Clarkmelindawpcq's Blog

At first I didn’t know what type of journal i wanted to submit my research to. I was contemplating between a womens studies journal or a medical journal. After completing my paper I decided that I was geared more towards womens studies. does my research have a medical aspect, yes, but i feel that this wasn’t the main focus of my paper therefor publication in a medical journal would make no sense. I feel that my research would be more beneficial to a womens studies journal. The journal that i chose to submit to is a journal of Psychology of Women’s Health.

I warned you, right? This was pretty intense and unbelievably time-consuming, right? Reflect back on the beginning of this course – your fears, anxieties, worries, etc – and discuss how you turned these into strengths throughout this course this semester. What are your future goals as researchers? As writers? What was your proudest moment in this course? What do you think will most stick with you long after this course?

I was pretty intimidated before this course even started because of the emails that Marlen sent regarding the intense amount of work required for this class. The first couple of weeks were the hardest but I figured that if i kept with it I would feel a sense of accomplishment when the final days of class drew near. I’m not going to lie, i didn’t think i was going to make it through the first weeks of class because of the workload. none of my other classes required this much work. I was afraid that i was going to have to drop the class, that i wouldn’t make the time to do the work. Thankfully Leslie was there for support. When i thought of dropping she was there to reassure me that i could do it. I’m glad i stuck it out.

As far as future goals as a researcher goes, i’m not sure that i have any specific goals. I have found that i’m more curious in correlations within data.  I find myself wanting to know how one thing affects another and how they might be somehow connected. Before this class i really didn’t care.

The proudest moment for me, in this course, was actually completing the research paper. I’ve finished papers for other classes that were even longer in length, but none of those compare to this paper. This is such a personal experience that has allowed me to grow and be proud of the work that i’ve done.

What will stick with me even after this class is over is the fact that I know i can approach a task head on and stick with it, no matter how time consuming or difficult. I can think of a handful of classes that i’ve actually retained information from since starting my college career. This class in most definitely one of them. =)

 1) What assignment/document was most useful to you during this process? Explain your answer. 

I think that the peer review assignments were the most useful. The other blogging assignments were useful as well, but to be able to read a classmates paper and physically see where he/she was in the writing process gave me a sense of ease, that i wasn’t alone. It also made me feel like i could make a difference with my input, not suggesting that i’m a expert, because i’m not, but hearing criticisms of my own paper helped me see things i didn’t catch on my own.

 2) What was the most helpful feedback you received at any stage – why was it helpful?

The most helpful feedback that i received was when Kyle peer reviewed my paper. He said that he wanted to see more of me throughout the introduction. As I read over it i realized that I was writing an autoethnography and the main subject of the research was me. It didn’t hit me that i needed to make this more personal until Kyle pointed out that there wasn’t enough of me in the paper.

 3) What was most difficult for you during the drafting process? Easiest? WHY?

The most difficult part of the drafting process for me was organizing my information in a way that i wanted the reader to understand it. it was hard for me to find my audience. I kept writing but i wasn’t sure who i was writing for. I’d hoped that one day i was going to be writing and it would just hit me. It didn’t happen.

The easiest part of the draft process for me was actually picking a topic to write about that i was passionate about. Because the experience was so personal i felt that i could offer information about the events leading up to the surgery and the surgery itself that no one else could. each person has a different experience and i wanted to share mine with everyone. at first i was kind of ashamed but as i kept writing i felt liberated.

4) Where does your final essay best show your ability as a writer?

I feel that my literature review best shows my ability as a writer. i can take information written by someone else and summarize it in a very understandable and sufficient way. i think that this was the main focus of a lot of my english classes in high school therefore i’ve developed a strong skill.

What did I learn in general?

• Through this process i was able to take a step back from my own paper and focus on giving feedback to someone else. The break was kind of refreshing. By editing and looking over someone else’s paper i was able to evaluate where i stood on my own paper. i was not only giving suggestions and correction ideas to a classmate but i was improving my paper as well, thinking of things that i could change based on what i was reading infront  of me.

What did i learn from my research project specifically?

• Kyle was able to help me a lot. He pointed out a couple of strong quotes that really got the point of what i was trying to say across. He also gave me confidence to keep going. By showing enthusiasm in my topic he’s really helped me to find the motivation to drive on. On specific comment that he made was he wanted to see more of “me” in the introduction. After looking back at the intro section of my paper i realized he was right. Marlen told me there was no way that this research paper could be too personal if i was writing about my own experience. He was right. =)

Writing up Research: Results

• make results meaningful to the reader
• results should be presented in a graph, diagram, written text, or table
• text should accompany graphs, table, and diagrams to point out important results
• don’t repeat results shown by graphs, tables, and diagrams but point out significant parts to grab the reader’s attention
• two basic ways to present results: present all info then give discussion or present a part of info then give discussion; present other part of info and give discussion
• the way results are presented depends on the type of results collected

Discussion

• interprets info that was already known about the subject
• explains new understanding of info now that results have been collected
• always connects to intro
• use an active voice, don’t be wordy, be concise
• don’t restate results
• relate new work done to previous work done on the topic
• don’t introduce new results in this section

Conclusion

• frames thoughts and bridges ideas for the reader
• gives the writer the last say
• end on a positive note
• make new connections and elaborate on previous findings mentioned in the paper
• use strategies that will make conclusion stronger(“so what” or “why should anyone care”)
• return to theme(s) in intro
• avoid strategies that may stray the reader from the actual focus of the paper

 Results

• present and illustrate findings
• describe question being addressed by making oberservation
• analyze data and present it in a table, graph, diagram
• avoid interpreting results
• don’t include raw data
• don’t present same data more than once
• use past tense
• number figures and refer to them as figure 1,2, etc
• figures and tables should be within, and in order, of results section or at the end of the paper
• number figures consecutively
• each figure or table must be complete

Discussion

• relate results to intial hypothesis or thesis
• try to make sense of patterns found in results
• speculate on variables not found in study, but be specific and back up assertions
• speculate about future research that could be done
• talks about what was learned thus far and where one is headed next

 Conclusion

• read over paper and summarize info
• start with sentence or two that summarizes objective of the paper
• state how the objective of the paper was met
• remind reader of topics covered in the paper
• end with a sentence or two of what the reader should take away from the paper
• be concise and clear

References

Deddus. (n.d.). How to Write a Strong Conclusion. How To Do Just About Everything!. Retrieved March 31, 2010, from http://www.ehow.com/how_2141341_write-strong-conclusion.html

Discussion. (n.d.). Psych 202. Retrieved March 31, 2010, from psych.hanover.edu/Classes/PSY220/ResultDisc.html

How to write a research paper. (n.d.). Rice University Web Calendar. Retrieved March 31, 2010, from http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/tools/report/reportform.html

What i feel is most important as i start to think about how i’m going to write the reults, discussion, and conclusion sections of my paper is just being able to get to the point with presenting information. When i write i feel as if i make things wordy. in these sections of the paper there really is no room to be wordy. it is also important to keep in mind that one must back up his/her own ideas with actual research that has led him/her to that conclusion.

After putting all three sections together as one, I realized that I needed to make some changes. The sections didn’t really flow well together so I had to add ways for my reader to interpret that these were in fact all related. I feel that my introduction and literature review need a lot of work. I think I have a pretty good handle on the methods section but I know there is always room for improvement. From here I will make the necessary changes to improve the overall quality of my paper. Hooking the reader from start to finish is essential so I need to make some vital changes keeping this in mind. Also, I feel that I might be struggling with an audience. This is something I need to work on.

1.)Who will your research subjects be? How will you find them? How many will you need?

My research subject will be myself due to the fact that I have chosen to write about a person experience. By doing this I will be composing an autoethnography. Therefore, the subject is myself. =)

2.)Are there any potential dangers to your participants in undertaking this research?

There is no potential danger to anyone except for myself. This is going to be and already has been a very emotional process. I’ve learned a lot about myself and how i respond to others just by analyzing my own situation. Because this is so personal the potential danger is self exploration. I hope to be able to grow from this experience.

3.)How will you protect your participants from harm and safeguard their privacy?

I will protect myself from harm by being well educated about my topic and conveying my own experience in a tasteful way while still getting my point across and touching my readers intellectually. By being well educated about my topic I will be able to support my thoughts, feelings, and ideas with the research of others validate my assumptions.

4.)What questions do you have about methods and data collection at this time and how will you answer them?

I spoke with Marlen about feeling like I was going to make this paper more personal than I had to, but he reassured me that it cannot me too personal. This was a major concern I had going into this paper. Now I am more concerned with proper format and citation. To make sure I’m doing this properly I will have to further my research on autoethnographies and study the formatting and citation.

Writing up Research: Method and Research Design

• Explain how data was collected/generated and analyzed
• Keep in mind the intended audience
• Don’t ignore problems that come up when collecting data
• Be consistent with verb tenses
• Don’t use I or we
• Avoid including unnecessary details
• Record work in some way when collecting data so it can be refered to later when writing methods section

How to Write a Method Section

• Describe those who participated: who, how many, and how they were chosen
• Include materials that were necessary to conduct/aid in the research process
• Specify the design: within groups or amoung individuals
• Explain how the research was conducted, what was done
• Write in past tense
• Make the research replicable
• Avoid details that don’t matter
• Stick to a format
• Proofread

Summary info provided by: Cherry, K. (n.d.). How to Write a Method Section . Psychology – Student Resources. Retrieved March 15, 2010, from  http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologywriting/ht/method.htm

Rubric

CRITERIA	5	4	3	2	1	0	Comments
Formatting – MLA/APA headers, titles, indentation, etc.						0	Can’t clearly tell what type of formatting is being used if any
Introduction – sufficiently forecasted the remainder of the essay			3				Intro is off to a good start and the hypothesis is stated, but there isn’t much citation.
Conclusion – sufficiently wrapped up the author’s thoughts; connected to intro.					1		The conclusion ties to the intro, but could be stronger. Doesn’t really tie to info presented in the article.
In-text Citations – at least 2 and properly formatted					1		In-text citations are used, but not properly formatted. Quotations should also be cited.
Works Cited/References – only work actually cited in the paper is included; properly formatted.						0	No list of references.
Grammar/Mechanics – language choice; punctuation; spelling, etc.		4					Use parenthesis too much and not properly. Used “think” and “society”. Back up information with correct fact and citation.
Flow – transitions between paragraphs; all sentences in a paragraph related; no run-on or fragmented sentences.				2			The information is choppy. Keeps referring to the next blog he is going to write. Organization could be better.
Hooked and maintained reader interest.		4					The topic itself is intriguing and the intro is hooking but the rest of the article doesn’t really capture the attention of the reader.
Genre – Met the needs of the intended genre.		4					The intended audience has been addressed but info needs proper citation and more research.
TOTAL = 19	Add’l comments: Overall I think this could have been better. I expected more from a professor who teaches at a university. It doesn’t seem that there was much thought in the aspect of revision. He expressed his opinion but more research to support his ideas needed to be presented. The comments after the article definitely need to be considered if the article is going to be rewritten. These are all things he should’ve considered before publication. I liked the topic and feel the article wasn’t bad. I just expected better.

Satisfaction and quality of life in women who undergo breast

surgery: A qualitative study

1. This paragraph tells about how many women are having cosmetic surgery each year and the reasons why they are doing so. The author is doing this to set a base for further discussion and hook the reader with some background information.
2. The author is giving the opposite side of the spectrum in this paragraph by saying that there is little research determining satisfaction and quality of life in women who have breast surgery. These women have different experiences with surgery so their outlook is different. Each woman has the surgery for their own reason.
3. This paragraph suggests that in order to understand the impact of the surgery on the women having it, an interview has to be conducted. From there the findings need to be compared and contrasted. This tells the reader how the author is collecting data.
4. The author clearly states who the participants were and where they were from. The reason each patient was having the surgery was broken down into three categories: reconstruction, augmentation, and reduction.
5. Women were contacted by mail for interviews and sent a reminder. If they chose to participate the women were interviewed by a trained interviewer and encouraged to tell their story as thoroughly as they could. Again this is illustrating how the author went about collecting data, and recording it as well.
6. Transcripts from interviews were read closely to pull out importance of issues to the women participating and to look at patterns in information given by all participants. Information was confirmed for validity by participants. The author is doing this to show the reader that the information is valid.
7. Six key items were identified as part of satisfaction and quality of life in women who had breast surgery. This is to show the findings in the analysis.
8. Women were asked about breast satisfaction in shape, size, etc. A woman who had breast augmentation was overly satisfied. The author is giving personal reactions to enhance believability of the study.
9. A woman who underwent breast reconstruction wasn’t satisfied with her surgery, but realized the surgeon did the best he could with what he had to work with. Giving both sides of the spectrum also gives validity to the study. Not everyone will be satisfied all the time.

10.  Women discussed how they can wear different clothes and how clothes they used to wear fit better and they feel better in them. This is adding to the argument that breast surgery does change the quality of life in women who undergo the surgery.

11.  Reduction and reconstruction participants told of how the nipple appearance has affected what they wear and how they feel. This lets the reader know that the surgery is guaranteed perfection, but more often than not the patient is satisfied with the new change.

12.  Participants expressed that if they had to have the surgery again they would. All comments presented were positive when commenting on the overall satisfaction with the outcome of the surgery. The author is analyzing the subgroups found in patterns of the transcripts.

13.   The psychosocial well-being of patients is portrayed as being less embarrassed in social situations, more confident about their bodies, and more self-assured.

14.  A participant who had breast augmentation expresses that the surgery has helped with her confidence the most. She is more confident and her self esteem as increased dramatically.

15.  A reconstruction participant expresses that the surgery has boosted her self esteem and made her feel whole again.

16.  A reduction participant feels less embarrassed and says she doesn’t have to “hide” anymore.

17.  The women feel more attractive and “normal” or like other women. A reduction participant referred to feeling like a freak before the surgery and now she feels normal.

18.  A reduction patient felt too feminine because she thought that the large size of her breasts that people only saw her as such.

19.  A patient who had reconstruction because of breast cancer says that the surgery gave her her life back.

20.  A woman who had breast augmentation expresses that she feels like a whole woman, “more solid, grounded”. The surgery has affected every aspect of her life.

21.  This paragraph talks about how the surgery has affected the women’s sex life and how they feel more attractive and confident whether wearing clothes or not.

22.  An augmentation patient feels more sensual.

23.  Changes in nipple sensation after surgery makes one woman miss her “real” nipples.

24.  This paragraph brings to light the chest and upper body issues suffered by reconstruction and reduction participants. This falls under the category of physical well-being.

25.  A range of issues with the chest, back, arms, and upper body limited some women, causing them discomfort while performing every day activities. After the surgery these tasks have become easier and more enjoyable.

26.  Reduction patients suffered from bra strap indentations, rashes under their breasts, and sleeping was uncomfortable. These were motivations for reduction. One woman expresses her unwillingness to run before the surgery.

27.  Pain and activity limitations were main motivations for women to get reconstructive surgery.

28.  One woman expresses that she has abdomen weakness following the surgery and another says she suffers rib pain.

29.  Satisfaction with the process of care was important to the participants and was broken down into three categories.

30.  This paragraph discusses that the women wanted all information about the surgery to be clearly conveyed and their questions were surgery specific.

31.  The relationships that the participants had with their surgeon were important to them. One express complete confidence in her surgeon while the other felt that she couldn’t discuss her questions with her doctor.

32.  The way the women were treated by nurses and office staff also affected their opinion of the overall satisfaction with the experience of care. One patient expressed that she was very satisfied with the care of the nurses once her surgery was finished and she was recovering.

33.  This paragraph shows how the author formed six themes for the study and how the relationship between them helped to form a conceptual framework for the patient satisfaction and quality of life after surgery. A figure is included.

34.  The goal was to understand issues that were related to the quality of life of women who had the surgery and their overall satisfaction. This helped develop and conceptual framework.

35.  Six main areas were revealed through interviews with the women and satisfaction with breast appearance was theme.

36.  Physical well-being was the main motivation in several surgery participants while being an issue after surgery as well. All the women expressed the same main themes but had different ways of expressing themselves.

37.  By determining the satisfaction in the process of patient care one can predict the attitude of the patient postoperatively.

38.  The six main themes serve as “building blocks in the conceptual framework” to help understand overall satisfaction of the patient as well as the quality of life after the surgery. There is always room for improvement.

39.  “BREAST -Q” is a compiled list of interviews with women assessing the six main themes discussed in the study. This shows others what is important to the women while hitting all six themes.

40.  This discusses “BREAST-Q” advancement due to patient feedback.

41.  Qualitative and psychometric methods were used to make the study more “clinically meaningful and scientifically robust.”

42.  The conceptual framework allows one to assess issues that breast surgery patients are concerned with while opening doors to new development in care and research.

Difference between introduction and literature review

The introduction is basic information that is used to capture the reader’s attention and make them want to keep reading forward. this can be done in a variety of ways such as using a quote, fun fact, or question to draw the reader in. The literature review, on the other hand, is more in depth and detailed. the literature review implies the credibility of the information used by the author.

How did the author try to hook the reader’s interest?

The author tried to hook the interest of the reader by providing specific quotes from women who participated in the study. By doing this the author allows the reader to connect to the participants on a much deeper level, letting the reader kind of take in how the experience has affected each of these women in their own unique way.

What are the a) purpose/objective, b) significance/importance, c) main research question, d) methods, e) results, and f) final conclusions/recommendations for future research and where in your outlines from item 1 above can each of these be found?

a) The purpose of study was to interview women who opted to have breast surgery (reconstructive, augmenation, reduction) and compare and contrast their interviews to find patterns in the data that indicate satisfaction with surgery and quality of life improvements (found in paragraph 3, 4).

b)The significance/importance of this surgery was to show how the surgery effects different aspects of the quality of life for the women who under went the procedure (found in paragraphs 10-28)

c) How does breast surgery affect satisfaction and quality of life in women who decide to have the surgery? (paragraph 2)

d)Interviews were conducted and data was analyzed (paragraph 5).

e)Paragraph 41

f)paragraphs 39-42

Breast Augmentation

1. The ideal size and shape of breasts depends of body type and cultural background. Women with smaller breast can feel abnormal. It’s important to listen to the patient when planning surgery. Augmentation can have a positive affect on body image.
2. Many women have enlargement surgery to correct fullness, asymmetry, or to fix hypo plastic breasts.
3. Breast augmentation is the most common form of cosmetic surgery since the introduction of silicone implants.
4. This paragraph gives a brief history of the surgeon’s first breast surgery.
5. The first silicone implant was made of a thick shell and gel and resembled the shape of a tear drop (1960-70s). Implant design progressed to be thinner, softer, and textured. The shape became more anatomically correct.
6. Saline implants were introduced by France. These were inserted through a smaller incision but were often heavy and over inflated. Many issued such as tissue thinning occurred.
7. This discussed a Double-Lumen implant that allows for both saline and silicone in the implant.
8. Implants with a textured surface were made to help the implant stay in place.
9. Silicone implants were originally teardrop shaped but improvements were made to a more rounded shape that allows movement.

10.  Now saline and silicone implants are made in sizes to suite the patients wants as far as size, shape, and projection are concerned.

11.  A general anatomy of the female breast is discussed in this paragraph. This is relevant in that the article is about breast augmentation.

12.  This gives a brief of the arterial supply to the breast. Again this is relevant and lets the reader know that the author knows what he is talking about.

13.  Vein drainage of the breast is discussed in brief in this paragraph giving the reader an anatomic background.

14.  The nerves of the breast are discussed in this paragraph. It is difficult to interpret medical terms that are not defined.

15.  Four indications that a woman would get breast augmentation from a medical stand point are as follows: Hypomastia, tubular breast, breast reconstruction, cosmetic correction.

16.  Postoperatively a patient should be checked for the following: chest x-ray, mammogram, bleeding profile, and haemogram, blood sugar, urea, and creatinine.

17.  A patient should be carefully and closely before surgery and the doctor should take notes and measurements for later reference.

18.  There are four major types of incisions for breast augmentation.

19.  The doctor and patient should discuss the incision type after selecting the type of implant. This is another issue that needs thorough explanation.

20.  Inframammary incisions don’t leave a scar that’s visible within the inframammary fold.

21.  Periareolar incisions make it easier to adjust inframammary fold but have some disadvantages such as a visible scar on the breast.

22.  Transaxillary incisions can be done with both types of implants, leaves no scarring on the breast but makes it hard to position the implant correctly and could call for a second incision.

23.  Transumblical incisions require only one incision that is hidden well and saline implants can only be used with this procedure.

24.  Pectoral pockets for the implants were being made too small and made the healing process painful. Larger pockets were made keeping in mind the size of the implant to create less discomfort.

25.  Sub glandular implantation is more effective at restoring the shape of the breast than sub muscular. Sub glandular implantation needs proper soft tissue coverage of the implant.

26.  Creating a sub muscular pocket for the implant is something that many surgeons now use when performing surgery.

27.  Advantages of sub pectoral implantation are discussed.

28.  Because the pectoral muscle can be divided it allows for varying degrees of coverage for the breast implant.

29.  The sub pectoral fascial pocket is relatively new offering thicker soft tissue coverage of the implant.

30.  Alternative pockets are introduced.

31.  This paragraph reiterates the importance of patient evaluation when choosing the size of the implant. Several options should be presented to the patient.

32.  The augmentation is usually done under general anesthesia but can also be done under monitored or local anesthesia.

33.  Preparation before the procedure is discussed in this paragraph. Marking, cleaning of the body, anesthesia, and gloves are some things mentioned.

34.  Making the incision and implant pocket, as well as checking for excessive bleeding is the next step discussed in the surgery procedure.

35.  This paragraph discusses the use of a sizer for the pocket to make sure the implant has enough room and then the insertion of the implant itself.

36.   The implant is in and the doctor closes the incision performing the same process on the opposite breast. Diet, arm movement, and medication is also discussed for recovery.

37.  Massaging the breast can be suggested but sometimes it isn’t needed.

38.  This discusses suture removal period or steristrip removal after surgery and a bra is to be worn at all times.

39.  A list of surgical complications is provided.

40.  Capsular firmness is categorized in a chart.

41.  Capsular contracture has been reduced but if it does occur the implant can be placed differently.

42.  Capsulectomy is provided as another option but closed capulectomy can cause an implant to burst.

43.  Advances in the implants and techniques of the procedure has brought the surgery a long way and it is a gratifying surgery for both doctor and patient.

How did the author try to hook the reader’s attention?

The author tries to use his own knowledge and experience to try to grab the reader’s attention. by doing this he can give his insight into the procedure. i wasn’t fond of this because medical terms were not defined that i felt should have been for the reader to understand what was being said.

a)The purpose of this article was to inform the reader of different types of implants and procedures with breast augmentation (paragraph 5-9, 20-30)

b)The importance or significance of this article is to show the complications and the risks involved with the surgery (paragraph 39)

c)How have breast implants and surgery techniques changed? (paragraphs 5-7, 20-26)

d)Patient evaluation/ surgery (paragraph 31)

e)Paragraph 36-38

f)Paragraph 43