Discussion responses week 2.1

Write a response for each discussion.

Loutsch, 2.1

Topic: Stress reduction

Question: Is individual therapy as effective as physical activity to reduce overall stress?

Variables:

Dependent Variable: Stress

Independent Variable: Treatment method: physical activity or individual therapy.

Operational Definitions:

Physical activity: Three 45 minute sessions of physical activity per week where the heart rate is maintained between 50-80% of the maximum heart rate.

Individual Therapy: One 45 minute session of individual therapy per week with a licensed certified individual counselor with focus on stress management/reduction.

Stress: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) which measures the degree to which situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful.

Conceptual definition:

Stress:   A physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation.

When looking at the research to determine if conceptual definitions or operational definitions are of greater importance, it is my stance that operational definitions are more important.  Although conceptual definitions are critical to give understanding of what meaning you are focusing on when there are often many meanings of the word “stress”, the operational definition will shed light on exactly what is being measured and how stress is being assessed in the particular research project.  “Operationally defining a variable helps others replicate and expand upon your study.” (Efford, 2017, p. 30).  Efford (2017) goes on to note that if a term is operationally defined it will allow for the reader and replicator of a study to know that they are studying the same thing as the research project that is being considered.

Parker 2.1

COLLAPSE

Top of Form

Topic: Alternative treatments for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Research Question: Does eliminating gluten offer the same results as popular medications for alleviating the symptoms of ADHD?

Independent Variable: Gluten Free diet

Dependent Variable: ADHD

Conceptual Definitions:

According to Meriam-Webster Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is the most common pediatric psychiatric condition, estimated to affect 2 percent to 9 percent of American children, mostly boys.—Susan Gilbert, The New York Times, 16 Sept. 1997

A Gluten Free Diet is described by Vocabulary.com as: a diet prescribed to treat celiac disease; eliminates such foods as wheat and rye and oats and beans and cabbage and turnips and cucumbers that are rich in gluten (vocabulary.com, n.d.)

Operational Definitions

Gluten Free Diet: The FDA has established the following guidelines for consumers to better be able to determine truly gluten free foods from questionable others. For the purposes of this research a “gluten free diet” will be a diet consistently free of any of the following items (FDA.gov, 2017).

-an ingredient that is any type of wheat, rye, barley, or crossbreeds of these grains

-an ingredient derived from these grains and that has not been processed to remove   gluten

-an ingredient derived from these grains and that has been processed to remove gluten, if it results in the food containing 20 or more parts per million (ppm) gluten

The DSM-V describes Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder as : A persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development (DSM-V, 2013.)

ADHD Symptoms: ADHD Rating Scale IV (ADHD-RS-IV) for children and the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale for adults.

Utilizing my limited knowledge thus far and viewing other’s research, I would have to choose Operational Definitions as most helpful simply because there is more detailed information which is crucial in replicating and understanding the research.