Humanities Homework Help

1) Identify a problem or goal regarding personal wellness.

2) Formulate a scientific research question.

3) Create a research hypothesis with appropriate independent and dependent variables.

Project Overview:

For this project, you will apply the principles of the scientific method to a self-experiment based on one of the dimensions of wellness.

Throughout the parts of the scientific project, you must remember to properly cite your references. Each component of the project that you submit should have a corresponding reference list. Please use American Psychological Association citation style for your references. For guidance with APA references, please refer here: https://www.mendeley.com/guides/apa-citation-guide (Links to an external site.).

Instructions for Question & Hypothesis:

What aspect of health and wellness interests you? Perform some preliminary research and provide background information on a topic of your choice. Background information should paint a picture of what your self-experiment will cover. This information should be gathered from scholarly, scientific research, NOT blog posts or Google searches. Then, develop a research question and hypothesis. Remember, your hypothesis must be a single sentence, simply stated, and have at least 2 definable variables. You must include your references with proper citations throughout your background section. All Project Submissions are Final.

There are three parts to receive full credit for this assignment you must have these three subheadings:

1. Background Information: 
   • Background information should paint a picture of what your self-experiment will cover. This information should be gathered from scholarly, scientific research, NOT blog posts and Google searches.
   • You need at least 2 peer-reviewed resources. Make sure to watch Scott Stone’s videos to aid you in finding resources.
2. Question:
   • Phrase your research question as a question, not a statement.
   • The topic must clearly relate to a dimension of wellness (if you feel your topic warrants an explanation of how it relates to a dimension of wellness, please provide this here).
3. Hypothesis: 
   • State what you believe you will find after conducting this experiment.
   • This hypothesis must be based on existing literature related to your topic.
   • Make sure that you have familiarized yourself with the literature and are generating a realistic hypothesis founded in scientific research.
   • Clearly identify your independent and dependent variables.
   • If your dependent variable isn’t obviously measurable, please provide a brief explanation as to how your variable will be measured

• For example- Bodyweight is clearly measured by standing on a scale and is always represented by a number (either in pounds or kilograms). “I will lose weight” is clearly and obviously measured only one way.
• Level of stress is not clearly measured or represented by a number, so you must explain how it will be measured. The statement “I will feel less stressed” does not obviously demonstrate how stress is measured. Instead, try “I will feel less stressed, as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale.” This shows that you are turning a normally qualitative variable, stress, into a quantitative variable that can be measured using a numeric scale.

Things to Take into Consideration:

• You are the only participant in this experiment.
• You need to decide your topic based on the literature.
• Do not choose inappropriate topics. Examples involve drugs, alcohol, excessive weight loss, ingesting any material that would alter your state that could be considered detrimental to your health (increase or decrease heart rate).
• Need to choose a measurable outcome that can be compared pre and post-self experiment. Make sure to sure of quantitative variables and qualitative.
  • Reference material for further explanation: https://www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html (Links to an external site.)

Here are example  (Please do not duplicate any of this material, if any of it is duplicated it is an automatic zero).

Example 1: 

Background information so far has indicated positive growth in resilience and compassion in students of many different health fields, typically involving stress in the pursuit of academics.1,2 The experiment will involve meditating each day, ideally in the morning at a consistent time, and documenting any changes in stress levels throughout several weeks. In order to follow those specific levels, I will use the following scales; the Resilience Quotient Test, Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised, and Perceived Stress Scale.3,4

Research Question: 

How does meditating each day for 15 minutes affect my resilience and ability to cope with stress measured with the Resilience Quotient Test, Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised, and Perceived Stress Scale?

Hypothesis: 

If I practice mindful meditation for 15 minutes each day, my resilience and ability to cope with stress will increase.

References

1. Mahon M, Mee L, Brett D, Dowling M. Nurses’ perceived stress and compassion following a mindfulness meditation and self-compassion training. Journal Of Research In Nursing [serial online]. December 2017;22(8):572-583. Available from: CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed August 14, 2018.
2. Alsaraireh F, Aloush S. Mindfulness Meditation Versus Physical Exercise in the Management of Depression Among Nursing Students. Journal Of Nursing Education [serial online]. October 2017;56(10):599-604. Available from: CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed August 14, 2018.
3. Hwang W, Lee T, Kwon J, et al. The effects of four days of intensive mindfulness meditation training (Templestay program) on resilience to stress: a randomized controlled trial. Psychology, Health & Medicine [serial online]. June 2018;23(5):497-504. Available from: CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed August 14, 2018.