Science - Meditation in Reducing Student Stress - Report Writing Assessment Answer

Science Assignment

Assignment Task

The aim of this assessment is to develop your skills in academic writing and simple data analysis. The Report Assessment comprises Parts A and B, and is worth a total of 40% of your final mark. Part A will consist of preliminary sections of a scientific report. You will receive feedback on these sections from your tutor. You may then revise these sections before incorporating them into Part B, which consists of the entire report.

We have a range of possible report topics. This semester we are using Topics 2, 3 and 4 (see links below). Choose ONE of these topics for this report assessment. Each topic has an associated data set which forms the basis of your report. We recommend that you have a look at all data sets before deciding on your topic and then choose the one that appeals most to you.

You will notice that the data sets are quite different and reflect the nature of the experiment. Each data set presents its own challenges and possibilities for investigation, which you can address in your report.

Once you have selected your topic, your task will be to write a structured report on the topic. To do this you will have to:

a) research the topic to be able to present background information with references to appropriate sources.

b) note how the data was collected and explain why this was an appropriate form of experiment/survey for this study.

c) analyse the given data using only the methods shown in class (as a minimum you need to calculate a mean and the standard deviation).

d) present the results in at least one Figure (i.e. in a suitable graph and/or table of statistics).

e) write a results section.

f) write a discussion section, where you will explain your results and develop an argument using your references.

g) present a logical conclusion summarising the outcomes of the study in the wider context of this research topic.

A list of useful references is provided for each topic. Note that you do not need to use them if you do not want to and you are encouraged to find your own good quality references online.

Topic 2 Topic 3 Topic 4

Data Set 2 Data Set 3 Data Set 4

Part A will consist of the preliminary sections of your scientific report, i.e. the introduction and methods sections, and a description of your intended data analysis. It is limited to 750 words (excluding references).

The introduction should include a brief background with the statement of the research question and any hypotheses.

Your methods section should include a description of how the data was collected. Also include a brief written indication of how you plan to analyse the data using Excel. No analysis or graphs are required for Part A of the report but you should outline your plans clearly.

You must include 4 - 8 appropriate references presented in Vancouver style

Part A Marking Guide Click this link to see how you will be assessed. Append the marking guide to the end of your final submission.

The effects of meditation in reducing student stress

INTRODUCTION

The entry of school students into the university is generally accompanied by a lot of changes. The new education system has a lot to offer them. They face new methods of teaching and learning, the new academic requirements are quite different. Also they meet various kind of people with whom they develop new relationships. Thus managing the academic, social, and personal challenges along with the grueling routine of the university may lead to the onset of stress in their lives. Each individual differ in their capability to cope up with the stressful events in their daily lives and maintain a healthy balance. Various strategies can be used to deal with such conditions and resist the stress causing factors. But when the stress goes stronger and the body is no longer able to adjust to the prevailing stressful condition, it suffers and weakens. Soon the individual starts developing physiological symptoms, which may include flu, headache, hypertension, gastrointestinal upset. They may also face psychological anxiety, cynicism and weakness (1).

Stress in general cannot be considered a problem; rather it is a response from our body where it tries to reserve the energy. At this level where the body is not at stake, this stress is called eustress. However, above a certain threshold the tolerance of the body gets limited and the stress becomes a source of many physical and mental problems. The level of stress that can put the individual at risk is called distress. Different people have different tolerance level for stress. Distress persisting for all affects the daily routine in many ways and hampers health. If not checked for long, it can result in life-threatening stress spectrum (1).

To help the students cope up with the stressed environment, many educational institutions and universities are dwelling into various interventions for stress-management (2). Even though administrators are putting in a lot of effort for implementing these programs that address students’ stress, the effectiveness of such programs is not being evaluated rigorously. Meditation has been considered as one of the most effective intervention for managing stress since ages. D. Goleman in 1973 called meditation an "antidote" for stress reactions (3). Meditation helps the body to relax by bringing about some neurological changes in the body. It helps in improving the immune function of the body and gaining physiologic health benefits. It also reduces arousal as measured by blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol, and many other neurochemical markers (4).

Here in this paper we have tried to study the effect of meditation on stress in various people. A total of 80 individuals were a part of this study. The whole cohort was divided into two groups containing 40 members each. The first group was studied as a control and the second group was subjected to mediation therapy to evaluate whether or not meditation reduces stress in them. The level of anxiety in each individual was measured on a scale of 0-10.

METHODS

Data collection

This pilot trial was carried out at Murdoch University. A total of eighty (40 male, 40 female) first year environmental science students were selected with ages ranging from 17 to 65 years. This group was then divided into two- the standard group and the treatment group. The level of stress in the participants was measured using the Perceived Stress scale before the experiment. The standard group of individuals visited the counselor once a fortnight (which is the standard therapy for stress), whereas the participants in the treatment group were made to meditated for 20 minutes each day. The level of stress was again recorded in each participant at an interval of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months respectively.

Statistical analysis

The primary outcomes from the study will be examined using an intent-to-treat analysis. An intent-to-treat population is defined as all subjects in the study who have completed the session of meditation therapy. The primary outcome here refers level of anxiety recorded in participants. Various statistical analysis will be carried out on the collected information. The outcome between standard and treatment group will be compared by two-tailed two-sample t test. Within-subjects analysis of the effect of meditation on stress will be performed by a paired t test.

Preliminary results

The below figure 1 depicts the mean stress level in female and male subjects when observed over a period of one year. Males were found to be more stressed in comparing to females. The reduction in stress level was not much even though the subjects were consulting a counselor once a fortnight.

Similarly figure 2 illustrates the level of stress in both male and female treatment subjects over a period of one year when they were made to meditate each day for 20 minutes. The effect of meditation was observed to be quite good over the months. It reduced the stress level to almost 3 from 8 on a scale of 10. Also the effect of meditation was found to be more profound in males as compared to females.

Conclusion

Meditation is an age-old practice and is considered to be a type of mind-body complementary medicine. It has become one of the most popularapproaches for managing stress these days. It is being practiced by people of almost all age groups. When our body experiences stress throughout the day, it prepares itself for actions like fight or run, known as fight-or-flight response. But if this condition persists for a longer duration, it may cause physical damage to various parts of our body. As also shown by our preliminary research, meditation is quite effective in maintaining a balance and triggering body's relaxation response. It helps in restoring the body to a calm state, given it enough time to repair the loss, thereby preventing the chances of new damage because of the negative effects of stress.