The Importance Of Academic Essay For University Purposes And Understanding Research For Social Enquiry.

The first part of the portfolio is a 500 word reflective piece on what the student has learnt about types of academic writing and why academic writing styles are important for university purposes.What are the key academic writing styles and why are they important’ This is followed by an introduction to their topic of interest, which the student will be investigating over the course of the semester.

The second part of the portfolio will be 1500 words evidencing the student’s understanding of how research is used for social enquiry.This requires the student to use the topic chosen in part one identify 3 articles that are positivistic (quantitative) in style and 3 journal articles that are interpretative (qualitative) in style.

Present a portfolio with information that is focused, reasoned, evidenced, logically organised, appropriately concluded and referenced by a recognised system (Harvard). You will be given feedback on your work, and you will be able to gauge your strengths and address areas where you need to make improvements in your knowledge, analysis and communication skills.

Key Academic Writing Styles

Part 1(a)–What are the key academic writing styles and why are they important

In order for a piece of writing to be considered academic, it needs to qualify several parameters that can help to assess the quality and integrity of the writing (Dean 2015). Some of the most important styles that can be involved in academic writing include:

Introduction: I think a good academic writing should have a clear introduction to the theme or central argument of the study.

Originality: I should always avoid plagiarism when I am working on an academic writing and I would reflect my own thinking. In addition I will cite additional sources.

Descriptive: While writing an academic style writing I will add descriptive information that can maintain the flow of information along with other explanation.

Objective: In case of any academic writing, I will prefer to represent an objective that will allow me to give emphasis on the central argument of the topic.

Precise: I will present all the figures, facts or data in a very clear and concise manner.

Explicit: In the text portion of the writing, I will state all the information and assumptions clearly so that the reader would not face any difficulties.

Formal Tone: I will maintain a formal tone throughout the writing and will not use any informal or colloquial terms.

Complexity: In case of explaining any complicating ideas, I would use more complex language than that of the non-academic writings.

Accuracy: To convey right meaning with clear understanding of the usage of the terms I would prefer exact terminologies and vocabularies.

Responsibility: As a writer of an academic writing I am responsible  and accountable for the work and I would able to provide evidence or justification for any claims and demonstrations that I have given in the texts.

Organization: I would organize my writing in a very well manner and always follow a logical flow of thought as per the genre of the writing (essay, report, literature review, annotated bibliography, etc).

Plan: I should have an well plan for academic work.

Methods: According to me it is very much important to mention the methods used in the study to enhance te credibility of the writing.

Evidence based reasoning: I would support all the logic and reasoning that I provided in the academic writing with the help of academic literature.

Thesis Driven:  In my academic writing ,there will be  a central thesis or argument that should be addressed in my  writing.

Topic of Interest

Hedging: The author also should place his/her views or arguments stating his/her stance in the conclusion or remark of the study (Hyland 2014; Patriotta 2017). I would place my own view or justifications that states  my stance in the conclusion or remark of the study.

Topic:  The topic of the study is the analysis of the impact of poverty on health and wellbeing of people. This is based on findings from studies that show poverty can adversely impact the health, safety and security of people (Proctor 2016).  Most people living below the line of poverty usually face an acute crisis to acquire housing for themselves and their families which further affects their health and wellbeing (Haizzan et al. 2018). Moreover, I think that poverty can also limit opportunities for education as well as employability thereby leading to the lowering of the socioeconomic status and this is also supported by the study of  Thomson (2015).

 Access to healthcare services can be limited due to poverty as well as a lack of home or housing which can increase the risks of health issues among people as well as increase the risks of mental health problems such as addiction, depression and violence all of which can further affect the health and wellbeing of the people (Agarwal et al. 2018). Due to such an enormous impact of poverty on the health, I chose this topic for my study.

Positivistic (quantitative) articles

Article one: Wickham, S., Anwar, E., Barr, B., Law, C. and Taylor-Robinson, D., 2016. Poverty and child health in the UK: using evidence for action. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 101(8), pp.759-766.

• The type of research i.e. is positivistic or anti-positivistic?

This is a positivistic research in which evidence is used to reach to a conclusion (Bryman 2016).

• Introduce the research:

In this research the authors are tried to show the negative impacts of poverty on the health and wellbeing of children due to its health damaging impact, adverse educational outcome and long term psychological and social outcomes using evidence from other researches.

• Describe the methods used

The authors performed a quantitative study on secondary literature on the topic ((Cottrell 2013; Bryman 2016).

• Describe the results

The results of the study shows that poverty can adversely affect the health of the children and can increase the incidence of psychological problems, poor education, unemployment and social exclusion.

• Describe the conclusion

The authors concluded by stating how healthcare professionals can improve the health and wellbeing of children living in poverty.

Article two: Tansley, G., Stewart, B.T., Gyedu, A., Boakye, G., Lewis, D., Hoogerboord, M. and Mock, C., 2017. The correlation between poverty and access to essential surgical care in Ghana: a geospatial analysis. World journal of surgery, 41(3), pp.639-643.

• The type of research i.e. is positivistic or anti-positivistic?

Positivistic (Quantitative) Articles

The study uses a positivistic approach (Cottrell 2013).

• Introduce the research

In the study the authors are trying to find the relation between poverty and access to essential surgical care in Ghana.

• Describe the methods used

The authors used geospatial method to study the district level variations in access barriers to healthcare and used the data from National Survey to estimate the total household expenditures to analyse poverty levels (Neuman 2013).

• Describe the results

The results shows that a significant correlation (p>0.001) existed between poverty and access to essential surgical.

• Describe the conclusion

The results show how poverty limits access to healthcare services thereby increasing the incidence of health problems among the people. This shows the adverse impact of poverty on the health and wellbeing of people.

Article three: Crews, D.C., Kuczmarski, M.F., Miller III, E.R., Zonderman, A.B., Evans, M.K. and Powe, N.R., 2015. Dietary habits, poverty, and chronic kidney disease in an urban population. Journal of Renal Nutrition, 25(2), pp.103-110.

• The type of research i.e. is positivistic or anti-positivistic?

In this study the authors use a positivistic approach (Cottrell 2013).

• Introduce the research

The authors in this study the relation between poverty and diagnosis of chronic kidney diseases in US and worldwide and showing how poor dietary habit might contribute to this relation.

• Describe the methods used

The authors used a cross sectional study on 2058 community dwelling adults living in Baltimore City, Maryland (Neuman 2013).

• Describe the results

In the study the authors found that poverty as well as smoking was more prevalent among individuals with lower DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) scores and the intake of magnesium, calcium, fibre and potassium were lower among individuals in poverty groups, while intake of cholesterol was higher among them, compared to individuals from non-poverty groups.

• Describe the conclusion

The authors concluded that poverty was significantly related to poor dietary habits which in turn are related to the diagnosis of chronic kidney diseases and poor health.

Interpretative (anti-positivism/qualitative) articles

Article one: Loignon, C., Hudon, C., Goulet, É., Boyer, S., De Laat, M., Fournier, N., Grabovschi, C. and Bush, P., 2015. Perceived barriers to healthcare for persons living in poverty in Quebec, Canada: the EQUIhealThY project. International journal for equity in health, 14(1), p.4.

• The type of research i.e. is positivistic or anti-positivistic?

The authors used a positivistic approach in the study (Bryman 2016).

• Introduce the research

In this study, the authors tried to analyse the perceived barriers faced by people living in poverty, towards the access to healthcare services.  The study uses the perspectives of people living in poverty on healthcare services and providers to understand the barriers they face.

• Describe the methods used

The authors use a participatory action research, merging knowledge and practice developed by ATD fourth world which is an international organization that fights poverty. The authors analysed the data using thematic analysis (Punch et al. 2013).

• Describe the results

Interpretative (Qualitative) Articles

The study showed three main barriers towards the access of healthcare such as the poor living conditions, poor quality of interaction between individuals living in poverty with healthcare providers and the complex system and functions of healthcare organizations and healthcare delivery systems.

• Describe the conclusion

The authors concluded from the results that due to an unhealthy living condition, people living in poverty has limited access to healthcare services as well as due to the complexity of healthcare delivery.  It was also pointed that policy reforms are required to overcome such challenges.

Article two: Ezeh, A., Oyebode, O., Satterthwaite, D., Chen, Y.F., Ndugwa, R., Sartori, J., Mberu, B., Melendez-Torres, G.J., Haregu, T., Watson, S.I. and Caiaffa, W., 2017. The history, geography, and sociology of slums and the health problems of people who live in slums. The lancet, 389(10068), pp.547-558.

1. The type of research i.e. is positivistic or anti-positivistic?

The authors used a positivistic approach for research in this study (Neuman 2013).

2. Introduce the research

In this study, the authors are trying to outline the health problems faced by people living under poor living standards in slums.

3. Describe the methods used

In the study, the authors analysed secondary literature, performing a qualitative and thematic analysis on secondary data (Cottrell 2013).

4. Describe the results

The result of the study showed that people living in slums often have to live under poor living conditions and have higher risks of poor health due to adverse physical environment, social interactions, geographic interactions and institutional factors.

5. Describe the conclusion

The authors concluded that people living in slums suffer from adverse health outcomes due to their poor living habits and the adverse impact of the environmental, social and economic factors on their access to healthcare.

Article three: Okeke, A.O., Igwe, M.N., Abamara, N.C. and Eze, C.N., 2018. Poverty And Mental Health In Nigeria. social Science Research, 4(1).

• The type of research i.e. is positivistic or anti-positivistic?

The authors used a positivistic approach for the study (Neuman 2013).

• Introduce the research

In the study, the authors are trying to identify the types of mental health problems and psychological disorders that can be promoted under poverty.

• Describe the methods used

The authors performed a thematic analysis of secondary data to identify the problems faced by people living under poverty (Cottrell 2013).

• Describe the results

The results of the study show that poverty increases the risks of mental health issues such as depression, low self esteem, and lowered quality of life. Additionally, the authors also found that the factor that helps to perpetuate poverty includes corruption, insecurity and poor implementation policies.

• Describe the conclusion

The authors concluded that poverty is significantly related to mental health problems and people; living under poverty are at a high risk of developing mental health problems.

Section 3- Discussion – The contribution of research to the topic area (approx. 750 words).  

From the analysis of the three qualitative and three quantitative data, it could be well understood that living under the conditions of poverty can significantly impact the health and wellbeing of the people and is related to a higher incidence of physical and mental health problems (Chaudry and Wimer 2016; Bauman and May 2014). Some of the most important facts that could be identified from the studies include:

People living under poverty often have to experience poor living conditions which increase their risks of poor health:  Studies have shown that due to deprivation, insecurity and a lack of financial strength limits the ability of individuals to have access to healthy food, proper hygiene, healthy living conditions or even a home (Weziak-Bialowolska 2016; Ezeh et al. 2017).

As a result of which they often have to live in slums with poor and unhygienic living conditions, with higher risks of contamination of food and water, high risks of diseases, limited access to infrastructure such as drainage, sewers, waterlines and electricity (Loignon et al. 2015; Ezeh et al. 2017). This have been supported by many other studies that shows how poverty can reduce the standard of living and the living conditions of the people which is the primary cause of a high risk of health problems among them (Sevä and Larsson 2015; Chiputwa et al. 2015; Pförtner 2016; Jones et al. 2011)).

People living under poverty have unhealthy food habits which increases their risks for diseases such as chronic kidney disease (CKD): It has been supported by some authors that due to a lack of financial strength, people living in poverty do not have access to healthy food which can be expensive and therefore they can only eat cheap, unhealthy food which increases their risks of various diseases such as CKD as well as hypertension, obesity, coronary diseases, pulmonary or lower respiratory diseases and even cancer (Crews et al. 2015; Marmot 2016; Ssewanyana et al. 2018; Anderson et al. 2016).

It has been also pointed out by some authors that people living in poverty tend to have lower intake of fibre and micronutrients such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium and a high intake of cholesterol making the food very unhealthy for them (McAnulty et al. 2017; Ssewanyana et al. 2018; Anderson et al. 2016; O'Byrne 2013)

People living under poverty have limited access to healthcare services such as surgical care:  Access to medical services can be significantly impacted due to a lack of financial strength and living under conditions of poverty (Loignon et al. 2015; Tansley et al. 2017). Studies show that the risk of homelessness can increase with poverty and with homelessness, the access to healthcare services can be further reduced. It has been pointed out that the numbers of homeless people are highest among the most deprived areas or the poorest regions of a country (Sharam and Hulse 2014). Other studies have shown that people without a home have a significantly lower access to healthcare services compared to people with a stable housing solution (Arapoglou and Gounis 2017; Punch et al. 2013).

Children living under poverty have higher risks of physical and mental health problems:  Poverty can also impact the physical and mental health of the children due to a reduced access to healthcare as well as due to social isolation, unemployment, and deprivation and due to psychological problems (Wickham et al. 2016; Tansley et al. 2017). Other studies have shown that the health seeking behaviour of children born under conditions of poverty can significantly change through their experience of poverty as well as due to experiences of social isolation, discrimination and adverse interactions with healthcare providers which can prevent them from seeking healthcare services on the right time and increase their risks of health problems (Musoke et al. 2014).

Moreover, poverty can also limit their access to education which can cause an increase in unemployment and a lowering of socioeconomic condition thereby additionally limiting the access to care (Arapoglou and Gounis 2017; Bauman and May 2014).

People living under poverty faces several barriers towards the access to health care due to poor living conditions, poor quality of interaction with healthcare providers and complicacies of healthcare system: It has been suggested that poor living conditions, poor quality of interactions with healthcare providers and complexity of healthcare systems can be significant barriers that limits the access of healthcare services for people living under poverty (McAnulty et al. 2017).

It has also been pointed out by some authors that people living under poverty often face discrimination and biases from healthcare providers which adversely affects the quality of interactions between them and impacts the health seeking behaviour of the individuals. Additionally, due to a lack of understanding on how the healthcare system works also is another significant batter for people living under poverty to access healthcare services (Anderson et al. 2016; O'Byrne 2013).

People living under poverty have higher risks of mental health problems compared to people above the poverty line: In light of the different challenges faced by the people living under poverty, the risks of health problems among the people are much higher compared to others (not living under poverty), making them more vulnerable to morbidity and mortality (McAnulty et al. 2017; Musoke et al. 2014; Jones et al. 2011).

From the discussion above it can be clearly outlined that individuals who are born under poverty faces many more challenges and barriers towards the maintenance of their own health and well being. Due to a lack of financial strength and access to healthy lifestyle, the health and wellbeing of the people are significantly affected increasing their risks to various physical and mental health conditions and unhealthy lifestyle and behaviours.

Economic and social deprivation that is caused due to poverty adversely affects the access to education, employment or a home, apart from healthcare services which allows the maintenance of unhealthy lifestyle such as eating unhealthy food or smoking that can cause several health problems. All these factors also allow the maintenance of poor living conditions which also increases the risks of various transmittable diseases, such as food or water borne diseases. Such aspects can be exhibited by the higher incidence of health problems among people living under poverty.

References

Agarwal, S., Satyavada, A., Kaushik, S. and Kumar, R., 2018. Urbanization, urban poverty and health of the urban poor: status, challenges and the way forward.

Anderson, S.E., Ramsden, M. and Kaye, G., 2016. Diet qualities: healthy and unhealthy aspects of diet quality in preschool children–3. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 103(6), pp.1507-1513.

Arapoglou, V.P. and Gounis, K., 2017. Contested Landscapes of Poverty and Homelessness In Southern Europe: Reflections from Athens. Springer.

Bauman, Z. and May, T., 2014. Thinking sociologically. John Wiley & Sons.

Bryman, A., 2016. Social research methods. Oxford university press.

Chaudry, A. and Wimer, C., 2016. Poverty is not just an indicator: the relationship between income, poverty, and child well-being. Academic pediatrics, 16(3), pp.S23-S29.

Chiputwa, B., Spielman, D.J. and Qaim, M., 2015. Food standards, certification, and poverty among coffee farmers in Uganda. World Development, 66, pp.400-412.

Cottrell, S., 2013. The study skills handbook. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Crews, D.C., Kuczmarski, M.F., Miller III, E.R., Zonderman, A.B., Evans, M.K. and Powe, N.R., 2015. Dietary habits, poverty, and chronic kidney disease in an urban population. Journal of Renal Nutrition, 25(2), pp.103-110.

Dean, M.J., 2015. Collaborative preparation and critical thinking in academic writing.

Ezeh, A., Oyebode, O., Satterthwaite, D., Chen, Y.F., Ndugwa, R., Sartori, J., Mberu, B., Melendez-Torres, G.J., Haregu, T., Watson, S.I. and Caiaffa, W., 2017. The history, geography, and sociology of slums and the health problems of people who live in slums. The lancet, 389(10068), pp.547-558.

Haizzan, Y.M., Firdaus, R.R., Samsurijan, M.S., Latiff, A.R.A., Singh, P.S.J., Jaafar, M.H. and Vadevelu, K., 2018. Urban Poverty and Housing: Social Work Issues.

Hyland, K., 2014. Activity and evaluation: Reporting practices in academic writing. In Academic discourse (pp. 125-140). Routledge.

Jones, P., Bradbury, L. and LeBoutillier, S., 2011. Introducing social theory. Polity.

Loignon, C., Hudon, C., Goulet, É., Boyer, S., De Laat, M., Fournier, N., Grabovschi, C. and Bush, P., 2015. Perceived barriers to healthcare for persons living in poverty in Quebec, Canada: the EQUIhealThY project. International journal for equity in health, 14(1), p.4.

Marmot, M., 2016. The disease of poverty. Scientific American, 314(3), pp.23-24.

McAnulty, J.T., Akabas, S.R., Thuppal, S.V., Paxson, E.E., Saklani, S., Tucker, K.L. and Bailey, R.L., 2017. Fiber Intake Varies by Poverty-Income Ratio and Race/Ethnicity in the US Adults. Nutrition Today, 52(2), pp.73-79.

Musoke, D., Boynton, P., Butler, C. and Musoke, M.B., 2014. Health seeking behaviour and challenges in utilising health facilities in Wakiso district, Uganda. African health sciences, 14(4), pp.1046-1055.

Neuman, W.L., 2013. Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Pearson education.

O'Byrne, D., 2013. Introducing sociological theory. Routledge.

Okeke, A.O., Igwe, M.N., Abamara, N.C. and Eze, C.N., 2018. Poverty And Mental Health In Nigeria. social Science Research, 4(1).

Patriotta, G., 2017. Crafting papers for publication: Novelty and convention in academic writing. Journal of Management Studies, 54(5), pp.747-759.

Pförtner, T.K., 2016. Poverty and Health: The Living Standard Approach as a Supplementary Concept to Measure Relative Poverty. Results from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP 2011). Gesundheitswesen (Bundesverband der Arzte des Offentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes (Germany)), 78(6), pp.387-394.

Proctor, B.D., 2016. Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the united states: 2010. Report P60-256. September. Census Bureau.

Punch, S., Harden, J., Marsh, I. and Keating, M., 2013. Sociology: making sense of society. Pearson Higher Ed.

Sevä, I.J. and Larsson, D., 2015. Are the self-employed really that poor? Income poverty and living standard among self-employed in Sweden. Society, Health & Vulnerability, 6(1), p.26148.

Sharam, A. and Hulse, K., 2014. Understanding the nexus between poverty and homelessness: relational poverty analysis of families experiencing homelessness in Australia. Housing, Theory and Society, 31(3), pp.294-309.

Ssewanyana, D., Abubakar, A., Van Baar, A., Mwangala, P.N. and Newton, C.R., 2018. Perspectives on Underlying Factors for Unhealthy Diet and sedentary lifestyle of adolescents at a Kenyan coastal setting. Frontiers in public health, 6, p.11.

Tansley, G., Stewart, B.T., Gyedu, A., Boakye, G., Lewis, D., Hoogerboord, M. and Mock, C., 2017. The correlation between poverty and access to essential surgical care in Ghana: a geospatial analysis. World journal of surgery, 41(3), pp.639-643.

Thomson, P., 2015. Poverty and Education. In FORUM: for promoting 3-19 comprehensive education (Vol. 57, No. 2, pp. 205-207). Symposium Books. PO Box 204, Didcot, Oxford, OX11 9ZQ, UK.

Weziak-Bialowolska, D., 2016. Spatial variation in EU poverty with respect to health, education and living standards. Social indicators research, 125(2), pp.451-479.

Wickham, S., Anwar, E., Barr, B., Law, C. and Taylor-Robinson, D., 2016. Poverty and child health in the UK: using evidence for action. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 101(8), pp.759-766.