Principles of Behavior in Physical Activity Written Essay – The Essay 40%
Aim of this essay: To evaluate the way that scientific evidence is presented to the public.
During Week 4 you will be given an article from the media. This article is about some sort of health research.
During the writing of your essay you will be focusing on the following questions:
1. What research method was used (for example – experimental, descriptive, correlational or other)?
2. How do you know which method was used?
3. What were the variables?
4. What kind of statistics was reported?
5. What conclusions were drawn by the article?
6. Evaluate this research using the material presented in the section of Chapter 2 of your prescribed text (Weiten, 2017) entitled “Looking for flaws: Evaluating research.” Pages 48-52.
7. What questions do you have about the phenomenon being studied that were not answered in the article?
Your essay should be formatted in APA style. This style requires that your work be written in Size 12 Font and double spaced. Your Essay is to be 1500 words in length. This does not include the article itself. You do not need headings, just present questions 1-7 sequentially in your essay. Each section (1 through to 7) should just follow the one before.
Referencing – The APA referencing style is to be used to refer to your text and any other sources that you might use.
Submit your essay by the due date. This will be online in Week 11. Your submission needs to be in by 5.00pm Friday 14th May, 2021. Please see the assignment submission section on the Blackboard site.
In your tutorial classes in Week 12, you will be asked to join in some discussion about your actual article and also share some thoughts about completing the essay.
Consider the following before you submit your essay:
• Attach a cover sheet with your name and student number.
• Proof read it fully and if time ask someone else to look through it also.
• Check that you have referenced both your article and also the textbook.
• Check that you have included all of the sections.
• Check that your work is formatted in the APA style – Times New Roman Font Size 12 and double spaced.
Assessment of your written essay
The following refers to how we will allocate the marks for your Essay. A total of 40 marks will be awarded according to the following criteria:
• Research method has been identified with appropriate reasons described as to how this was decided. This relates to questions 1 and 2 of your (see above). (6 Marks)
• Variables were identified. This relates to question 3. (6 Marks)
• Comments about the statistics. This relates to how you have dealt with question 4 (5 Marks)
• Your descriptions of the conclusions that were presented in the article. This relates to how well you dealt with question 5. This questions give you a chance to express some meaning about the conclusion(s) presented. (4 Marks)
• Your use of “Looking for flaws: Evaluating research” Weiten (2017), pp.48-52. This assesses your dealing with question 6. (10 Marks)
• Your questions about the article. This is about question 7 and asks you to think about what else might be needed to enhance some further understanding of the research finding. (4 Marks)
• General presentation of your essay. This includes your correct setting out of the essay, including spacing, font size and general presentation. How you have constructed your thoughts and explanations will also be considered when awarding marks for this area. (5 Marks)