Reference no: EM131193320 , Length: word count:1250

To complete this assignment, you will critically examine five different articles related to mindfulness, exercise, and stress.  More specifically, in this assignment you will complete three different activities. 

1. In Activity 1, you will be critically examining the studies by looking at the aims, participants, methodology, results, and limitations. 

2. In Activity 2, you will use this information to link these studies to the hypothetical study (HS). 

3. In Activity 3, you will complete the Introduction of a research report.

Where to start-

Reading 1. C. Smith, H. Hancock, J. Blake-Mortimer, K. Eckert. 2007. A randomised comparative trial of yoga and relaxation to reduce stress and anxiety. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. Volume 15. Pages 77-83.

Reading 2. C. S. Mackenzie, P. A Poulin, R. Seidman-Catlson. 2006. A brief mindfulnessbased stress reduction intervention for nurses and nurse aides. Applied Nursing Research. Volume 19. Pages 105-109. 

Reading 3. K. C. Roberts, S. Danoff-Burg. 2010. Mindfulness and heath behaviors: Is paying attention good for you? Journal of American College Health. Volume 59. Issue 3. Pages 165173. 

Reading 4. P. Hassmen, N. Koivula, A. Uutela. 2000. Physical exercise and psychological well-being: A population study in Finland. Preventive Medicine. Volume 30. Pages 17-25. 

Reading 5. D. Vancampfort, M. De Hert, J. Knapen, M. Wampers, H. Demunter, S. Deckx, K. Maurissen, M. Probst. 2011. State anxiety, psychological stress and positive well-being responses to yoga and aerobic exercise in people with schizophrenia: A pilot study. Volume 33. Issue 8. Pages 684-689. 

Assignment Structure and Activities:

Activity 1 - Information Gathering

Begin by gathering together the readings you need to review and analyse for this assignment. 

For each of the readings, answer the following questions as best you can. You will need to write the answers to this activity in a clear, concise manner. In other words, please write one to three sentences for each answer. Alternatively, you can use dot points as long as all the information you have written is clear, and addresses the question. Do not use a template or table. Rather create a document where the information from each article is clearly labelled. For example, place the article name and authors at the top of each page. Write the qepuestion and then your answers. Focus on the scientific aspects of each study as covered in Chapter 2 of your text. Remember to answer each question for EACH article.

1) What was the aim of the study?

2) Who were the participants? 

3) What was the methodology? Include IV manipulation /levels where appropriate. 

4) What was the primary measure/s (DV)? Include additional measures where appropriate. 

5) What were the results? (Hint: to keep this brief, list those that relate to the HS) 

6) What were the limitations of the study? Include at least one. 

7) How does this paper relate to the HS? Clearly explain the link to the HS (e.g., Methodology, measures?)

Activity 2 - Organising the Information

The information that you have created from Activity 1 forms the basis of your knowledge. In Activity 2, you will take this information to highlight the gaps from the previous research and how our study will address these, as well as extend on previous research, and/or show good research principles. Therefore, the information from Activity 1 needs to be organised into meaningful clusters (e.g., all participants issues together) to answer the question correctly. 

Answer all the following questions, as best you can, about particular elements of the HS, using the information you have gathered above. Keep your answers as simple and brief as possible. However, you may write up to a paragraph for each question. Please make sure it is obvious to the marker which question you are answering. 

1) Why are we testing 180 participants from the general community? 

2) Why is there an equal balance of women and men? 

3) Why have participants been randomly assigned to one of the three intervention groups?

4) Why are we using a control condition?

5) Why are participants completing the FFMQ? 

6) Why are participants completing the PSS?

7) Why are participants completing the PSS twice?

Activity 3 - Writing the Introduction

Opening section - Write a paragraph or two introducing the article.  To be assured of a high mark, it must contain the following elements and be less than 3 paragraphs in length (i.e. definitely less than one page).  Include definitions of any terms which are specific to the area of investigation.  Make it as simple, clear, and brief as possible.

Start by thinking of a good opening sentence that will grab the reader's attention.

Set the scene for the study - describe the problem under investigation

Mention prevalence and consequences of the problem (How common/rare is it? What are the effects if we do nothing?)

State your research question (What are you going to find out/demonstrate?)

Explain what the study will contribute to the field, or why it is important to study this problem in this way.

Mention/describe any theories which may be relevant to the study (citing either the readings or your text where necessary).

Literature review - Use the information from all of the readings to produce a story that clearly indicates why there was a need for the HS. Describe each study in turn, with the aim of showing how we arrived at the HS from the source articles. Pay special attention to the method and measures - particularly any aspects which link to the HS.

Summarise the Activity 1 information in a single paragraph for each reading.  Be as concise as possible.  When you have summarised all the readings, write some good linking sentences which join your paragraphs together.  This will form your Literature Review for this assignment.

Research Question/Aim - Write a paragraph identifying the research question.  This section should be a logical summary of the relevant aspects of the literature reviewed to correctly identify the contribution that the HS is attempting to make, (which usually identifies the gap in existing knowledge which the HS is attempting to address).  The research question should be linked to a clear statement of the aim or purpose of the study, using theoretical terms, in a manner that is clear and concise

Methodology - Write a paragraph describing the methodology of the HS.  This is a simple, clear and concise description of the HS (brief preview of the Method).  Make sure that you identify dependent and independent variables in the study, and make sure you bridge from the aim to the hypothesis by converting your variables from theoretical to operational.

Hypothesis - Write a short final paragraph specifying the hypothesis (or hypotheses) of the HS. This needs to contain clear and concise expression of specific predictions about the expected pattern of results - what you think will happen to the dependent variable as a result of the manipulation of the independent variable.  You need to ensure that each hypothesis you write (there may be one, or more than one) has been derived from the logic you have set out in the literature review, and mentions comparing groups (the independent variable) on the exact operational measure (dependent variable).

A few pointers on Introduction section writing:

? Do not use any resources apart from the set articles and the Burton et al. (2015) text.  You must, however, include all of the readings.  The readings vary in terms of their relevance to our HS, so you can expect to pay more attention to some readings than others.  For example, a lesser reading could be easily summarised in a single paragraph, whereas a more relevant and important reading may require a bit more space.

? In your Introduction section, your main task is to demonstrate how the current project (HS) relates back to previously published studies.  Making good links between prior and current research is essential to the scientific process, as most details of the project, such as design, method, measures etc.) should relate to previous work in the field.

? The task is simply to write an Introduction - you do not have to write an Abstract or the Method or Results sections.  You do not have, or need, access to the data or results - however you will need to have some idea of the expected pattern of results when forming your hypothesis (or hypotheses). APA Style requirements We will be using the 6th edition APA style for this assignment.  Citations You should use in-text citations throughout your Introduction. For example, "Smith (2015) found that ...". You would usually cite all authors the first time you mention their work, but you can later use et al. However, there is an exception. When there are six or more authors, you can use et al. from the first mention of the work. A secondary citation occurs when you want to refer to a work you have not read, but that has been cited in a book or article you have read. For this assignment, you will need to include one secondary citation. Please note that usually you would only use a secondary citation if you are unable to locate the primary source. If you are at all unsure of how to cite the sources in APA 6th edition style, please review this information. 

Other style requirements to be aware of: 

• Write the information in your own words. Plagiarism and collusion are absolutely unacceptable.
• Create a title page in the correct format.
• Use the correct form for abbreviations.
• Avoid contractions such as can't or don't.
• Use the correct formatting for text.
• Please check your assignment for any spelling, typographical errors or grammatical mistakes before submission.

2. The Hypothetical Study (HS) Background issues -mindfulness, exercise, and stress  

You are a psychologist conducting research into psychological wellbeing. More specifically, you are interested in techniques that promote wellbeing and reduce stress. You have read several articles looking at the impact of exercise and mindfulness on stress, however, you have not been able to locate any research which has directly compared the efficacy of the two techniques on stress. As a result, you have decided to study this experimentally.  

Please assume that you have already conducted the research and collected your data. The method section provided below summarises the participants, materials, and procedures in your (hypothetical) study. The results of our HS are not included as this is not relevant to the purpose of this assignment (as you are writing the Introduction section of the report only).  

Your task is to write a suitable Introduction to a research report that is based on a critique of the given scientific literature and provides a clear link to the following HS Method section. 

Note: The Method section below has been kept brief for simplicity. If we were actually conducting this experiment we would need to consider several other factors, however, the section below contains all relevant information for the purpose of this assignment.  

Method 

Participants

The sample was comprised of 180 individuals with mild to moderate levels of stress recruited from the general community through newspaper advertising. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: Mindfulness, exercise, or control. There were 60 participants in each group. Gender was evenly represented in each group. At commencement of the study, demographic analysis showed no significant differences between the groups on education, physical and mental health, physical activity levels, or mindfulness. 

Materials

Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire. The Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) comprises 39 self-report items that measure the following facets of mindfulness: Nonreactivity, nonjudgment, observation, awareness, and describing. 

Perceived Stress Scale. The Short-Form Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) comprises 4 items that measure subjective levels of stress. 

Procedure

Participants were told that the study was examining factors related to health and wellbeing.  After providing consent, participants completed each of the measures (i.e., FFMQ and PSS) and were randomly assigned (by a researcher not involved in the study) to an intervention group.  In each intervention group, participants attended two 30-minute sessions of their assigned activities each week (see descriptions below), over a 4 week period. At completion of the 4 week period, participants filled out the PSS. The participants were debriefed and thanked for their participation.

Mindfulness group: each week, this group attended two 30-minute sessions where they engaged in mindfulness based stress reduction. 

Exercise group: each week, this group attended two 30-minute sessions where they engaged in aerobic exercise (self-selected intensity on an exercise bike). 

Control group: each week, this group attended two 30-minute sessions where they sat quietly in a room and were told they could read.                                 

3. Required Elements for This Assignment 

Your completed assignment will need to contain all of the following elements, in the following order: 

? Answers to Activity 1 questions 

? Answers to Activity 2 questions 

? Activity 3: Introduction to a Research Report, comprising the following: Title page in APA style; Title; Opening section; Literature Review; Identification of Research Question; Brief description of Methodology; Hypothesis; References. 

The assignment questions will further guide you about what to include, and where to include it. 

Presentation and submission- 

? Submit your finished document online in MS Word format (.doc or .docx) via Study Desk. Be sure to upload the correct version of your file if you have multiple copies or drafts. 

? Use recommended APA formatting (APA style 6th edition). 

? Keep a copy of your assignment file. Whilst every care is taken, assignment files can sometimes become corrupted. If your assignment is lost, or the file is somehow corrupted, we will ask you to produce another copy.          

Formatting - Title page and all other APA/USQ formatting requirements (i.e., page header, page numbering, repeat title at start of Introduction, indents, double-line spacing, correct font/size, etc.). 

Writing Style - the Introduction section you write must be well organised, and contain a logical flow of ideas, integrating all your efforts into a cohesive whole. The use of linking and summary sentences will aid the flow of your ideas. Make sure that your arguments are expressed clearly and concisely, avoiding spelling or grammatical errors.

You will also need to read the following information. 

• The information contained in this document (i.e., 1. Assignment Structure and Activities; 2. The Hypothetical Study (HS); 3. Required elements for this assignment; 4. Marking criteria)
• Readings 1-5.
• Supplemental Information - Research Report Writing Skills
• Example assignment
• The relevant sections of the Burton et al. (2015) Psychology text
• Burton's (2010) guide to APA style and report-writing.

1250 words.

5 apa reference.