The final paper/presentation: . As students of public health you need to be aware of the seriousness of emerging infectious diseases either naturally occurring or facilitated by human behaviors. For your final project in this class you will choose a topic dealing with a particular emerging infectious disease and discuss it in detail, using general information that you find by researching the topic on the list of approved websites, as well as at least 2 primary sources (peered reviewed journal articles found through the Kaplan Library). The paper must focus on the history of the disease, statistics, epidemiology of the disease, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, transmission, virulence, vector, host, and any interesting facts that you would like to share. Page numbers, properly formatted subject headers (see APA style manual), a clear problem statement, a cohesive and scholarly literature review, validated facts with text citations, a conclusion with recommendations for
further needs/research, and an alphabetized, APA formatted reference list are required. Text citations must match references.
Points are also allotted for scholarly depth, using APA format, proof reading for spelling and grammatical errors, presenting a logical flow of ideas and a logical conclusion, overall scholarly style and tone, and using quality references that contain a minimum of four primary, peer reviewed articles. Students are expected to utilize the spacing and other style formats described in the APA manual.
The body of the paper should be 8 – 10 pages, double spaced, not counting the title page, table of contents (optional), abstract, and reference list. Papers must be posted to the dropbox by the end of (Unit 9). A superior paper demonstrates breadth and depth of knowledge, use of quality resources, APA formatting, scholarly writing, and critical thinking appropriate for undergraduate-level scholarship. The paper must follow APA Publication Manual style guidelines and be free of typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors.
All papers must include the following sections, at minimum: Introduction (subsections to include statement of the problem, significance of the problem, and background), Literature Review (with topic-appropriate subsections), and Conclusions and Recommendations.
1) Title page
2) Table of Contents
3) Abstract: Abstracts must be concise and specific. The basic idea of an abstract is to provide what was done in the paper, including the key four or five findings, and the conclusion. Background information is not included in an abstract, nor are generalities.
4) Introduction: This must include the statement of the problem and the significance of the problem (validate with text citations and statistics). This section also includes any background and general information that is useful to understand the literature review that follows. For some topics, this may include historical context.
5) Literature Review: This is the heart of the paper. This section includes the analysis of the current (within 5 years) primary literature and should consist of presentation of hypotheses, study methods, results, and conclusions in the student’s own words. Compare and contrast studies. Analyze them for flaws and value. Consider studies with conflicting results and similar results and postulate reasons for this as well as conclusions to be drawn. Organization of the literature review section may vary according to the topic, but this section should demonstrate a cohesive connection between all of the primary articles being discussed. Page numbers are required. Use of transitional statements is strongly encouraged.
6) Conclusions and Recommendations: This section is designed to pull together all of the information, including reiterating the significance of the problem and presenting the overarching conclusions of the current research that was analyzed in the literature review. The paper must include a discussion of gaps and recommendations for further policies, legislation, interventions, and/or research.
7) Reference List: All references that were cited in the text must appear here in APA format, single spaced with hanging indent. Full credit will not be given should the reference list lack the minimum number of two primary research articles. Keep in mind that most final papers will need many more than two to do a good job.
Power Point and Presentation:
Final paper powerpoint: Students are required to prepare a short and brief powerpoint presentation of their research paper topic. Post the powerpoint presentation as an attachment in the Unit 9 discussion area. Review classmate’s presentations and respond to one presentation by asking a probing question, or adding additional materials. Be sure to provide references
