Assignment Task: Critical reading and writing
Scenario: A parent comes to you with concerns that their child is a fussy eater. You consult the literature to find more and come across this article. Let's extract some information from the Powell et al. (2016) article to see what they say.
1. Skim through the article. List the major subsections (Abstract, Introduction, etc.). Start to consider which section you might be able to find more information in.
2. Read the title page of the article and extract important information: Are the authors qualified to be writing this article? Can you find their affiliations? What is the journal's name? Is the article current? Can you see who funded the study?
3. Is this an original research article (is it a study)? Or is it a review of existing literature?
4. What are the keywords listed on the 1st page
5. What do you know about the population being studied? How many participants? Who are they? Does the article say where they're from and any other noteworthy characteristics? (Hint: see Participants under the subheading Methods and Materials).
6. What did the researchers measure? (Hint: under the subheading Measures and procedure).
7. Write a summary of the findings from this article (using the appropriate APA 7th reference)?
8. Identify any bias or preconceived ideas: Before reading, it's good to do a little reflection. Consider your own experiences of eating as a child (only discuss if you feel comfortable doing so). Do you have more recent experiences with children and eating (possibly you have children yourself)? Do you think any of these experiences might influence the way you read the evidence in this area or perhaps in giving advice to the parent?
9. Based on the evidence from this article, what advice might you give a parent who is concerned about their child's fussy eating?