
Agaku, I. T., Adisa, A. O., Ayo-Yusuf, O. A., & Connolly, G. N. (2013). Concern about security and privacy, and perceived control over collection and use of health information are related to withholding of health information from healthcare providers. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 21(2), 374-378.
Campos-Castillo, C., & Anthony, D. L. (2014). The double-edged sword of electronic health records: implications for patient disclosure. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 22(e1), e130-e140.
Walker, D. M., Johnson, T., Ford, E. W., & Huerta, T. R. (2017). Trust Me, I’ma Doctor: Examining Changes in How Privacy Concerns Affect Patient Withholding Behavior. Journal of medical Internet research, 19(1).
