In class work- 2-17

1.     How do you reference this journal in an APA work cited?

Choi, K., Buskey, W., & Johnson, B. (2010). Evaluation of counseling outcomes at a university counseling center: The impact of clinically significant change on problem resolution and academic functioning. Journal Of Counseling Psychology, 57(3), 297-303. doi:10.1037/a0020029

2.              What method is being used?

This study had clinical significance to its method, taking into account the differences between their patients.

3.              How do the authors use the method? What do they use it for? What specifically does the method enable them to do? Why did they choose this method rather than another? What was it about this research agenda/topic that led them to choose this particular method? Answer a handful of these. They all get at similar thing. But I want blocks of texts. 

In this research study, the scientists orchestrated a very cut and dry way of evalutating the academic progress of their participants. They calculated the significance of change using the RCI, or Reliable Change Index, to compare the pre-treatment to post treatment. They also created a cut-off point to deem participants functional or dysfunctional. What this enables is an easy to comprehend analysis of data.

4.              What is the conclusion of the study? And how did the method enable them to reach that particular conclusion?

The researchers concluded that there is a significant correlation between personal function and academic function. Also, out of the 78 students, 32% showed that they were improved and recovered. Their method or research allowed them to create categorized groups, and make an analysis based off of them.

5.              What was one interesting thing you discovered by leafing through this article? 

While reading through this article, I thought it was interesting that they created such a black and white cutoff to determine the effectiveness of their study. While I think this may fail to recognize any reasons for outliers, overall, I think it is a great idea for this study.

1.              How do you reference this journal in an APA work cited?

Happell, B., & Gaskin, C. J. (2013). The attitudes of undergraduate nursing students towards mental health nursing: a systematic review. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 22(1/2), 148-158. doi:10.1111/jocn.12022

2.              What method is being used?

Systematic Review

3.              How do the authors use the method? What do they use it for? What specifically does the method enable them to do? Why did they choose this method rather than another? What was it about this research agenda/topic that led them to choose this particular method? Answer a handful of these. They all get at similar thing. But I want blocks of texts. 

The researchers of this study used a systematic review to gain insight on the opinions of undergraduate nursing students. This method is ideal for a study based on opinion, because it is an evaluation of personal thoughts. This method yielded results that were congruent with the goal of the study.

4.              What is the conclusion of the study? And how did the method enable them to reach that particular conclusion?

The conclusion of the study was somewhat troubling. They found that very few nursing students were interested in working as a nurse in the mental health field. This provides some insight that even in the college student population (that tends to be more progressive than the rest of the population), people are not interested in being involved with mental health.

5.              What was one interesting thing you discovered by leafing through this article? 

I found it interesting that the participants in the study had such negative outlooks on working in the mental health fields. The nurses in undergrad school are the only real candidates for hire in the mental health field, so this is very concerning.

1.              How do you reference this journal in an APA work cited?

Eisenberg, Daniel, Marilyn F. Downs, and Kara Zivin. "Stigma and Help Seeking for Mental Health Among College StudentsSage Journals, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.

2.              What method is being used?

Survey

3.              How do the authors use the method? What do they use it for? What specifically does the method enable them to do? Why did they choose this method rather than another? What was it about this research agenda/topic that led them to choose this particular method? Answer a handful of these. They all get at similar thing. But I want blocks of texts. 

This survey’s purpose was to gain insight on the mental health stigma (both perceived and personal) of college students. The survey measured the stigma, mental health, and help seeking behavior of each respondent. This survey method allows the researchers to interview a large number of students across the country and apply the data to a national and generalized population.

4.              What is the conclusion of the study? And how did the method enable them to reach that particular conclusion?

This survey method allowed the researchers to find three main outcomes. The first is that the perceived stigma is much higher than the personal stigma, meaning that individuals believe that those around them perceive mental health more negatively than they personally do.

5.              What was one interesting thing you discovered by leafing through this article? 

I found the whole article surprising. I didn’t expect to find such a large difference in perceived/personal  stigma.

1.              How do you reference this journal in an APA work cited?

Eisenberg D, Golberstein E, Hunt J. Mental Health and Academic Success in College. B.E. Journal Of Economic Analysis & Policy: Contributions To Economic Analysis & Policy [serial online]. January 2009;9(1):1-35. Available from: Business Source Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 20, 2017.

2.              What method is being used?

A detailed descriptive analysis of the association between mental health and academic success in college.

3.              How do the authors use the method? What do they use it for? What specifically does the method enable them to do? Why did they choose this method rather than another? What was it about this research agenda/topic that led them to choose this particular method? Answer a handful of these. They all get at similar thing. But I want blocks of texts. 

The researchers conducted a simple random sample at a competitive university. They issued online surveys to participants to analyze their mental health and then correlated their findings to their academic success.

4.              What is the conclusion of the study? And how did the method enable them to reach that particular conclusion?

As in previous articles, this study found that there is a very strong tie between mental health disorders and academic success.

5.              What was one interesting thing you discovered by leafing through this article? 

I thought the process by which they did their analysis was intriguing. Because it was online and anonymous, their results were unbias.

Journal #2

What is your topic? Or what are your key words thus far?

My topic is mental health, and its impact on academic performance. My key words are:

         Mental health

         Depression

         Bi Polar Disorder

         Student Health

         Student Academics when in therapy

What is your research question? Have you decided to change it at all? And, if you have, how do I know that the way in which this question is formulated is appropriate to conduct a literature review with a systematic approach? 

My research question is:

         What effect do mental health disabilities have on students’ gpa and overall academic performance. What academic benefits does therapy provide for students in with these problems?

And what are the definitions on which it depends?

My question depends on the outcomes of previous correlation studies between academic performance and mental health.

Participants: The individual participants create a large unknown factor. Individuals have different degrees of intelligence, severity of their disability, and react differently to therapy treatment

Therapists: The therapists interacting with the participants affect the study greatly. Their personal capabilities, gender, training, and overall ability to communicate could severely impact the progress of their patients, and therefore potentially affect their academic performance.

College: The specific school that the participants attend would have an affect on academic performance.

What is your hierarchy of evidence? And how do I know you going about finding the most appropriate evidence/method for your research question?

The initial and most important question is how severe is the patients condition. Are they mildly depressed? Severely depressed? Bi polar? The type of mental health condition and the severity of it impact their ability to learn/perform. The second question is the change in academic performance over the course of the therapy. Third, are the changes significant? It is important to analyze academic change, and note factors such as the difficulty of classes. Also, students may naturally be stronger students in certain fields. All such factors must be taken into account whenever possible.

the second step of the writing process (research journal 1)

Since my last post, I have been focusing on specifying my topic. I had originally planned on writing an essay on the correlation between mental health disabilities and academic success. While I still plan on writing my essay roughly around this basis, another idea has occurred to me. The correlation between academics and mental health is very important, but I would also like to include some information on the importance of seeking help in college. I realized that for many people, mental health disorders begin in college, but most do not seek help until after graduation. I am interested in the positive benefits that students experience when they seek help for their disorder earlier in their lives. While people suffering from depression or other disorders may be able to maintain good grades, I think their lives after college are important too. I am interested in a specific age group; people who are college graduates who have been out of school for longer than two years.

While I understand that this is very specific, I think it would add a unique edge to my paper. It would tell the story of the population of students who were affected by the stigma of mental health. It is something that would help break that stigma, and encourage people to seek help when they need it, rather than linger and wait till their condition becomes more complicated.