IND 101 Cornerstone

Shaketa Robinson

IND101 Milestone 3 Template

1. Thesis statement:

The U.S government should introduce proactive measures and interventions to support the

mental health of Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic is making a

considerable negative impact on the mental wellbeing of many Americans, which impact their

health and daily functioning.

2. In-depth evaluation of one source:

Source: Salari, N., Hosseinian-Far, A., Jalali, R., Vaisi-Raygani, A., Rasoulpoor, S.,

Mohammadi, M., Rasoulpoor, S., & Khaledi-Paveh, B. (2020). Prevalence of stress, anxiety,

depression among the general population during the Covid-19 pandemic: a systematic review

and meta-analysis. Globalization and Health, 16, 57. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-020-00589-

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• Relevance: This source is very relevant to my topic because it shows how COVID-19

pandemic has led to an increase in stress, anxiety, and depression among the general

public.

• Authority: The main author of this article, Salari Nader works in the department of

Biostatistics, School of Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. The author

has published a number of publications in biopsychosocial medicine and general

medicine. He is thus a recognized authority in this subject.

• Currency: This article was published in July 2020, so it is current. Since the medical

field is changing rapidly articles no more than 5 years old could yield much helpful data.

• Objectivity: The main author is renowned scholar who has worked in various medical

science departments. Although he may have personal prejudices, the work could be

objective in its use of evidence and conclusions. BMC Public Health is a renowned open

access, peer-reviewed journal, mainly consisting of articles on epidemiology of disease

and other aspects of public health. It means the publication could possibly publish similar

articles to Salari’s advocating for possible solutions to mental health problems and

utilization of appropriate measures and interventions to help the general population deal

with issues related to mental health.

• Verifiability: Although this research is not a typical scientific research study, it contains

a methodology section illustrating how the researchers identified articles they obtained

information to inform this investigation. In addition, it has cited credible sources relevant

to the topic and includes a Reference list.

3. One source to omit and why:

Kecojevic, A., Basch, C. H., Sullivan, M., & Davi, N. K. (2020). The impact of the COVID-19

epidemic on mental health of undergraduate students in New Jersey, cross-sectional study. PLoS

ONE, 15(9): e0239696. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239696

After reviewing all my sources, I chose to omit the Kecojevic source as it only focuses on the

effect of the pandemic on undergraduate students’ mental health. I feel it limited to only a

specific population, which may limit the validity of the research findings.

4. Reflection:

I found it a bit challenging to limit my thesis to a brief, one-sentence statement. I realized the

government has not done much to help the general population address the stress, anxiety, and

depression due to consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. So I argued from the perspective of

introducing mental health-focused measures and interventions to help Americans cope with the

challenges of the pandemic. I need to find more information about potential measures and

interventions that can be implemented to tackle future mental health issues during the COVID-19

pandemic and future similar pandemics. Since there could be more relevant sources on the topic,

I will continue to revise my sources to ensure I have only the most relevant and beneficial

sources. My questions regarding the research process include: Can I limit my thesis statement to

one sentence long? How can I summarize my thesis in the conclusion without restating it?