1.Introduction Context and rationale (around 500 words) Introduce the research topic, justify why it is important to study this topic- put it in context, and state your research question and objectives 2.Literature review (around 500 words) Present a focused critical review of the literature specific to your research objectives. This should be very specific focused on what your research question/objectives want to answer based on review of a number of peer-reviewed articles. Critically analyze what other studies (especially form your country and similar countries) have found about your research question, report the findings, discuss similarities and differences, highlight gaps. 3.Methodology (around 1500 words) Present detailed methods of the study under the following headings. 3 Approach and design Discuss your epistemological paradigm (positivist/interpretivist) and your design and justify your choices based on your objectives and strengths and limitations of the approaches/designs. Briefly describe your paradigm and design and their strengths and weaknesses. For example if you are using focus group discussions in your study describe limitations and weaknesses and why you think this is the most appropriate method for you 3.2 Study setting Describe where the study will be done (not the country; the specific community/ hospital/center etc.) and explain why this is appropriate site for your study. 3 Target and study population Describe the target population, the study population and participants. State the eligibility (inclusion/exclusion) criteria. 3 Sample size State the sample size and explain how it was calculated. There is no calculation for qualitative studies but explain appropriately how many participants you intend to include and why so. 3 Sampling and recruitment of participants State your sampling method/s and how you recruit potential participants to ensure that the sample is representative to the target population, and in qualitative studies to ensure diverse perspectives are captured. 3 Exposures and outcomes State you main (and secondary) outcome, and your main exposures i.e. variables. 3 Data collection tools Explain what tools (questionnaire, interview guide, measurements) you use for data collection and how you develop them. If you are using secondary data you may call this data sources and talk about the sources of your data. 3 Data collection Explain how you will actually collect the data i.e. how you will do the interviews, focus groups or extract data from the data sources. 3 Data analysis Explain how you analyse the data including descriptive analysis and inferential analysis in order to answer your objectives. In qualitative studies, explain what approach you use for data analysis. 3 Ethical issues Explain what ethical issues are relevant to your study dn how you address them. ****** Note: If you are using a scoping review as part of your methods, the above methodology does not apply; instead read the paper I have shared in Other Resources, and have the following sections in your Methodology: Methodology for Scoping or Systematic Reviews Research approach and design Eligibility criteria Information sources Search Study selection Data collection process Data items Risk of bias Synthesis of results Ethical issues ***** My approved Research Project Outline:- Research Project Outline The title of the study is, What is the prevalence of obesity and what are the factors associated with it among teenagers in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia? This research question will help the research in answering how comprehensive the issue of obesity is common among teenagers in Malaysia. Prevalence of obesity in this study means the degree at which the issue of obesity is widespread among Malaysian teenagers (Teo et. al., 2014, p. 5836). Factors associated with obesity refer to those things that contribute to the majority of teenagers in Malaysia being obese. Background Obesity is a serious health issue that exposes the affected persons to serious health conditions such as diabetes, stroke, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and gall stones. Obesity has risen to be a health burden and a leading cause of death among non-communicable diseases (Teo et. al., 2014, p. 5835). The issue of obesity becomes more serious when it affects teenagers who are the future of every nation. The future of a nation whose youth are bombarded by health complications is not that promising, and this is what has informed this study which will provide more information regarding how prevalent the issue of obesity among Malaysia teenagers is and the factors that contribute to it. Aims and Objectives of the Study The aim of the study is to establish the prevalence of obesity among teenagers in Malaysia and highlight the factors that contribute to its prevalence. The study, therefore, will be governed by these two variables. Among the objectives of the study include, to find out the number of teenagers in Malaysia affected by obesity, to find out the factors that contribute to obesity among the teenagers, and to find out the measure that the parents, government and policymakers have put in place to address obesity among teenagers in Malaysia. Methods of Research The study will use a Cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire among teenagers aged 16-19 years in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Informed consent of the participants will be taken and privacy and confidentiality respected (Jacobsen, 2012, p. 56). This may involve getting their weights and heights to determine their BMI. The participants in the study will be teenagers aged 16-19 years of age. The setting of the study will be in the District of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Please read the feedback from my prof before u start doing the project. Feedback from my Professor:- Hi, You have chosen to do a study on obesity and its associated factors among teenagers in Malaysia. The title of the study is concise and specific. Your literature review engages a good range of articles and presents a very good review of their findings. The studies and findings are relevant and your discussion is focused around prevalence of obesity and its risk factors which seem to be your objectives based on your title. The review includes a good level of critical analysis and flows smoothly. A brief discussion of methodological aspects is also recommended. At the end of the LR you state a research question which is not related to your title and is NOT achievable. Similarly, your aim and objective are NOT achievable. You need to change these. You seem to have forgotten your stated objectives in the approved outline were you said The aim of the study is to establish the prevalence of obesity among teenagers in Malaysia and highlight the factors that contribute to its prevalence. Therefore change your objectives to: 1) To estimate the prevalence of obesity among teenagers in Malaysia and, 2) To investigate factors associated with obesity among these teenagers. Follow the template which will be provided for the final proposal in unit 5 and include and introduction at the beginning to introduce the topic and rationale for the study. The methodological aspects the study are vague and need reconsideration. You should have followed the template I have provided which clearly states the methodology sections. Again you have forgotten your outline which was supposed to be a Cross Sectional (CS) study, and here you talk about a prospective study for 6 months! You will have a total of 6 months for everything, so consider maximum of 2 months for data collection. You CANNOT do a prospective (cohort) study; I wont approve it. Your data collection should be one time like any survey; you cannot check BMI or any other measure every month. According to the approved outline, you should be doing a cross sectional survey among students and for that you need a structured questionnaire not observation checklist. Read the template I have posted in the announcement in order to address different aspects of the methodology properly and correctly including setting, study population, sample size, sampling, data collection and ethical issues. Separate these aspects and describe each aspect clearly in the final proposal. Also note that You should not be doing any interviews with teenagers below 16 . your sample should be aged 16 and over. Your writing is consistent with graduate-level writing style with thoughts expressed clearly in complete and technically correct English appropriate for professional audiences and publications. You have used a good number of peer-reviewed and other references and your referencing style follows Harvard style guidelines with few errors; write journal names in italics and write year in parentheses. Your word count is within the recommended limit and there are no similarity issues (8%). Grade 55 References Jacobsen, K. H. (2012) Introduction to Health Research Methods: A Practical Guide. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning Teo, P., Nurul-Fadhilah, A., Aziz, M., Hills, A., & Foo, L. (2014). Lifestyle practices and obesity in Malaysian adolescents. International journal of environmental research and public health, 11(6), 5828-5838.
Hide
