InstructionsThis Library module is designed to help you succeed in evaluating, finding, and citing resources to use in your Fitness Product Health Claim Presentation research assignment.
To be successful with this portion of your assignment you will need to complete these two components:
1. Complete this guide: you will work through the components of this guide using the 12 tabs on the left
2. Complete D2L quiz associated with this Library module.
Your instructor will provide details on due-date for completing all of the activities in this module.
Please note that while you will be working in a group for the final assignment, each individual group member will need to complete this library module and answer the quiz in D2L. You may want to save this library worksheet as a Google doc with your group members to share any information you find while working through this module.
This module should take you less than 2 hours to complete. It may take you more or less time, but it isn't something that you will be able to complete in just a few minutes. You will be asked to do some searching in order to complete some of the sections, so it is best to complete the module on a laptop/tablet rather than on a phone.
Feel free to work through this module together with your group members, but remember you will each need to answer the D2L quiz individually.
The key objectives of this module are that you:
Your assignmentIt is important to make sure you have read, and understand, what you are being asked to do in your assignment before you start looking for information for it. If you haven't already done so, read the assignment in D2L to ensure you are aware of what you need to hand in, and when the components are due. Once you have read through the assignment, come back to complete the remainder of this library assignment.
When you are looking for an advertisement, make sure it makes a specific health claim!
For example the Dairy Council of Canada's "Milk. It does a body good" advertisement is not making a research-able health claim. Their milk ad "3-A-Day. Burn More Fat, Lose Weight" does make a claim that could be investigated for this assignment because it is providing some claims about burning fat and/or losing weight as well as providing a dosage to achieve that result.
To find an ad for your fitness product or training regime try Google Image Search --> Type in your product/regime name and the word advertisement e.g. gatorade advertisement
You may also need to use Google to search for active ingredients and other properties, as well as searching a product's corporate site (corporate sites are your best bet for active ingredient lists and advertisement claims).
Note: You might also find products/regimens that make health claims in other places, such as print media (magazines, newspapers), videos on youtube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or on a product's website.
You will need to have your advertisement selected before you find an article on the advertisement's claims. Remember to enter your advertisement's details into the worksheet.
One of the core requirements for your assignment is that you are using a primary research paper. But what does that actually mean and how can you tell when you are looking at your library search results?
Read through the three linked resources below; they identify key areas you should be considering when you are evaluating resources:
Now that you have your fitness claim and know how to identify primary research, you can start looking for articles about your claim. Scopus and PubMed are two biomedical and science focused citation and abstract databases that could be helpful for you for finding a primary research article for this assignment.
Scopus is a large abstract and citation database of research literature in all areas of science including biomedical with links to full text resources available from MRU. Following is a short video on using Scopus to find scholarly articles. You will need to watch the video to be able to answer questions in the D2L quiz
PubMed is a free search engine accessing references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. If you would like more details on using PubMed, use this link to the How Do I Search PubMed webpage for more details.
Now that you are aware of some places to find primary research articles, you can pause this module and try out the databases to find an article that could be a good candidate for your assignment. Remember to enter your article's details into your worksheet.
In addition to your advertisement and primary research article, you will need to find additional explanations, descriptions and definitions for your presentation.
Following are some key resources for you to find additional background information on your topic:
Your course textbook is an excellent place to find course appropriate information for your assignmet
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias can help with definitions and descriptions, two that might be especially helpful for this assignment are:
Oxford Reference Library Cross-searchable dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.
Encyclopedia of Exercise Medicine in Health and Disease by Frank C. Mooren (Editor): A comprehensive source on the adaptation of the human body to exercise and on the therapeutic use of exercise.
The Library Catalogue can help with providing additional context to your research. Some tips to remember when using the Library Catalogue:
Sign in to save searches, items, and to request materials.
Use the filters on the right to help refine your results.
Some items won't be available. You can request unavailable items using interlibrary loan by clicking on this link logging in with your myMRU login and password and entering as much information about the article as you can into the request form. If you are requesting an electronic item, often ILL can have in your email inbox within 2-3 business days of your request!
Even though your main deliverable is a PowerPoint presentation, you still need to credit your original sources of information both in text in your presentation slides and with a reference list on the slide at the end of the presentation.
You will have at least an advertisement and a primary research article in your list, but you may also have other resources you will need to cite as well.
Resources for citing in PowerPoint presentations:
Purdue University has a helpful video presentation on how to use APA in your PowerPoint presentation: APA Style Formatting in PowerPoint
Resources for APA citation
For assistance with citation you might want to refer to the MRU Guide to APA Style for Referencing handout.
You will find more information about APA citation and formatting on the APA tab on the MRU Library Cite Sources webpage.
WHY SHOULD I REFERENCE?
WHAT SHOULD I REFERENCE?
Reference all paraphrased, summarized, or quoted material in your presentation. Note: In the sciences quotations are rarely used.
You don't need to cite facts that are common knowledge, but err on the side of caution. Ask your instructor if you're uncertain.
Remember, when citing, be consistent!
To avoid plagiarism when paraphrasing / summarising remember these five important points:
6 Steps to Paraphrasing is an infographic outlining the process of paraphrasing.
If you would like more practice with paraphrasing try the Paraphrasing and summarising exercises from Purdue University
You can use images to make your presentations and assignments more interesting. Even if you are only using limited visuals you need to ensure you use copyright-friendly images.
Reminders for using images:
Always provide a citation so the source of the image is known.
To find copyright-friendly multimedia to use in your presentation try using the Image resources such as Creative Commons in the Copyright Friendly Resources Guide
Science image resources are also available in that section of the Copyright page.
Find out more: Copyright guide for students
Watch the video below to be able to answer the quiz question.
If you have questions about your assignment due dates, submission, or the science you encounter in this assignment contact your Instructor!
Having difficulty finding information (either too much or too little), challenges with databases not working, have questions about citation, or if you are unsure whether the article you have found is primary research you can book a virtual appointment with your librarian, Kalen Keavey.
The Tips for Oral Presentations section of the MRU Undergraduate Research Guide contains some helpful advice on public speaking.
