DTN3NDS/DTN306 Nutrition and Disease/ Diet, Disease Relationships ASSESSMENT TASK 3

Assessment 3 Instructions and Details

Assessment Overview

This assessment is a critical appraisal of an article investigating the Mediterranean diet and its impact on disease risk. 

There are no specific questions to answer; rather you must independently formulate your assignment to present a critical evaluation of the article using relevant supporting scientific literature to help build your understanding of the evidence and overall implications for understanding the diet-disease relationship. 

This assessment addresses the following subject intended learning outcome (SILO): SILO 3. Critically appraise a scientific paper examining the role of nutritional factors in the aetiology of a disease.

Task Instructions

Select one article from the list below and find the full text of that article. 

Thoroughly read the article and conduct a critical review. Imagine you are doing this for a professional employer who is not an expert in this field. You need to explain to them clearly what the research paper is about, its level of scientific accuracy and any implications including the wider impact on health management, especially nutritional advice and practice. 

Include a reference list of peer-reviewed articles to support your writing. 

Word count: 1200 words (+/- 10%) excluding the title page and reference list

Please include a title page containing: 

• student number 
• subject code and course
• title of assessment and article chosen 
• word count (excluding title page and reference list)
• date of submission

Articles:

Option 1. Jacka FN, et al. A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the 'SMILES' trial). BMC Med. 2017 Jan 30;15(1):23. 

Option 2. Estruch R, et al. Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet Supplemented with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil or Nuts. N Engl J Med. 2018 June 13; 378: e34.

Suggested approach and structure to use in your report: 

Present the information as though the reader of the review had not read the article and is not a nutrition scientist, hence requiring clear terminology and plain language explanations. 

The following are suggested sub-headings to include and starting points for your discussion. These key features should frame your review. These sub-headings can be varied provided they create a clear picture of what the paper covers. 

• Rationale (e.g. aim, study’s purpose, why this study was undertaken)
• Study design quality (e.g. state the study design type and describe how the study was performed. Discuss the quality of the method, including the limitations of the study design) 
• Key findings (e.g. important results, statistical interpretation of results that relate to the aim, provide detail of the key finding/s) 
• Mechanisms (e.g. which components of the Mediterranean diet explain the biological or physiological mechanisms thought to be responsible for the potential health effect)
• Relevance (e.g. significant public message or application(s) arising from the outcomes such as nutritional implications) 
• Future directions (e.g. potential future research questions and questions arising from the study)

Notes:

• There are 6 questions that form this assignment.
• Your assignment is to be completed in 1200 words (+/- 10%), excluding: the title page, the questions, the reference list and any appendices.
• Report format (NOT question and answer)

Present the information as though the reader of the review had not read the article and is not an expert in this area, although has a scientific background

Submission Instructions

Submit via LMS (via Turnitin) 

Hard copies or emailed copies of your assignment will not be accepted as a submission method. If you use a Mac computer then please make sure you can submit the file to Turnitin- this will not be accepted as a reason for late/email submission. 

You must submit your assignment via “Turnitin” and check the originality of your work. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have submitted to Turnitin in time to receive back your report (usually takes up to 24 hours). It is your responsibility to check your Turnitin originality report, make any changes that you assess you need to do; and to re-submit via Turnitin if you need to re-check the originality of revised assignment. (Note you are able to submit to Turnitin more than once if you wish, but make sure you submit to the same correct Turnitin submission box, otherwise Turnitin may treat it as a new piece of work and thus return a high match with your first version). 

Note: The due date for this task is the date/time by which your final version of your assignment must be submitted. Failure to receive your Turnitin report back before the submission deadline will not be grounds for an extension (unless there is evidence of an excessive delay in Turnitin over and above expected turnaround time). This means that it is YOUR responsibility to submit to Turnitin in sufficient time to finalise your assignment. 

It is up to you to self-evaluate your turnitin report to decide whether it is satisfactory or not. There is no single defined cut-off for % match that is deemed satisfactory. You need to be satisfied that the document you submit as your final assignment is your own work. 

Late submissions 

An assignment submitted after the due date without an extension will incur a penalty of 5%, per working day, of the total possible mark for the piece of assessment in question, for up to 5 days. Late submissions, beyond 5 working days following the due date will not be accepted.