Syntheses Matrix 1-5

Synthesis Matrix

Research Journal 3 Audio

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Research Journal 3

What is your research question? Have you decided to change it at all? And, if you have, how do I know that the way in which this question is formulated is appropriate to conduct a literature review with a systematic approach? 

My research question is: Upon finding evidence that smoking and depression do in fact have a correlation, is an individual who has already began smoking just as likely to develop depression as an individual who is already developed depression to begin smoking? And when looking at certain groups of individuals who all have something in common, is one group more likely than another to develop a correlation. I have decided to slightly change my question. I have added the section where it asks about certain groups being more susceptible to the development of depression and smoking. It offers a good debate and the has been multiple research studies done that offer insight to the answer to my question.

How do I know that the remit of the method itself is selecting the research, rather than just you on a whim? + 1 thing you found interesting + how you imagine using the source

Article 6

Khan, S., Arif, A. A., Laditka, J. N., & Racine, E. F. (2015). Prenatal exposure to secondhand smoke may increase the risk of postpartum depressive symptoms. Journal of Public Health, 37(3), 406-411. doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdv083

This article comes from the Oxford Academic Journal of Public Health. It is the first article that I will be using from this particularly scholarly article journal. Because in this particular article the purpose is to find of there is a correlation between being exposed to secondhand smoke during pregnancy and developing post partum depression, it is considered a case control research study. There is another type of research that this article also has the characteristics of. That would be a cross- sectional research method. This is because the data was collected though independent surveys that were submitted. It is relevant to my topic because a key part of my question involves looking at groups that have something in common. This group is pregnant women. Other articles that I have found research teens and others research individuals from a certain geographical area. It will add to my results section of my paper because the findings of this study where that those women who were exposed to smoke while pregnant do have a higher risk of developing postpartum depression. I found this article to be interesting because I was not aware that this correlation was significant in many women.

Article 7

Breslau, N., & Johnson, E. O. (2000). Predicting Smoking Cessation and Major Depression in Nicotine-Dependent Smokers. American Journal of Public Health.

This article is about the research done to find if the smokers who are dependent on nicotine are more likely to develop depression than those who smoke, but are not nicotine dependent. This article focuses on the age group of 24 to 33 years old. It was found that both groups of people (dependent and nondependent) had a higher lifetime rate of major depression. Because this study was done to find of there was a correlation, it is a case control study. Unlike the other study from Article 6, the data was not sent in through questionnaires. The individuals’ habits were watched more closely through a long period of time. They did not just send in what information they wanted to share. It is relevant to my topic because it directly answers my research question. It answers whether or not there is a correlation between smoking and depression. There is a specific group of people being researched in this study as well. I thought that it was interesting that any level of occurance for smoking, whether it is only occasional or more consistent, can increase your risk for developing depression.

Article 8

Taylor, G., Mcneill, A., Girling, A., Farley, A., Lindson-Hawley, N., & Aveyard, P. (2014). Change in mental health after smoking cessation: systematic review and meta-analysis. Bmj, 348(Feb13 1). doi:10.1136/bmj.g1151

This article is researching the effects of quitting smoking on mental health. It was found that if an individual smokes and has depression, then quits smoking, their mental health status will improve. Although this method of finding a correlation is not the same as the other articles I have found, it still shows that a correlation does exist and will still be useful in my research paper. It just offers another method of obtaining data. It is relevant because it still involves the factors of smoking and depression. I thought that this article was interesting because it is a different method than the other articles and despite the differences, the results were still the same. This is a case control study because it is looking for a correlation.

Article 9

Frerichs, R. R., Aneshensel, C. S., Clark, V. A., & Yokopenic, P. (1981). Smoking and depression: a community survey. American Journal of Public Health, 71(6), 637-640. doi:10.2105/ajph.71.6.637

This article is from the American Journal of Public Health, like the majority of my other articles. It offers the same results as most other studies regarding the topic of smoking and depression. There is a high rate of depression in those individuals who do smoke and those who do not smoke have a lower rate of developing depression. This will add to my results section of my paper by having even more evidence to suggest that there is a correlation. This is again a case control study because of the correlation of factors. It will be beneficial to have many articles that all have the same results from the different studies. It will only make my paper more credible and reliable.

Article 10

Lasser, K., MD, & Boyd, W., MD. (200). Smoking and Mental Illness A Population-Based Prevalence Study. JAMA. doi:doi:10.1001/jama.284.20.2606

This article explores the prevalence of depression among smokers. The results show that those who are more severely depressed have a higher lifetime smoking rate. This article is a case control study and also a cross sectionals study. It is cross sectional because data was collected through surveys. This is a good way to reach a very large audience and gather a lot of data. The more data that is collected, the more reliable a study becomes. More subjects means that the results have less likely to be the result of chance. It will add to the results section of my paper by aligning the results of this study with the other studies that I have found.

Explaining Project Audio

Research Journal 2 Five Sources Audio

Research Journal 2

What is your topic? Or what are your key words thus far?

My topic is the correlation between smoking and depression and which factor causes the other. The main research method is a cross sectional study. This type of research is a key component in attaining reliable data.

What is your research question? Have you decided to change it at all? And, if you have, how do I know that the way in which this question is formulated is appropriate to conduct a literature review with a systematic approach? 

My research question is: Upon finding evidence that smoking and depression do in fact have a correlation, is an individual who has already began smoking just as likely to develop depression as an individual who is already developed depression to begin smoking? I have not decided to change it at all. It offers a good debate and the has been multiple research studies done that offer insight to the answer to my question.

And what are the definitions on which it depends?

Smoking- the use of tobacco for an extended and consistent period of time

Depression- severe decline in mood, loss of interest in daily activities, and impairment of everyday life lasting longer than two weeks

There specific requirements for each term dictate what evidence can be used.

What is your hierarchy of evidence? And how do I know you going about finding the most appropriate evidence/method for your research question?

Hierarchy of evidence (Aveyard pg. 96)

1. Cross Sectional Studies (surveys and questionnaires)

2. Systematic Review

3. Qualitative approach

4. Professional Opinion

5. Anecdotal Opinion

Based on the fact that the research question is comparing two factors and finding a correlation, it is a cohort and case control study. By knowing the type of question that it is, I can find the right type of literature to go along with my question.

How do I know that the remit of the method itself is selecting the research, rather than just you on a whim? + 1 thing you found interesting + how you imagine using the source

Article 1

Wu, L. T., & Anthony, J. C. (1999). Tobacco smoking and depressed mood in late childhood and early adolescence. American Journal of Public Health, 89(12), 1837-1840. doi:10.2105/ajph.89.12.1837

This article is directly relevant to my topic because it addresses the causation of both factors. This means that the results show that smoking can lead to depression, but depression may not lead to smoking. It is a cross sectional study, which is appropriate for this type of research question. This article will be very useful in the results section of my paper. I thought that this article was interesting because it targets a specific age group, which would be adolescents and childhood. You wouldn't think that smoking and depression would be prevalent in this age category, but it is. Because it is the youngest age group that my articles are investigating, I will most likely use this article first to present data.

Article 2

Patton, G. C., Hibbert, M., Rosier, M. J., Carlin, J. B., Caust, J., & Bowes, G. (1996). Is smoking associated with depression and anxiety in teenagers? American Journal of Public Health, 86(2), 225-230. doi:10.2105/ajph.86.2.225

This article also directly provides evidence to answer my research question. This studies findings are the same as my first article’s findings. This evidence just further proves that there is a correlation. This article is also cross sectional. Having multiple articles that are the same type of literature and support the same theory will help me to prove that the answer to my research question is correct. These children are slightly older than the last article's subjects. It will be useful to see how the data changes between the different age categories. This article is the most relevant to me and my age group since I am still a teenager. This makes the information more relevant to my person life.

Article 3

Hall, S. M., Tsoh, J. Y., Prochaska, J. J., Eisendrath, S., Rossi, J. S., Redding, C. A., . . . Gorecki, J. A. (2006). Treatment for Cigarette Smoking Among Depressed Mental Health Outpatients: A Randomized Clinical Trial. American Journal of Public Health, 96(10), 1808-1814. doi:10.2105/ajph.2005.080382

This article looks specifically at smoking making existing depression worse. Although it doesn’t directly answer my research question, the data collected from this study is related to the research done in the previous articles. It is closely related so it will still add valuable information to my research paper. This article is more focused on how an individual who is already depressed and smoking can alleviate some depression symptoms if smoking is stopped. This is may be somewhat backwards from the previous articles’ direction of gathering data, the data is still relevant. The results of this study were consistent with the others, despite the slight change in starting point of the subjects.

Article 4

Pérez-Stable, E. J., Marín, G., Marín, B. V., & Katz, M. H. (1990). Depressive symptoms and cigarette smoking among Latinos in San Francisco. American Journal of Public Health, 80(12), 1500-1502. doi:10.2105/ajph.80.12.1500

This article explores the correlation between depression and smoking among a specific group of people. Although other articles relate teenagers and this one is a different group of people, the data will be useful to compare whether each group is more at risk than the other. Although my research question doesn’t focus on a specific group, any data for any age group will be beneficial to proving that there is a correlation to smoking and depression. It is interesting to see that the same two factors effect nearly everyone the same despite the fact that some individuals belong to different age groups and geographical areas. 

Article 5

Patton, G. C., Carlin, J. B., Coffey, C., Wolfe, R., Hibbert, M., & Bowes, G. (1998). Depression, anxiety, and smoking initiation: a prospective study over 3 years. American Journal of Public Health, 88(10), 1518-1522. doi:10.2105/ajph.88.10.1518

This study included many other factors, rather than just the two of smoking and depression. It also took into account if their peers smoked, if they diet, and how active they are. Although this study takes into account these other factors, it is still based upon smoking being the main cause of worsening or developing depression. This is a cohort and cross sectional study method. The changes in behavior are studies and surveyed over the course of a few years. Because all of my sources are this type of study, my results will be more reliable because of the consistency. This article will add more detail to the methods section of my paper. There will be more factors that could potentially influence the results section of my paper. 

Anything else interesting happen?

I am glad that I was able to find many articles that directly relate to my topic and answer my research question. All of my sources come from a reliable journal with professionals who publish their findings. It is good that all of my sources are the same type of research method, which would be cohort and cross sectional.

In Class Assignment 2/6 and 2/8

1.         Wu, L. T., & Anthony, J. C. (1999). Tobacco smoking and depressed mood in late childhood and early adolescence. American Journal of Public Health, 89(12), 1837-1840. doi:10.2105/ajph.89.12.1837

2.         Case Controlled

3.         This is an example of a cohort and case controlled study because the individuals who are conducting the research are looking at what causes the subjects to develop either smoking or depression. This method enables them to see which factor has more of an effect on developing the other, meaning if smoking has an influence on the development of depression or if already having depression has an affect on the development of smoking. This specific type of study looks at the correlation between two factors.

4.         The conclusion of this study was that of those children who began smoking tobacco it was found that a statistically significant amount of individuals also developed a depressed mood within a one year period of beginning to smoke. There was not a statistically significant amount of adolescents who began smoking after having already developed a depressed mood. This method enabled them to come to this conclusion because case studies are based around finding a correlation. In this case there was a correlation between smoking causing depression and not a correlation between depression causing smoking.

5.         One interesting thing I discovered while reading this article was that there is evidence to suggest that smoking tobacco does make an individual a greater risk for developing depression. Although, having depression does not make an individual more likely to smoke tobacco

1.        Frerichs, R. R., Aneshensel, C. S., Clark, V. A., & Yokopenic, P. (1981). Smoking and depression: a community survey. American Journal of Public Health, 71(6), 637-640. doi:10.2105/ajph.71.6.637

2.        Phenomenology

3.        The authors have used this method of phenomenology because they have collected data through the study of interviews. These interviews are used to find out the experience of the individuals who smoke and if they have developed depression. This is not a trial to see if people will develop depression, it is simply inquiring about each person’s experience with the two factors. This interview method enables the researchers to collect data that will answer research questions without having to have subjects in a trial.

4.        The conclusion of this study is that those individuals who smoke tobacco did have a higher rate of developing depression than those who did not smoke. This method assisted in reaching this conclusion by keeping the study up to ethical standards. No one was asked to begin smoking to find the answer to the research question. The data was collected through interviews about a willing subjects personal experience.

5.        An interesting thing about this article is that nonsmokers have a much lower risk of developing depression. This suggests that one unhealthy habit can lead to a difficult mental illness.

1.         Graham, R., Rivara, F. P., Ford, M. A., & Spicer, C. M. (2014). Sports-Related Concussions in Youth: Improving the Science, Changing the Culture. Retrieved February 6, 2017.

2.         Mixed Methods

3.         The authors of this article use this method by conducting their research to get a quantitative result. They use this method in order to determine the sports throughout the U.S. that result in the most concussions. They chose this method because they were specifically trying to find a quantitative result instead of qualitative one.

4.         The result of this study found that in men, the sports with the highest concussion rate was football, lacrosse, and wrestling, while in women, the highest concussion rate was found in lacrosse and basketball. Using mixed-methods, enabled the researchers to find an exact quantitative result for their study.

5.         What I found interesting in this article was the rate at which military servicemen suffered concussions during their hand-to-hand combat training.

1.          Wasserman, E. B., Bazarian, J. J., Mapstone, M., Block, R., & Wijngaarden, E. V. (n.d.). Academic Dysfunction After a Concussion Among US High School and College Students. Retrieved February 1, 2017.

2.         Grounded Theory

3.         The authors of this article use grounded-theory by making observations, tests, and interviews and then conducting their own theories pertaining to concussions in high school athletes. They probably chose this method because conducting their studies before hand enabled them to make a more precise theory.

4.         Their research found that students who suffered a concussion when playing a sport had some academic dysfunction the first week and month following the injury. Using grounded theory let the researchers to interview and test students first before making their theory.

5.         One interesting thing I found in this study is that even though it is a "cohort study" it fits the description of grounded theory, therefore other studies like this one might be able to utilize different research methods in the future.

1.         Weaver, L. J., & Made, S. V. (2015, November 11). Type 2 Diabetes and Anxiety Symptoms Among Women in New Delhi, India. Retrieved January 29, 2017,from http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302830

2.         Theory

3.         In this article, the authors use theory as the basis of their research. They are testing to see if there is a link between diabetes and its effects on anxiety and depression. This theory is a basis idea that has come about in people who have experienced greater anxiety or depression as they have found they have diabetes. This method enables them to do specific research because they have a question that they need to answer. This method over others, was a better choice because they already had a basis. They chose to do this method because they had a topic and wanted to dive in deeper to see what the actual link between the two was. 

4.         The conclusion is that "Screening for anxiety among people with diabetes has been overlooked in the past. Anxiety appears more prevalent than depression, especially during the first 2 years of the disease." They were able to come up with this conclusion because of the prevalence that the case has. 

5.         One thing I discovered was that depression is more prevalent, but less known than anxiety.