Obesity Research Assignment

Question 1

Research has found that levels of obesity are on the increase. In a work that Kathleen and Petrelli conducted, the number of obese people worldwide is increasing and contributes to the public health burden. In the obesity research paper, the most reliable source to involve is the peer-reviewed journal articles. Peer-reviewed journals are available on Google scholar, while books can be found in a physical library.  Using peer-reviewed articles has its advantages. Firstly, peer-reviewed articles are extensively scrutinized by experts and hence highly reliable. As Masic (2016) notes, peer-reviewed articles are thoroughly examined by editors and publishers who examined how information is presented, methodology, and references used in the article, among other elements.  Apart from the peer-reviewed article, books have proved to be more reliable as compared to online blog articles. Similar to the peer-reviewed article, books are reliable since they are reviewed before publishing.

In the search strategy, I will engage the online content analysis where various sources will be examined for validity and reliability. Some of the online content analysis benefits include the approach being unobstructed, and a large quantity is explored.  I will use obesity as a keyword. As mentioned earlier, I will use Google scholar since it has more reliable materials than the general Google search. Other keywords that may be used in this search include “obese,” “obesity prevalence,” “overweight,” “unhealthy weight,” and “fat,” among others. Using keyword assist the researcher in getting all the sources linked to the study topic. For example, while one searches obesity prevalence worldwide, one gets related sources from various journals, including BMJ journal, NCBI, Gastroenterology Clinics, Springer, and The Lancet, among many others. All these journals produce peer-reviewed journals that have been thoroughly edited before publishing.

Question 2

In searching on the prevalence of obesity worldwide, various sources may be used, including a website, peer-reviewed articles, a blog, and a Wikipedia. The below screenshots present the stages used in searching for information using the four sources.

A website

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Stage 3

Wikipedia

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Peer-reviewed journal

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A blog

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Question 3

Researching this topic included getting books from the library. According to the librarian, books are arranged according to the Dewey decimal classification. The classification had 100 classifications of books. The first one, 000, is designed for general books, while 100 represents philosophy and psychology. The third category is religion, which is classified under 200. Other classifications include 400 (language), 500 (natural science and mathematics), 600 (technology and applied sciences), and 700 for arts. The last two classifications include 800, which is for literature, and 900 for geography and history. From the above classification, any medicine and health books are found in 616. This section is designed for physical diseases, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, various types of cancers, and skin diseases, among many others. On examining the area, I got a book titled “Obesity” by Kathleen and Petrelli (2009) under 616.398 Lc Classification Number, Rc628.W57 2009.

Question 4

Type of Source	Title	Reliability	Validity	Reasons for using the resource in an academic piece of work?
Website	World Health Organization (WHO)	The website is reliable since medical doctors write the content. Other elements that make the website reliable are that the content is current, cited, and the information is from an established institution.	Firstly, the website is owned by a well-known organization. The validity was also proved by checking the website protocol, the resource name, and file path.	When it comes to health matters, the WHO website has more information, key facts, and statistics. The main reason the site was used is to get the prevalence of the issue. The website effectively presents the condition’s prevalence among adults and children, the disease’s causes, and common health consequences. The website also provides approaches that can be taken in obese reduction and the WHO response.  With all the above information, the source proved a good source for this study.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Article	Obesity: Global Epidemiology and Pathogenesis by Matthias Bluher	Examining this secondary research peer-reviewed article is reliable since it effectively explores past studies on the same topic. The used references also seem reliable. The article is also from a well-renowned journal company (Springer).	The article is valid since publishers and editors have thoroughly reviewed it before publishing.	In academic research, peer-reviewed articles are mostly engaged since they present valid and reliable data. These articles are written by experts in the subject (Masic, 2016, p.168). On exploring the article by Bluher (2019), he is a senior lecturer in the university of Leipzig, Germany. He works at the department of medicine.  When comparing the information offered by such a lecturer and a blogger, the article has more valid information than a blogger who gets most of their information from Wikipedia.
Text Book	“Obesity” by Wolin Kathleen and Jennifer Petrelli	The book is written by an expert in obesity prevention. Such was determined by checking the book’s forward, introduction, and back cover. These sections contained the author’s credentials and expertise.	The book conducts valid researches before deciding on obesity prevalence in various parts of the world.	Books are a good source of academic information. After exploring the “Obesity” by Wolin Kathleen and Jennifer Petrelli, it is evident that the two authors have mastered the subject. The book offers the disease’s prevalence, causes, intervention plans, and risk factors, among other elements. With such a book, one can research any topic related to obesity. The authors seem to have covered a wide area of the condition.
Blog	The Best Obesity Blogs in 2017 by Healthline	Many blogs do not offer credible information. However, Healthline is a renowned blog that offered reliable information since experts write the blogs	The blog article is from a credible organization. The blogs used were among the best ones on the topic in 2017.	The blog article only offers an overview of the research. However, such information cannot be used singlehandedly. One of the reasons the blogs were used is that they give a brief overview of the topic.
Wikipedia	Epidemiology of obesity	Since the author of the source is unknown, knowing the information reliability is challenging. However, the source has offered a couple of references that may indicate some reliability	The source may not be valid since the authors are unknown and not identified.	The source was used to get an overview of the subject article. However, using Wikipedia for academic work is not recommended. Once one gets an overview of the topic, more information should be sought from peer-reviewed articles and books.

In conclusion, obesity prevalence worldwide will soon increase the global burden of disease. The topic is widely discussed in Wikipedia blogs, websites, books, and peer-reviewed articles. From an exploration of such sources, only two sources may be proposed for academic work, including a book and a peer-reviewed article. However, blogs, websites, and Wikipedia can be used to get the topic overview before embarking on extensive research using reliable academic sources.

Bibliography

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Masic, I., 2016. Peer Review – Essential for Article and Journal Scientific Assessment and Validity. Medical Archives, 70(3), p.168-171.

Wolin, K. Y., & Petrelli, J. M. 2009. Obesity. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood Press.

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