Public Health Research

General Guidance
Your assignment should be word processed (handwritten
assignments are not accepted), using time new roman size 12 font, double
spaced, with numbered pages and your student number printed as a footer on
every page.
The word limits stated for this assignment excludes the
reference list at the end of the assignment but includes all text in the main
body of the assignment (including direct quotations, in-text citations,
footnotes, tables, diagrams and graphs).
Please be aware that exceeding the word count limit will
affect the academic judgement of the piece of work and may result in the award of
a lower mark.
Appendices are not
considered a supplement, and thus, will not be assessed as part of the content
of the assignment. As such, they will not contribute to the grade awarded,
however it may be appropriate to use an Appendices section for any material
which is a useful reference for the reader. Please note that appendices are not
included in the word count.
The majority of references should come from primary sources
(e.g., journal articles, conference papers, reports, etc.) although you can also
utilise area specific textbooks. You must ensure that you use the Harvard style
of referencing.
Learning outcomes assessed
1 Critically discuss the philosophical perspectives that
underpin health and social research
3 Critically evaluate data collection techniques
5 Understand different approaches to the analysis of
numerical and non-numerical data
6 Critically explore the ethical dimensions of research
Assessment Guidelines
You are required to write a 2,500 individual assignment
comparing two published research papers – which are different in their
philosophical and methodological approach – from the choice of one of the two
contemporary public health topics provided below. The two research papers
address a related research question but are underpinned by either a
quantitative or qualitative research approach and employ different research
methods.
In the assignment you are required to:
(i)
Discuss the research approaches in the two
published research papers; and
(ii)
(ii) Debate
the strengths, weaknesses and philosophical differences by describing,
contrasting and comparing the underlying philosophical perspectives, ethical
dimensions and methods of data collection and analysis in the two published
research papers. The discussion must draw on the principles and debates
presented in the first 3 weeks of the research methods module. All references
must be listed and cited correctly.
You are directed to choose one
topic from the options provided below:
Topic 1: Obesity among Libyan
adults
·
Lemamsha, H., Randhawa, G., & Papadopoulos, C. (2019). Prevalence of
overweight and obesity among Libyan men and women. BioMed Research
International. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/8531360 · Lemamsha, H., Papadopoulos, C.,
& Randhawa, G. (2018). Understanding the risk and protective factors
associated with obesity amongst Libyan adults: a qualitative study. BMC Public
Health, 18(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5411-z
Topic 2: Public perspectives on COVID-19 vaccination in
South Asia ·
Kumari, A., Ranjan, P., Chopra, S., Kaur, D., Kaur, T.,
Kalanidhi, K. B. et al. (2021). What Indians think of the COVID-19 vaccine: A
qualitative study comprising focus group discussions and thematic analysis.
Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, 15(3),
679-682. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsx.2021.03.021 · Haque, M.M.A., Rahman, M.L.,
Hossian, M., Matin, K.F., Nabi, M.H., Saha, S., Hasan, M., Manna, R.M., Barsha,
S.Y., Hasan, S.R. and Siddiquea, S.R. (2021). Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine
and its determinants: evidence from a large sample study in Bangladesh.
Heliyon, 7(6), p.e07376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07376

Your work should include and cover the following
sections/aspects and content (as shown and stated in the table below). The
specific percentage marks allocated to each section/aspect of your work is
stated below. Please also note that the Level 7 marking criteria (located
towards the end of this assessment brief) will also be used to reflect this
overall grade. Please remember that achievement and demonstration of both
learning outcomes 1,3,5 and 6 is being assessed in this assessment.
1.
Introduction
• Address the purpose and focus of the assignment
• Explain which public health topic has been selected and provide some
background information about the issue
• Introduce the main research paradigms that underpin public health
research and discuss which paradigm the two research papers align with. (15
marks )

2.
Main body
• Describe, contrast and compare the qualitative versus quantitative
approaches taken in the two research studies by exploring and critically
discussing the:
a. underlying philosophical stance and perspectives
b. research question
c. ethical dimensions of the research
d. methods of data collection and analysis
• Critically discuss the strengths and
weaknesses of a qualitative versus a quantitative approach for addressing the
chosen topic. (60 marks)
3.Conclusion
·
Provide an effective summary of the key points of the main body (10 marks)
3.
References and Presentation · Follow Harvard style of
referencing throughout the work and professional type of presentation.
4.
·
High quality presentation that conforms to principles of academic writing and
contains minimal errors in sentence construction, grammar and punctuation.
5.
· The assignment followed
appropriate academic conventions regarding in-text citations and referencing. (15
marks)

Last Completed Projects