Rapid Weight Loss University Of California Contr

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Rapid Weight Loss University Of California Contr

Learning Objectives:

1) Identify a problem or goal regarding personal wellness.

2) Formulate a scientific research question.

3) Create a research hypothesis with appropriate independent and dependent variables.

Instructions:

For this section of your scientific project, you are expected to develop a research question

and hypothesis related to one of the dimensions of wellness discussed in class. This

question and hypothesis will be the basis for your self-experiment, which you will be

conducting throughout the quarter.

Note: this is NOT a research literature review project. You will be conducting an actual

experiment on yourself and presenting the results throughout the quarter. All project

submissions are FINAL.

YOU ARE THE ONLY PARTICIPANT IN THIS EXPERIMENT.

Please use the following 2 subheadings to receive full credit:

1. Question

  • Phrase your research question as a question, not a statement.
  • The topic must clearly relate to a dimension of wellness (if you feel your topic warrants

    • an explanation of how it relates to a dimension of wellness, please provide this here).

    2. Hypothesis

  • State what you believe you will find after conducting this experiment.

    • o This hypothesis must be based on existing literature related to your topic.

    Make sure that you have familiarized yourself with the literature and are

    generating a realistic hypothesis founded in scientific research.

  • Clearly identify your independent and dependent variables.
  • If your dependent variable isn’t obviously measurable, please provide a brief

    • explanation as to how your variable will be measured

    o For example:

    ▪ Body weight is clearly measured by standing on a scale, and is always

    represented by a number (either in pounds or kilograms). “I will lose

    weight” is clearly and obviously measured only one way.

    ▪ Level of stress is not clearly measured or represented by a number, so

    you must explain how it will be measured. The statement “I will feel less

    stressed” does not obviously demonstrate how stress is measured.

    Instead, try “I will feel less stressed, as measured by the Perceived

    Stress Scale.” This shows that you are turning a normally qualitative

    variable, stress, into a quantitative variable that can be measured using

    a numeric scale.

    Notes:

    When deciding on a topic for this experiment, be sure to consider the following:

  • Data collection for the experiment must be completed by Tuesday, November 19

    • when “Final Data Collection” is due. Be sure to choose an experiment that can be

    conducted within this time frame.

  • Your experiment must be quantitative – all data you collect should be represented by

    • a number.

  • Your experiment should be experimental, not observational. This means you should

    • implement an intervention and actively participate in your research.

  • Stick to one single independent variable and one single dependent variable. While it

    • may seem exciting to find answers to multiple questions and attempt to manipulate

    multiple variables, it makes the project more difficult and introduces many

    unnecessary confounding variables.

    Topics that are inappropriate and will not accepted for this project include, but are not

    limited to:

  • Marijuana or drug use of any kind
  • Anything that has the potential to negatively affect your health

    • o Losing weight if you are already at a low BMI

    o Rapid weight loss (>2 lbs per week)

    o Sleep deprivation

    o Tobacco use

    o Energy drink/caffeine intake

    o Increasing resting heart rate

    o Increasing resting blood pressure… (etc)

  • Academic performance (the timeline is too short to effectively measure this, therefore

    • this topic is off-limits for this project)

  • Anything that requires others to participate in the experiment (you are the ONLY

    • participant in this experiment – including others is unacceptable)

  • Anything qualitative, such as “feeling better,” or a visual change (visibility of

    • abdominal muscles)

  • Topics pertaining to finances that are easily solved by doing math (for example: “If I

    • save $15 every week for 6 weeks, I will have $90 saved.”) This is not an experiment –

    this is a math problem.

  • Observational studies that contain no intervention.