epi

Epidemiology Paper Assignment Instructions
Introduction to Epidemiology
Objectives: Develop critical evaluation and synthesis of the literature skills for epidemiology studies.
Topic: A contemporary epidemiologic issue of your interest.
Paper:
Each paper must have a title, name, appropriate literature citations, and the following sections:
I. Summary of the journal article or study you have chosen (one page)
II. Critique of the article or study (one page)
III. Conclusions/future directions (one-half page)
Format:
1. Your paper should be 2.5 pages, and should be in essaynot, bulleted format.
2. Use APA format (points will be deducted for not being APA)
3. You will be graded on content, depth, and application of information learned in class.
Assignment:
Follow these steps below to complete your Epi Paper.
Step 1: Topic Selection and Article Finding
Identify and decide your health topic of interest and find a peer-reviewed primary source article that is
one of two epidemiology study designs, a case-control or cohort study. Feel free to contact me, as I am
happy to help you in identifying topics if you need any help from me. We will have a repository of
studies uploaded into the course that you may choose from if youd like as well.
Step 2: Read and Write Summary
Read your article several times making note of the big idea and the highlights. Then write your one-page
summary of the article. This part is very easy to plagiarize, so be sure to use your own words to write
your summary. Your paper will be run through turn-it in.
Step 3: Critical Evaluation
Discuss the terms of design (cohort? Case-control?) and the impact of design on the findings. For
example, are there any methodological differences in identifying study population, collecting data, and
assessing exposures that may explain the findings? Also consider the following questions – Are there
biases that could explain (or invalidate) the findings of the study? What biases may have been
introduced into the study that could explain differences? What gaps still remain?
Step 4: Conclusion/Future Directions
Based on this paper and your knowledge of the topic, what study design approaches do you recommend
as the next step in research to examine the relationship between exposure and health outcome of your
interest?