Vocabulary List

• Clarity: Clearness or easy understanding.
• Declarative: Stating facts or making statements.
• Colloquial: Informal language used in everyday conversation.
• Contractions: Shortened forms of words formed by combining two words together with an apostrophe. (For example: Combining do and not by saying don't.)
• Anecdotes: Short, personal stories or accounts of experiences. In public health, anecdotes might be used to illustrate the impact of a health issue or the effectiveness of an intervention, but they are not considered as strong evidence or scientific data.
• Narrative: A story or account of events. 
• Left-justified (aligned): All the text lines up evenly along the left side of the page. 
  

2.1 How to Summarize an Article

When you summarize information, you explain the most important parts of a source text in your own words. You typically summarize something to make it shorter. The page number is not required in the in-text citation for a summary.

2.1.1 An Effective Summary

Effective summaries do the following:

• Explain the most important parts of the original.
• Are written in your own words.
• Keep the original meaning.
• Does not merely cut and copy from the original.
• Shortens the original content.

2.1.2 Here are some simple steps you can follow in order to create a summary:

1. Determine your purpose.
2. Read or listen to what you will summarize.
3. Make a list of the main points.
4. Write the summary.
5. Compare the summary to the original.

Determine Your Purpose

The purpose of your summary will help you determine which details you should include. Typically, your summaries for academic writing have a similar purpose: you need to explain academic information without your opinion. You may also have a more specific focus in mind that will help you decide which details are important and which details you should not include in your summary.

Make a List of the Main Points

Example Quote:

"In 2020, 74 per cent of the global population used safely managed drinking water services. National estimates were available for 138 countries and four out of eight SDG regions, representing 45 per cent of the global population. Coverage was lower in rural areas (60 per cent) than in urban areas (86 per cent), which were home to two out of three of the 5.8 billion people using safely managed services. By 2020 a total of 84 countries had achieved universal (>99 per cent) coverage of at least basic drinking water services." (UNICEF, 2021, para. 3)

Example: List Main Points

• 74 percent of people have clean water.
• A higher percentage of people in urban areas have clean water than in rural areas.

A lot of details were left off the list because they were not essential for the summary. There is not one perfect way to make a list for your summary.

Example: Summary

Globally, 74% of the population has access to safe, clean water services, and cities have better water safety than towns and villages (UNICEF, 2021).

Notice how the items on the list are not just copied and pasted together into one big sentence. The ideas are connected together carefully. The order is changed a little and some of the ideas are condensed.

2.2 Academic Voice

Academic voice refers to the specific style and tone of writing commonly used in academic and scholarly contexts. Scholarly writing’s primary objective is to communicate clearly and concisely by using precise and inclusive language. It is characterized by its formal, objective, and authoritative nature, conveying a sense of expertise and professionalism. Academic voice is important as it helps establish credibility, clarity, and precision in conveying ideas and arguments. Here are some guidelines on how to use academic voice effectively.

1. Third Person Point of View: Instead of using an I statement or a you statement, you will need to use a declarative statement. Declarative statements help relay information with precision.
   • Example of an I Statement: I read the article by Smith et al., (2020) and they found that diet and physical activity are correlated.
   • Example of a Declarative Statement: Smith et al. (2020), in their study with college students, found that diet and physical activity are correlated.
   • Example of a You Statement: Proper diet and exercise will help you be healthier and avoid chronic diseases.
   • Example of a Declarative Statement: Proper diet and exercise improves health and lowers the risk of chronic diseases.
2. Objective Language: Use neutral and unbiased language, avoiding personal opinions, emotions, and unnecessary subjectivity. Focus on presenting evidence and arguments in a balanced manner.
3. Formal Tone: Maintain a professional tone throughout your writing. Avoid colloquial language, slang, contractions, and overly casual expressions. Instead, use precise vocabulary and grammatically correct sentences.
4. Clear and Concise Language: Strive for clarity and precision in your writing. Use words and phrases consistently with straightforward and specific language to convey your ideas effectively. Avoid excessive jargon, but include discipline-specific terminology where appropriate and ensure it is properly defined. If a certain length of paper is required, develop your arguments and include more research, and don’t add unnecessary words. 
5. Citations and Evidence: Academic voice relies on supporting arguments with credible sources and evidence. Use appropriate citations to acknowledge the work of others and demonstrate the validity of your claims. Follow the APA style guidelines.
6. Avoiding Informal Elements: Omit unnecessary elements found in casual writing, such as rhetorical questions, exclamation marks, and contractions. Instead, focus on logical and rational presentation of ideas.
   • Example of a Rhetorical Question: Wouldn't you feel better if you ate healthier and exercised more?
   • Example of More Formal Writing: Those who eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly report that they feel healthier.
   • Example of Contractions: Don't, isn't, there's.
   • Example of No Contractions: Do not, is not, there is.
7. Avoiding Personal Anecdotes: Unlike personal or creative writing, academic writing does not typically involve personal anecdotes or experiences. Instead, prioritize objective analysis and scholarly discussion.
   • Example of Personal Anecdotes: Physical exercise is important because I have seen the difference it makes in my life!
   • Example of Non Personal: Physical exercise is important because it lowers the risk of chronic diseases (Smith et al., 2020).
8. Sentence Structure and Grammar: Maintain a clear and coherent structure in your writing. Use grammatically correct sentences, varied sentence structures, and appropriate transitions to ensure your writing flows smoothly.
   • Example of Poor Sentence Structure: So, as you can see from above, the findings are positive and relate diet and exercise together.
   • Example of Good Sentence Structure: These findings by Smith et al., (2020) and Lu et al., (2022) make a positive correlation between diet and exercise. Those who exercise more consistently also tend to consume a more balanced diet.
9. To create continuity in your writing, use links that cue the reader about the information you present, such as the following:
   • Time Links: After, next since, then, while.
   • Cause and Effect Links: As a result, consequently, therefore.
   • Additional Links: Furthermore, in addition, moreover.
   • Contrast Links: Although, but, conversely, however.

2.3 How to Write a Literature Review and Introduction

An Introduction is a three-to-four-page paper addressing the research question and study you designed with your group. 

​​Students commonly believe that they can sit down and author an academic paper start to finish in one attempt, but experienced writers know this is not the best approach to writing a complex paper. Thankfully, you have already taken several steps to prepare to write the Introduction section of your paper. The next step will be to plan what you will write. This plan is called an outline.

The goals of an Introduction is to:

1. Define the research topic.
   • Define key concepts and terms.
2. Tell the reader what is already known about the topic.
   • Speak to prior research on the topic or related to the topic.
   • Cite relevant sources.
   • Describe and summarize the findings of these sources.
   • Speak to similarities or differences between the sources.
3. Tell the reader how your research is going to help them learn more about the research topic.
   • What do we still not know about the research topic?
   • How is your research going to address the research topic?
   • Define your research question and hypotheses.

2.3.1 Writing Process

Where to Begin: The Background Section

The following is the recommended writing process:

1. Pick a theme you are most confident writing about. 
2. Using your sources, write a paragraph that summarizes what is known, hypothesized, or unknown on this theme. Remember to cite your sources. 
3. Construct your paragraphs by beginning with a topic sentence, followed by supporting evidence, contrasting theories, and end with a concluding sentence that leads to the next paragraph.

Example:

Access the appendix for a description of the image. 

4. Depending on the number of studies you have for this exact section, you will either need to find more research articles, write multiple paragraphs, or both. Your goal throughout your paper is to summarize all of what science knows on this topic, but it is especially important for this section. 
5. After the facts of the section are written, interject your own analysis of the evidence. Highlight studies that were well-designed, poorly designed, support your claims, or disagree with your topic sentence.
6. Repeat this process with the themes you planned in your outline. 

Next: The Motivation Section

Based on your Background section, write your Motivation section. Highlight your hypothesis and why it matters. 

Finally: Your Topic Paragraph

Now that the bulk of your paper has been written:

1. Scan the text for key terms that are unknown to your professional audience. Develop a definition of them in your own words using the sources. 
2. Identify the basic statistics that demonstrate the importance of your research question. These could include the incidence, prevalence, cost, or other impact of the topic.
3. Give hints to your reader about what they should expect to read in the rest of the paper. 
4. Incorporate these into the draft paragraph you wrote in your planning phase.  

You will now have an unformatted rough draft.

2.3.2 Formatting Process

Optional Resources:

1. Follow these APA rules and guidelines. For Citations: APA rules and guidelines.
2. Reference page: page 16 of this guide. 

Your paper should meet the following expectations: 

Audience

• Written for medical and public health professionals and scientists—not the general population.

Content

• 3–4 pages of written material in this section.
• Synthesis of at least ten related peer-reviewed scholarly research articles. You will probably need more than ten sources.
• No more than two direct quotes that are no longer than 1–2 sentences.
• Organization
• Logical, orderly, and smooth flow of ideas are presented to justify research question.
• Paragraphs have one main idea, support each other, and follow your outline.

Writing Style

• Use precise, declarative sentences.
• No use of literary devices, colloquial expressions, contractions, jargon, or anthropomorphism.
• Write in first person and active voice.
• Us wording that reduces bias, increases clarity, and is appropriate for the social sciences.
• Person-first language, which means to focus on the person rather than their disease. Tell what the person has, not what the person is. For example, say “person with a brain injury” rather than “brain-damaged person.”

Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation

• Correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Define any abbreviations the first time they are used.
• Use words for numbers zero to nine, and numerals for numbers 10 and above.

Citation of sources

• A mix of narrative citations and parenthetical citations that always identify when you are citing a source.

Format

• Use Times New Roman 12-point font.
• Format your paper using APA guidelines, including the spacing, font, text size, and quote formatting.
• Cite your sources in the body of your paper properly.
• Create a reference page according to APA guidelines.
• Number tables and figures in the order they are discussed; use bold font and align left.
• Paragraphs should be left-justified (aligned). 

Plagiarism

• Do not plagiarize. Give each source proper credit for their ideas.
• Check your paper using the TurnItIn® practice assignment to ensure you have not inadvertently used the words of others. Your Similarity Score must be below 25% before your instructor will grade your final literature review. The lower the better.

Tense

• Introduction, literature Review and Method: past or present perfect.
• Results: past.
• Discussion: present.

2.3.3 APA Guidelines 

Follow these steps in setting up your paper:

1. Margins: Use 1-inch on left, right, top and bottom.
2. Font: Use Times New Roman 12-point.
3. Line Spacing: Double spacing for the entire paper. Do not add extra lines before or after headings, or between paragraphs.
4. Paragraphs: Indent the first line ½ inch.
5. Page Numbers: Insert in top right corner of every page, including title page.
6. Running Head: Do not use for a student paper.
7. Title Page: Start four lines from top of the page and include these items, centered:
   • Paper title in bold, followed by one blank line
   • Author name
   • Department name and University name
   • Course number and name
   • Instructor name
   • Due date
8. Headings, all in bold and title case: 
   • Level 1: centered
   • Level 2: left-aligned
   • Level 3: left-aligned, italicized
   • Level 4: indent ½ inch at beginning of paragraph
   • Level 5: indent ½ inch and italicize
9. References: Start on separate page with Level 1 heading.
   • List entries alphabetically.
   • Use hanging indents, with first line left justified and other lines indented.
   • Start with authors’ last names and initials. Put the year in parentheses. 
   • List article title, the journal or website title in italics, and the URL if found online.
   • Each end reference needs one or more matching in-text citations.
10. Citations: Within the text of your paper, cite the source with authors' last name and year. Use a narrative citation if the authors' name is mentioned in the narrative, or parenthetical at the end of the sentence.
    • For Example:
      • Narrative: Smith (2021) researched the source of coronavirus.
      • Parenthetical: Researchers wrote about the source of coronavirus (Smith, 2021).

Format citations according to the following table:

2.3.4 Editing Resources

Use as many of these resources to edit your paper as you can:

• Submit your draft to the W02 Plagiarism and TurnItIn® Independent Submission Folder within the course in I-Learn.
  • Check for plagiarism.
  • Check for problems with grammar, usage, mechanics, style, and spelling errors using the e-rater feedback and handbook.
• Read your paper aloud to find confusing phrases and grammatical errors. 
• Get help from the BYU-Idaho Writing Center.

You now have a paper that is ready to submit. 

2.4 What is the IRB?

In the United States, most researchers are required to get their research approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). IRBs are located at universities and other facilities that participate in research projects. Most other countries also have some sort of IRBs. IRBs review research studies to ensure that they comply with regulations, meet ethical standards, follow pertinent policies, and protect research participants. The IRB originated due to poor practices of researchers who were conducting research on participants without their full consent, or without informing them of the consequences of the research. An example of this is the Tuskegee Syphilis Study that was conducted in the 1940s. Researchers asked disadvantaged, rural black men to participate in a study about syphilis. The researchers wanted to see what would happen when syphilis went untreated for many years. During the time of the study, penicillin was found to be an effective means to treat syphilis. Unfortunately, the researchers decided that they would not give the men in the study the treatment so as to not interrupt the project even long after the treatment was available. These men would have had a better life outcome if treatment would have been provided.

There are three basic ethical principles that the IRB strive to protect, these include:

1. Respect for Persons: Individuals should be treated as autonomous agents (meaning they can make their own decisions) and persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to protection (such as children under the age of 18 or disabled persons).
2. Beneficence: Researchers should make efforts to secure the participants' well-being. 
3. Justice: Research subjects should be taken from a variety of persons, not just the disadvantaged. Advantages gained from research should be available to all.

In order to get a research project approved by the IRB, a researcher must undergo training and then submit his or her research proposal to the IRB for approval. The process can take anywhere from two weeks to multiple months depending on the nature of the research. 

Since we will only be surveying other classmates in the course, we do not need to ask the IRB for approval.

2.5 Google Forms Tutorial

(Brigham Young University-Idaho, Pryor, 2024)

2.5.1 Creating a Form and First Question

1. Go to forms.google.com
2. Select Blank form +
3. Name your untitled form and include a brief description.
4. Your first question should be titled Information About the Survey and Agreement to Participate.
5. Select the three dots on the bottom right corner of the question box and click on Description.
6. In the new Description box type the following:
   • Our survey question is: (fill in survey question here) The survey consists of                                questions and will take                                minutes. Involvement in this research project is voluntary. You may withdraw at any time without penalty or refuse to participate entirely. There will be no reference to your identification at any point in the research.
7. Make sure that the question type in the upper right-hand box is set to Multiple Choice.
8. Below the Description box, type in “I consent to participate in the survey,” then select Add Option, and on the next line type “I do not consent to participate in the survey.”
9. Select the three dots at the bottom right of the question box and then select Go To Section Based on Answer. For the second answer (I do not consent to participate in the survey), select the arrow to the right of Continue to The Next Section and choose Submit Form. This will allow the participant to quit the survey if they do not want to participate.
10. Make sure the Required button at the bottom of the question box is to the right so that the question is required.

2.5.2 Types of Questions in Google Forms

To add additional questions in this form, you will click on the + button to the right.

There are many different types of questions in Google Forms. 

• Multiple Choice (see example above): This type of question lets the participant choose just one answer.
• Short Answer: The participant can type in their own answer, up to 225 characters.
• Paragraph: The participant can type in their own answer with unlimited characters.
• Checkboxes: This allows the participant to choose more than one answer.
• Dropdown: The dropdown box allows the participant to choose one choice in a list of choices from a dropdown menu. This is a good option for age, gender, and ethnicity questions.
• Linear Scale: This field lets participants select a number in a range, so you can set a numerical scale starting at 0 or 1 and ending anywhere from 2 to 10. This is very helpful with agree or disagree type questions.
  
• Multiple Choice Grid: This option is very useful as it allows you to ask multiple questions at once. This first image shows how the question is set up.
  
• The participant will see the question like this:
  
• They will only be able to choose one answer per row.
• Checkbox Grid: This is similar to the Multiple Choice Grid, but allows participants to choose multiple answers. This type of question is not as useful as it makes it difficult to analyze your data.
  

2.5.3 Finishing the Survey

1. After you finish your survey, you can select the eye at the top right of Google Forms and preview your survey to make sure you like how it looks.
2. To add a Thank You message and Confirmation, select Settings at the top and then select Edit across from the Confirmation message. Add your Confirmation message and then select Save.
3. As your responses come in, you can view them in the Responses tab. You will also be able to save all of your responses to a Google Sheet by selecting Link to Sheets.

2.5.4 Sharing Your Survey

After you complete your survey, you will be able to share it with others. Because the survey will be anonymous, you must adjust the settings. 

1. On the top, select Settings and then choose Responses. Change Collect Email Addresses to Do Not Collect. 
2. Select the three dots in the top right corner and choose Add Collaborators. You can add all of your group members and you will also add your instructor. Your instructor will provide an email address.
3. Select the Send button at the top right and then select the second option toward the top (). Select Shorten URL and then select Copy. This will copy the URL of the form so that you can share it with others.

2.6 Optional Module: Citation Management Software: Zotero 

(Brigham Young University-Idaho, Pryor, 2024)

Zotero is a citation management software that makes it easy to save your references and then include them in your paper. 

2.6.1 Installing Zotero - BYU-Idaho

2.6.2 Saving References to Zotero - BYU-Idaho 

2.6.3 Citing Using Zotero and Creating a Bibliography - BYU-Idaho

References 

Jackson, K., & Stephens, C. (2024). Academic B Writing: Academic Essays. Open Textbooks: Brigham Young University. https://open.byu.edu/academic_b_writing

License: CC-BY

UNICEF. (2021, July 1). Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, 2000-2020: Five years into the SDGs. UNICEF for Every Child: UNICEF Data: Monitoring the Situation of Children and Women. https://data.unicef.org/resources/progress-on-household-drinking-water-sanitation-and-hygiene-2000-2020/

License: CC-BY-NC