So long!

It has been a great pleasure working with you this term. Your enthusiasm about research is very encouraging.

I look forward to seeing your research published in English-language journals around the world!

Please continue to read, write, listen, and speak in English, so that you can learn from nurses around the world and share your wisdom and experience with them as well--so that together we can all work toward relieving suffering and enhancing the well-being of every person.

God's blessings on your studies.

Warm regards,
Kevin

A Method Overview

To determine whether an intergenerational program is effective in terms of enhancing well-being in older adults and youth, subjects were assigned to two groups: the first group was made up of older adults and youth participating in an intergenerational program; the second group was made up of older adults and youth participating in separate single-generational programs. All subjects were interviewed before and after the programs, using a questionnaire developed by the researcher. Also, structured observations of both groups were conducted, and their responses and observations were compared.

Method Overviews

Who did what, to whom, using what, where?

Here's the method overview we recreated from a study in Spain, entitled "Alcohol Intake and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in the Spanish EPIC Cohort Study":

From 1999 to 2009 in Spain, more than 15,500 men and 26,000 women aged between 29 and 69 were asked to document their lifetime drinking habits. The study followed subjects for 10 years. Based on what they reported, participants were placed into six categories, ranging from having never drunk alcohol to drinking more than 90 grams of alcohol each day. Finally, the risks of heart disease were determined for each category.

Writing Good Titles is Hard Work! Part 2

Here are some examples of Before and After titles:

The experience and the struggle with difficulty of psychiatric and mental health nurse in the community who ever worked in the ward
→The Struggles of Former Ward Nurses Working in Community-Based Mental Health
(psychiatric and mental can be combined; struggle includes the idea of "with difficulty"; experience and struggle are very similar)

Women’s Perception of Receiving Women-Centered Care During Pregnancy - A Comparison Among Birth-centers, Clinics, and Hospitals in Japan
→Perceptions of Woman-Centered Care During Pregnancy Comparing Japanese Birth Sites
(women's perception of women-centered care is redundant; no need to name all three kinds of birth sites)

The Experience of Having Thought and Sense the Men of Couples Who are Undergoing Infertility Treatment
→Men’s Experiences in Couples Undergoing Infertility Treatment
(experiences can include thought and sense)

Meanings of nurse touch in nurse-cognitively impaired elderly interactions
→The Meaning of Touch for Nurses Interacting With Cognitively Impaired Elderly
(confusing; nurse is repeated twice)

Effective coping methods to adapt to life of climacterium
→Coping Methods of Women Adapting to Menopausal Life
(climacterium is too technical; use the normal English when possible)

Factors caused feeling burden to winter driving in home visiting nurses
→Driving in Snow-Cold Districts: Burdens on Visiting Nurses
(this was a creative re-writing of the title, making clear that the burden being studied is connected to driving in cold weather)

Writing Good Titles is Hard Work! Part 1

A title should summarize the main idea of the manuscript simply and, if possible, with style. It should be a concise statement of the main topic and should identify the variables or theoretical issues under investigation and the relationship between them.

A title should be fully explanatory when standing alone.

Get rid of words that are not useful, i.e. "Method", "Results", "A Study of," "An Experimental Investigation of," etc.

The recommended length of a title is NO MORE THAN 12 WORDS

Getting Ready to Write a Review of the Literature

Divide articles you find into three groups:

Group 1: What is the problem?

What problem needs a solution? What question needs to be answered? What theory needs to be tested?

Group 2: What work has been done on “The Problem”?

What work has already been done? (or how has the theory already been tested?)

Group 3: What are the flaws/gaps in the work done on “The Problem”?

In the articles you read, what are the GAPS, the unanswered questions? What questions were NEVER ASKED but should have been?

Don't start with the Introduction (even though it comes first in the report)

（イントロダクションを事前に書くと、出来上がった内容とかなりずれる可能性は大！）

Try starting with your Purpose Statement.

Then work on the Literature Review.

(go back and change Purpose Statement if needed)

Finish the Literature Review while deciding on your Methods...

Only after you finish everything else, write the Introduction

Hyphen Clinic

Language is living. It changes. We see this especially with the use of hyphens. Two words are first joined together with a hyphen, and then after many years the hyphen disappears, and one, new word is left.

For example, did you know that "today" and "tomorrow" used to be spelled "to-day" and "to-morrow"? The trend in research writing is not to use hyphens when you don't need to.

Use a hyphen when you use two or more words BEFORE a noun that ACT AS ONE IDEA: a six-month period, woman-centered care, high-risk pregnancy, patient-awareness survey, high-impact surgery, low-calorie diet, AIDS-related complications, etc.

Note: Some expressions are always linked by a hyphen, no matter where they come: full-time, HIV-positive, over-the-counter.

Do NOT use a hyphen after an adverb ending with -ly: a carefully planned project, a recently discovered virus

Use hyphens to write numbers twenty-one to ninety-nine and fractions (five-eighths, one-fourth)

The prefixes self-, all-, ex-, and cross- almost always require a hyphen (self-reported, all-inclusive, ex-husband, cross-cultural)

Use a hyphen when the prefix ends with the same letter that begins the word: anti-inflammatory, de-emphasize. But not always! Unnatural, coordinate, cooperate, etc.

Do NOT hyphenate words prefixed by semi, non, un, in, dis, co, anti, hyper, pre, re, post, out, bi, counter, de, mis, mega, micro, inter, over, and under (among others).
semistructured, nonemergency, uninfected, inpatient, disorder, coworker, antismoking, antibacteria, hypertension, preoperative, reoccur, postoperative, posttraumatic, outpatient, bimonthly, countermeasure, decompress, misdiagnosed, megabyte, microscopic, interconnected, interdisciplinary, overemphasize, override, underrepresented, underestimate

If you don't know whether to use a hyphen or not, DON'T WORRY! Most native English writers make hyphen mistakes, too. ドンマイ！ドンマイ！

Sample Examples!

STUDY: Measuring Effectiveness of DOLOPLUS-2 Pain-Reporting Scale

Subjects were selected from among a population of elderly patients with dementia (who were) being treated in the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine at Osaka University Hospital. The study included subjects who were 65 years old or older who were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and who had the ability to communicate and understand a pain-reporting scale. Subjects who had been diagnosed with other (non-Alzheimer’s) forms of dementia were excluded. Over a one-year data collection period, 73 patients consented to participate in the study. Half of the patients were randomly selected and assigned to the experimental group. The other half, also randomly selected, were assigned to the comparison group.

STUDY: Comparing Perceptions of Women-Centered Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth at Birth-Centers, Clinics, and Hospitals in Japan

Subjects were drawn from among a population of women who gave birth at either a birth-center, a clinic, or a hospital at 13 settings near Tokyo and near Kobe, Japan. The study included women who had a single-child birth, including births by cesarean section or preterm births, who were hospitalized during the research period (May-October 2010). Subjects could also read and write Japanese. Subjects who were in seriously poor physical condition were excluded. In total, 248 women participated in the study.

Some More Purpose Statements

Article: Repeat CS or VBAC? A systematic review of the factors influencing pregnant women’s decision-making processes (Evidence Based Midwifery: September 2012) The aim of this paper was to undertake a mixed studies systematic review of the factors influencing pregnant women’s decisions with respect to planned repeat caesarean section and planned vaginal birth after caesarean section.

Article: Healthcare workers’ need for support during the postpartum period to promote the success of the HIV prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme (Evidence Based Midwifery: September 2012) The aim of the research was to explore the phenomenon of support for caregivers and healthcare workers who render care in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme in the Bojanala district of the North West Province of South Africa.

Article: Factors associated with adoption of evidence-based substance use prevention curricula in US school districts (Health Educ Res, vol. 20, issue 5, pgs. 514-526 (2005)) This paper examines factors associated with the adoption of evidence-based substance use prevention curricula (EBC) in a national sample of school districts.

Article: Prior family communication and consent to organ donation: using intensive care physicians’ perception to model decision processes (Journal of Public Health Research 2012; volume 1:e19) The purpose of this paper is to provide first hints on the role some factors of family communication and attitudes play in the decision to allow transplantation of a deceased relative’s organs in Switzerland. It is therefore an exploratory study into an area that has not been researched in Switzerland so far.

A Great Paragraph!

St. Luke’s College of Nursing is a first-class nursing college in Japan. The college has a long tradition as a pioneer in nursing education (for example, St. Luke’s opened the first graduate school in nursing). Graduates of St. Luke’s have also become leaders in various nursing fields throughout Japan. Because St. Luke’s is famous for the quality of its education, it attracts highly motivated students. Also, despite its small size, the school has obtained a high proportion of government-subsidized grants. These are some of the reasons why St. Luke’s is a magnificent nursing school.

What is a Paragraph?

A paragraph is a group of related sentences whose purpose is to express one basic idea.

Normally, a paragraph is part of a series of paragraphs, which work together to express a larger, more complicated idea (also called a "thesis").

All the sentences in a paragraph should be closely connected to the central idea. The introductory sentence (or "topic sentence") states the idea. The following sentences (supporting sentences) support or expand the idea. The concluding (=last) sentence usually summarizes the idea of the paragraph.

Well-written paragraphs will be clear. They will lead your reader to accept what you are saying as true.

Here's an example of a strong paragraph:

(Topic sentence:) The characteristics of the main study variables, namely alcohol intake and coronary heart disease, differ between men and women. (Supporting sentences:) Women, for example, do not have the same coronary heart disease risk profile. Drinking patterns in men and women also differ in terms of both the type of beverage and the quantity. The metabolism of alcohol is also different in women and men. (Concluding sentence:) Therefore, all these analyses have considered men and women separately.

This is easy to follow. It uses simple, short sentences. 

Now, go and try to write your own paragraphs!!

Helpful Links on the Sidebar

The sidebar has a few links you might find helpful:

APA Style Official Site

www.apastyle.org

This is the official website of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). "APA style" is the style (rules of writing, formatting, presenting information, etc.) that nursing and most medical research journals follow.

Online Writing Lab (OWL) of Purdue University

owl.english.purdue.edu/owl

This is the site for the Online Writing Lab (OWL) of Purdue University. It has lots of advice for writing in general, and lots of samples of writing using APA style. Check it out!

Guide to Grammar & Writing

grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm

• The site is divided into several levels, including the Word & Sentence Level, the Paragraph Level, and the Essay & Research Paper Level.
• It also has a textbook, called "Sentence Sense: A Writer's Guide," which looks very helpful and easy to use.
• An Index includes more than 400 grammar and writing references.
• There are also over 170 online interactive quizzes on English grammer and writing, so you can learn on your own! Have fun!

Paragraph Writing (日本語)

shouronbun.com/paragraph.html

Here is an explanation (in Japanese) on how to write a good paragraph.

Paragraph Writing (English)

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/927399-How-To-Write-A-Good-Paragraph

Here's an article in English explaining paragraph writing. It includes a sample paragraph about a poodle. 

Try googling "how to write a good paragraph" for other sites.

Class Goals

Our goals in this course are simple and realistic. The major goal is:

To learn the basic requirements for writing nursing research papers in English.

As a part of this goal, we will learn:

• how to write sentences and paragraphs using the standards of English composition
• how to use the common form and style of nursing research papers
• how to use basic APA formatting and style for tables, charts, references, etc.

How will we try to meet our goals?

• We will offer knowledge, information, and resources in class and through this blog.
• You will gain knowledge, information, and resources by reading the textbook.
• You will write things in English. As much as possible!

And Kevin will use his magic red pen to give you individualized feedback on your writing!

Some Guiding Principles...

...when learning how to write a research report in English (especially if English is not your native language):

1. The more you try to write, the more you learn how to write.

The best way for you to write better English is to write English! I will use a lot of red ink and make MANY comments to help you improve your writing. That is they only way I can help you directly.

2. Try to write in English first.

I know it's hard! Think about what you want to write in Japanese, but when you start writing, try to write English sentences.

If you want to say something complicated, write in Japanese first if necessary. But then don't try to translate every word exactly! 一字一句を直訳しないで、同じ思いを英語でどうかけばいいか、考えて書き直す。The important thing is to express your thought clearly. Use the Japanese as a guide, not as a rigid constraint. 元の文章に束縛されず、道しるべとして使う。

3. Think before you write!

If your idea is clear, it will not be very hard to write it in English. But, if your idea is not clear, it will be very hard to make it clear in English!

This class will focus on helping you write your reports. But you will have to do the hard thinking work by yourself. (Elizabeth Tornquist has some good things to say about this on pp. 4-5 of your textbook.)

4. Simple is best.

Both in English and Japanese. Use short sentences. Let a sentence express only one relationship or thought. Break longer sentences into shorter sentences. Here is a good rule: If you have more than two commas, more than two ‘and’s, or more than two ‘but’s in a sentence, think about rewriting it! 1つの文章には2つ以上のカンマや2つ以上のandおよびbutがあったら、書き直すべきかもしれない。日本語でも、同じ文章に「なので」「ながら」「つつ」「というものの」がたくさん書かれていると、読む人が途中でわけがわからなくなってしまう！

Don't try to be fancy. Try to be clear.

Welcome to the Blog!

Dr. Onjohji and I are excited about starting this course again this year--starting today!

We plan to use this blog as a place to put class notes, reference links, and other important information as we go through the course.

Please check the blog every week. You can ask questions here if you can't wait until the next class. 

HOWEVER: Please do NOT use this blog if you need to get in touch with us immediately or need a quick response.

緊急連絡や至急に対応が必要な場合、このブログを使わないでください！

If you have any ideas about how to make this blog more useful as a learning tool, let us know.

See you this evening!