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Module 3 - Locating Information on World Hunger

NOTE: Some links are to PDF files, which can only be viewed after downloading Adobe Acrobat Reader.


Slide 1

Locating Information on World Hunger

Where to look

How to search

How to evaluate

This is an aid toward developing your issues statement. It includes information of finding and using reference materials. The examples are for the first issue statement, but the information will be useful for both statements.



Slide 2

First, identify what you need

  • Why Does the Deficiency Matter?
  • Is the Deficiency a Problem in a Particular Region?
  • What is the extent of the problem?
  • Who is affected?

Think about what questions you need to answer to complete the assignment. For example, these questions would be useful for examining a program to reduce a deficiency disease.



Slide 3

Why the deficiency matters

What impact does the deficiency have on

  • The individual?
  • The household?
  • The region?

Individual: Does the deficiency cause an irreversible condition like cretinism or blindness, or is it "treatable" like anemia? Does the deficiency make someone more susceptible to infection or cause a lack of mental or physical energy?

Household and region: Will someone need to provide care for the person with the deficiency? Will the deficiency effect productivity?



Slide 4

Sources for consequences of deficiencies

  • Course readings
  • World Health Organization (WHO) - nutrition section
  • Health encyclopedia
  • Internet search
    • Search terms: name of nutrient, condition(s) caused by lack of nutrient, [nutrient] deficiency, -ies

When searching for consequences of a deficiency, use search terms that include the name of the nutrient such as iodine deficiency. If you know the name of the condition you can use that as well - goiter. Sometimes standard abbreviations or acronyms are helpful - IDD.



Slide 5

Prevalence in a region

  • Data!
    • Numbers - tables, charts, graphs
    • Populations - age, gender, race
    • Percentages - how many of a population are affected?

Hard data - the actual numbers - can be difficult to locate. Data on a broad population cannot always be applied to a sub-set of that population - some groups will be more impacted than others. The same is true of country or regional information - some areas are more impacted than other. Try to locate the most specific data; if you use broader information you need to state that you are doing so.



Slide 6

Where to find data

  • International agencies
    • WHO, FAO, UNICEF, UNDP, WFP
  • Specific focus - may be government or non-governmental
    • Micronutrient Initiative, Helen Keller, ICCIDD

World Health Organization and Food and Agricultural Organization - usually regional level information
UNICEF - country level - focused on children and somewhat on mothers
United National Development Program - working adults
WFP - working adults and school children

Non-governmental organizations may have specialized information. Many focus on specific problems or types of projects.



Slide 7

Why is there a problem?

  • Lack of food
  • Lack of food diversity
  • Lack of nutrient in staple food
  • Is the lack chronic or acute?
  • Is it the result of a manmade or natural disaster?

Is the problem not enough food or not enough food variety? Does the staple food - i.e., the food that makes up the largest number of calories in the diet - lack the nutrient? Is there food available that does contain the nutrient?

Is this a short-term or long-term problem? Can the problem be prevented in the future?



Slide 8

Programs

  • Describe specific programs (projects) to address a specific need in a specific population in a specific region.
  • For example: Distributing Vitamin A supplements to children under 5 during National Immunization Day in Zambia.


Slide 9

Locating Program Information

  • Search the Internet
    • BUT be sure to check the authority of the information you locate
  • Search library databases
    • To locate articles written in journals about programs


Slide 10

Internet Search Engines

  • Many sites allow advertisers to pay for better placement in the results.
  • On some sites it is easier to distinguish between search hits and advertisements (Sponsered Links; Sponsored Matches).
  • Evaluate the site you select to see if it is trying to sell you something.

It can be hard to tell which sites allow paid placement within the search results and which don't. Look for headings like "sponsored links" - those are advertisements. For example, you may type in "vitamin A" and get back a site that is selling vitamins.



Slide 11

Search tips for Internet Search Engines

  • Look for "help" link on search page
  • Use specific words and synonyms.
  • Put quotation marks around phrases
    • "iodine deficiency"
  • Put + in front of important words
    • +goiter +statistics
  • Use of truncation to find multiple endings
    • Cretin* to find cretin, cretins, cretinism

While the functions are generally similar, different search engines may use different syntax.



Slide 12

Evaluating a website

  • What is the AUTHORITY of the author or organization to provide information about the topic?
  • How CURRENT is the information?
    • Can you find a date on the page or with the data?
    • Johns Hopkins University - Evaluating Information found on the Internet

How do you know whether to trust the information? Is the site written by an expert in development, hunger or nutrition? Is it on the site of an organization associated with world hunger? Think about how easy it is to put up a website. The JHU site provides an excellent tutorial on evaluation.



Slide 13

Library Databases

  • To find articles published in journals use library databases.
  • Scholarly research - not just "what we did" but why, how, results, analysis.
  • Harder to find very current information.
  • Sometimes the article is not online - but it may be in the library.


Slide 14

Selecting a database

  • There are numerous databases to choose from.
  • Different databases cover different journals
  • Databases are often subject-specific.

It is helpful to search more than one.



Slide 15

Databases for World Hunger

  • Academic Search Premier - wide range of subjects, some full-text articles.
  • Medline (PubMed) - wide range of health related articles - some full-text.
  • CINAHL - Allied Health - nutrition
  • Agricola - Agriculture

This list is not exclusive, but does provide some good places to start.



Slide 16

Search terms

  • Use synonyms or related words
    • Iodine deficiency or goiter or cretinism
  • Use AND between your search terms - this will only return records with both terms.
    • Iodine deficiency and zambia
  • Use truncation to find multiple endings
    • Cretin* to find cretin, cretins, cretinism


Slide 17

Searching Databases

  • Look at the subjects or descriptors on "good" records
    • Different terms than your search
    • Other terms that are relevant
  • Do a new search using subjects or descriptors

Typing in iodine deficiency zambia will in many cases only look for that exact phrase.



Slide 18

Full text access

  • Some articles in databases include full text - look for a "full text" or PDF link
  • If the full text is not there
    • Look for a link for "linked full text" that will take you to another location
    • Look for the SFX button - click on it to see if any full text is available in the library, or if it is in print.


Slide 19

Ask for help

  • If you are having trouble finding information ask a librarian for assistance
  • Keep track of all the places you have looked and the search terms you used.
  • Don't wait until the last minute!


Slide 20

Citing your sources

  • You must fully cite all of your sources of information in your assignments
  • Use the APA Format
    • Link with examples at the link listed below
    • Full manual at the reference desk
    • Use in-text citations for material you copy or paraphrase.
GSU Citation Styles (PDF file)

Slide 21

Policy on Academic Honesty



Plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting another person's work as one's own. Plagiarism includes any paraphrasing or summarizing of the works of another person without acknowledgment, including the submitting of another student's work as one's own. Plagiarism frequently involves a failure to acknowledge in the text, notes, or footnotes the quotation of the paragraphs, sentences, or even a few phrases written or spoken by someone else.

Falsification. It is a violation of academic honesty to misrepresent material or fabricate information in an academic exercise, assignment or proceeding.

GSU Code of Conduct


Slide 22

Full APA Reference to a website document

Helen Keller International (2001). Iron deficiency in Cambodia: the need for iron supplementation among preschool-aged children. Cambodia Nutrition Bulletin 2(6). Retrieved March 11, 2004 from the first link below

World Health Organization. (2003). Combating vitamin A deficiency, the challenges. Retrieved March 11, 2004 from the second link below

Iron Deficiency Anemia - China.(n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2004 , from Tulane University, International Nutrition Program, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Department of International Health and Development Web site, which is the third link below.

  1. Cambodia Nutrition Bulletin (PDF file)
  2. Vitamin A Deficiency from the World Health Organization
  3. Iron Deficiency


Slide 23

In-Text references

A 1992 survey found that iron deficiency rates in China for women over 15 years old is 22.7% (Iron Deficiency Anemia - China)

In-text reference - direct quote
"Anemia prevalence among children 6-11 months of age was 79% and nearly 20% had an Hb < 9 g/dL. This level of severity more or less persisted into the second year of life and then declined after 24 mo of age but was still very high." (Helen Keller International, 2001, p.2)

In-text reference - direct quote - no page number
"Crucial for maternal and child survival, supplying adequate vitamin A in high-risk areas can significantly reduce mortality. Conversely, its absence causes a needlessly high risk of disease and death." (WHO, 2003, para. 3)



Slide 24

Making Comparisons

  • Identify what criteria are relevant for the comparison
    • Is the deficiency affecting the same population?
    • Is the staple food the same?
    • Is the infrastructure/level of industrialization comparable?
  • For each criterion:
    • Yes, they are the same or
    • No, they are not the same
  • Will that impact the likelihood of the program succeeding? Why or why not?


Slide 25

Evaluating program information

  • Was the program successful?
    • Are there data showing a decrease in the prevalence of the deficiency or condition?
  • Why was it or wasn't it successful?
    • What internal and/or external support was needed?
    • What infrastructure was needed?
    • What geologic conditions were needed?
    • What education was needed?


Slide 26

Review of Submission

  • Not just a compilation!
  • You may need a team to check references
    • Make sure reference is complete
    • Make sure URL is correct
    • Make sure in-text citations are present and refer to items in the Reference List (Works Cited)
    • Make sure all information is documented in a reference
  • Sections should flow together and not contain internal contradictions.
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