Nutrition

NUTRITION 130

Homework #1 : “Should I believe what I just read?”

NAME:______________________________ SPIRE ID:_________________ DISC SECT:__________

Due at the beginning of discussion 9/17-9/21. Please type your HW and bring a printout or an electronic version to discussion. You can modify to perfect your HW after discussion, and a final copy is due on Moodle by 11:55pm 9/21. For full credit, all submissions must be in a format of doc, docx, pdf or xls files. Pages/numbers will not be accepted. A scanned copy of handwritten HW will also not be accepted. Late submissions are subject to a 10% deduction for every day it is late. Submissions close and homework is not counted for credit after 5 days. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating dishonesty. Copy-pasting from the article word to word is considered plagiarism. Heavy plagiarism will cause severe penalty on your grade! For more information about what constitutes academic dishonesty, please see the Dean of Students’ website: https://www.umass.edu/dean_students/academic_policy

Homework 1

There are two parts to Homework 1. Part 1 requires you to critically assess three websites for their reliability. Part 2 asks you to compare the conclusions of a media report and the related research article. You will find a grading rubric attached; please review your Homework against the rubric before submitting on Moodle.

Part 1

Website Analysis

INSTRUCTIONS: Look critically at the websites. Do your best to judge whether they are reliable or not using the CRAAP criteria. Be prepared to defend your opinion in your discussion class!

Use the CRAAP worksheet (you can find CRAAP worksheet on Moodle under Homework 1) and briefly describe how each website meets the criteria and then make your own conclusion by filling out the tables provided below. You don’t need to turn in the CRAAP worksheet, this is just for your reference.

1.) “GNC Live well” www.gnc.com

How does this site measure up using the CRAAP test? Summarize your conclusions about this website using the information you uncovered while giving the website the CRAAP test.

Currency
Relevance and Coverage
Authority
Accuracy
Purpose or Objectivity
Your conclusion

2.) “The National Dairy Council” www.nationaldairycouncil.org

How does this site measure up using the CRAAP test? Summarize your conclusions about this website using the information you uncovered while giving the website the CRAAP test.

Currency
Relevance and Coverage
Authority
Accuracy
Purpose or Objectivity
Your conclusion

3.) “The Nutrition Source: Harvard School of Public Health” www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/

How does this site measure up using the CRAAP test? Summarize your conclusions about this website using the information you uncovered while giving the website the CRAAP test.

Currency
Relevance and Coverage
Authority
Accuracy
Purpose or Objectivity
Your conclusion

Part 2

Article Analysis

Please read the media report entitled “Chocolate cake breakfast could help you lose weight” posted on Moodle and the original research article entitled “Meal timing and composition influence ghrelin levels, appetite scores and weight loss maintenance in overweight and obese adults” also posted on Moodle (Week 1) and complete the following questions.

1. Summarize the media report in one or two sentences.

2. What kind of study design (from the types discussed in class) is this research?

3. Summarize the conclusions of the research article in your own words. (The abstract, introduction, discussion and conclusion will give you context for author conclusion.)

4. Can this study show cause and effect or association?

5. Do you think the media report accurately summarizes the conclusions of the research article? Describe any differences you see between the two.

Grading rubric for Homework #1:

Criteria	Incomplete 0%	Partially Proficient 50%	Proficient 75%	Exemplary 100%
Part I (72 points)
“GNC Live Well” (24 points)	Website not discussed. None of the five CRAAP criteria discussed. No conclusion.	Three of the five CRAAP criteria discussed. Reasonable conclusion	Four of the five CRAAP criteria discussed. Reasonable conclusion	All of the five CRAAP criteria discussed. Excellent summary conclusion
“The National Dairy Council” (24 points)	Website not discussed. None of the five CRAAP criteria discussed. No conclusion.	Three of the five CRAAP criteria discussed. Reasonable conclusion	Four of the five CRAAP criteria discussed. Reasonable conclusion	All of the five CRAAP criteria discussed. Excellent summary conclusion
“The Nutrition Source: Harvard School of Public Health” (24 points)	Website not discussed. None of the five CRAAP criteria discussed. No conclusion.	Three of the five CRAAP criteria discussed. Reasonable conclusion	Four of the five CRAAP criteria discussed. Reasonable conclusion	All of the five CRAAP criteria discussed. Excellent summary conclusion
Part II (28 points)
Summary news article (5 points)	Summary of news article not completed.	Summary of news article inaccurate.	Summary of news article incompletely summarized.	Summary of news article written is a concise, succinct way showing clear understanding of the material.
Study design (3 points)	Incorrect			Correct
Summary of conclusion in research paper (5 points)	Summary of research paper not completed.	Summary of research paper inaccurate.	Summary of research paper incompletely summarized.	Summary of research paper written is a concise, succinct way showing clear understanding of the material.
Cause and effect association (3 points)	Incorrect			Correct
Discussion (12 points)	Differences between news article and research paper not discussed.	Differences between news article and research paper discussed in a very incomplete or inaccurate way.	Discussion of differences between news article and research paper is incomplete or badly expressed.	Differences between news article and research paper written is a concise, succinct way showing clear understanding of the material.