Topic Proposal

1. The issue that I will be analyzing is about using class rank as an admissions tool for the three state school located in Iowa.  The University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa all use the RAI score as a way to accept applicants into the university.  Also, many scholarships offered require a certain score on the RAI, in order to eligible to apply.  The RAI is a mathematical formula that takes into account high school GPA, ACT score, core classes taken, and class rank.  There is a lot of controversy surrounding this because class rank is becoming a less effective tool to measure a student by.  Many high schools are completely eliminating class rank, yet it is still a factor for admission, if your high school reports class rank.
2. My focus will be specifically on the class rank portion of this mathematical formula.  My focus on class rank will be that it is not an accurate tool to judge a student by.  There are a variety of reasons that I will analyze on why this is not an effective tool.  For example, many smaller and private schools have more competition in their grades than larger schools do, which negatively affects these schools.
3. I am choosing to analyze this topic because a few years ago my high school decided that they were no longer going to report students' class rank.  This allowed for more people to be accepted into college, and giving them a better chance to improve their future.  I also find this to be an interesting topic because fewer colleges are choosing to use class rank in their admissions, yet the Iowa state schools still choose to use this as a factor.
4. I will mainly be using news articles as sources for this topic.  I will also be using specific information from these various state schools how they choose to use the RAI score for admissions, and also for scholarships.

IMRaD Mandatory Draft

Abstract

            This report analyzes the factors that college students attribute to their weight gain.  A survey was conducted to achieve a better understanding of the different factors that may affect why college students put on weight.  This survey asked basic questions about how participants’ diet and exercise has changed since leaving for college.  Overall, the data showed that many college students attribute their weight gain to exercising less frequently.  These results can be useful to future freshmen classes on ways to deter weight gain, and also allows the University of Iowa to focus on the importance of exercising as a way to hinder weight gain.

Introduction

            One of the many challenges that college students face is weight gain.  College weight gain is so prevalent that it has become known as the freshmen fifteen.  This refers to the likeliness that a first-year student in college will put on fifteen pounds by the end of the year.  Weight gain is a big concern for college students, however many of them do not take the appropriate steps to prevent it.  This is an issue because there has been an increased trend in the prevalence of obesity in America.  Obesity has significant health effects on the body and may even be fatal.  Large weight gain in college can set students on a path towards obesity.  Consequently, it is important for college students to be able to understand why they are gaining weight, and what they can do to prevent it.  Although the freshmen fifteen is a commonly used term, there have been conflicting studies on the validity of this claim.

            N. Mihalopoulos, P. Auinger, and J. Klein (2010) conducted a study at the University of Utah and discovered that few students actually gain the whole fifteen pounds, but rather they gain about 2.7 pounds on average (p. 532).  A similar study done at Auburn University by S. Gropper, K. Simmons, and A. Gaines (2009) concluded that freshmen students gain about 2.1 pounds on average (p. 228).  Clearly, there is an issue of college students gaining too much weight during their first year.  Yet, both of these studies failed to investigate why so many college students put on this much weight.  This study aims to expand on the conclusions of these past studies by examining the factors that freshmen students at the University of Iowa believe has contributed to their weight gain.

Methods

Participants: Those who participated in this study were freshmen students in their first semester at the University of Iowa in the fall of 2015.  In total, there were twenty students who participated in this study.

Data Sources: Participants were asked to complete an anonymous online survey.

Procedure: Participants were asked a variety of questions about factors of weight gain and whether these factors applied to them.  The first question was, “How much weight have you gained since leaving for college?”  The second question was, “What do you think has attributed to your weight gain?”  A list of factors were provided, and participants were asked to select all that they thought applied.  Finally, participants were then asked if the strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed, or strongly disagreed to a series of three statements regarding the health of their diet, food consumption, and exercise.

Data Analysis: The results obtained from the survey were converted into percentages.  These percentages were then displayed in bar graphs to allow the reader to quickly obtain the relevant information.  One survey question that was analyzed was the participants’ response to what they considered the main cause of their weight gain.  Based on the results from this question, the report also analyzes the way in which this specific factor has increased or decreased since the participant has entered college. 

Results

Figure 1: Participants’ response to what they believe causes their weight gain

           

Figure 1 shows a distribution to the responses pertaining to causes of weight gain among survey participants.  47.8% of University of Iowa freshmen participating in the survey believe their weight gain is caused by a lack of exercise.  21.7% of participants declared that consuming more food is a reason for their weight gain.  These results suggest that students who are putting on weight during their freshmen year attribute it overwhelmingly to lack of exercise, while less than a quarter of participants attribute their weight gain to consuming more food than they have in the past.   

Figure 2: Participants’ response to the statement, “I exercise less in college than I did in high school.”

           

Figure 2 shows that freshmen students at the University of Iowa exercise much less in college than they did in high school.  50% of participants agreed that they exercise less in college, and 35% of participants strongly agreed that they exercise less in college.  Figure 1 illustrated that many participants stated that a reason for their weight gain was exercising less frequently.  Figure 2 elaborates on that fact by showing around 85% of the participants do not exercise as much as they used to in high school.

Discussion

            This study shows what factors University of Iowa freshmen attribute to their weight gain.  The results demonstrate that the most common perceived reason for putting on weight is exercising less frequently.  In fact, when participants were asked to expand upon their rate of exercise, nearly 85% of them stated that they do not exercise as much as they used to in high school. 

            There were some issues with the study that took place.  First of all, there were too few participants to accurately gauge the factors that influence weight gain among freshmen students at the University of Iowa.  In total, this study surveyed twenty students.  Twenty students is not enough to provide an accurate representation of the entire freshmen class.  Another fault in this study was that it analyzed two major reason for weight gain: exercise and diet.  However, there are many other reasons why people may put on weight.

            The results of this survey indicate that lack of exercise is a major reason why many University of Iowa freshmen put on weight.  This previously unknown data can help the University of Iowa focus more on exercise as a way to deter weight gain.  For example, they could promote the recreation center or involvement in intramural sports.  These results can also help the next class of incoming freshmen by explaining to them what other freshmen have struggled with regarding weight gain in college. 

            There is certainly future research that can be done regarding this issue.  First, this report focused on the two main types of ways people put on weight.  Further research could analyze how less common factors affect weight gain among college freshmen.  Another area that could be researched is how a change in lifestyle affects weight gain among college students.  Lifestyle changes such as, stress level and homesickness affect most college students, which could be additional reasons for weight gain among college students.

           

           

References

Gropper, S., Simmons, K., & Gaines, A. (2009). The freshman 15: a closer look. Journal of American College Health, 58(3), 223-231.

Mihalopoulos, N., Auinger, P., & Klein, J. (2010). The freshmen 15: is it real? Journal of American College Health, 56(5), 531-553.

Appendix

1.     How much weight have you gained since leaving college?

2.     What do you think has attributed to your weight gain?

3.     I eat a less healthy diet in college than I did in high school.

a.     Strongly agree

b.     Agree

c.     Disagree

d.     Strongly disagree

4.     I consume more food in college than I did in high school.

a.     Strongly agree

b.     Agree

c.     Disagree

d.     Strongly disagree

5.     I exercise less in college than I did in high school.

a.     Strongly agree

b.     Agree

c.     Disagree

d.     Strongly disagree

Revised Introduction

College students face many challenges, one of which is weight gain, commonly called the freshmen fifteen.  It’s the tendency to gain fifteen your first year.  This is an issue because obesity is on the rise.  Obesity can cause various illnesses, and even death.  Students must understand causes of weight gain and potential preventative measures.  Although freshmen fifteen is a common term, conflicting studies have questioned its validity.

A 2010 study discovered that students actually gain 2.7 on average (Mihalopoulous, et. al).  A similar study concluded that freshmen students gained 2.1 pounds on average (Gropper et. al).  These studies failed to investigate weight gain causes.  This study examines factors that freshmen believe contribute to weight gain.  

Introduction/Methods

Introduction

            One of the many challenges that college students face is weight gain.  College weight gain is so prevalent that it has become known as the freshmen fifteen.  This refers to the likeliness that a first-year student in college will put on fifteen pounds by the end of the year.  Weight gain is a big concern for college students, however many of them do not take the appropriate steps to prevent weight gain.  This is an issue because there has been an increased trend in the prevalence of obesity of America.  Obesity has significant health effects on the body, and may even be fatal.  Large weight gain in college can set students on a path towards obesity.  Consequently, it is important for college students to be able to understand why they are gaining weight, and what they can do to prevent it.  Although the freshmen fifteen is a commonly used term, there have been conflicting studies on the validity of this claim.

            N. Mihalopoulos, P. Auinger, and J. Klein (2010) discovered that few students actually gain the whole fifteen pounds, but rather they gain about 2.7 pounds on average (p. 532).  However, this weight gain on average is still more than six times the normal weight put on during a one year period (p. 532).  Clearly, there is an issue of college students putting on too much weight during their first year.  Yet, they failed to research why so many college students put on this much weight.  This study aims to expand on the research done by Mihalopoulos, Auinger, and Klein by examining the factors that freshmen students at the University of Iowa believe has contributed to their weight gain.

Methods

Participants: Those who participated in this study were all freshmen students in their first semester at the University of Iowa in the fall of 2015.  In total, there were twenty students who participated in this study.

Data Sources: Participants were asked to complete a survey online on surveymonkey.com

Procedure: Participants were asked a variety of questions about factors of weight gain, and whether these factors applied to them.  The first question was, “How much weight have you gained since leaving for college?”  The second question was, “What do you think has attributed to your weight gain?”  A list of factors were provided, and participants were asked to select all that they thought applied.  Finally, participants were then asked if the strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed, or strongly disagreed to a series of three statements regarding the health of their diet, food consumption, and exercise.

Survey Questions

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/22SXHR9

Research Questions/Economists sell bagels

My first research question is: Does birth order play a role in academic success?  The way in which I plan to research this is a survey.  In this survey I will ask my fellow classmates a few things.  One would be where they fall in their family in terms of age.  Are they first born, a middle child, or the last born?  Then I would ask questions that would indicate academic success.  Examples of these questions would be: What was your high school GPA? What is your expected college GPA?  What was your ACT score?  I could then also ask question about if their siblings did better or worse than they personally did.  Based on this data I should be able to draw a conclusion on if birth order plays a role in how academically successful the person is.
My second research question is: Is the freshmen fifteen real?  I would also use a survey to investigate this question.  I would ask a variety of questions regarding weight, diet, exercise, etc.  Some of the questions would be: Have you gained any weight since leaving for college? Do you consider yourself to eat a healthy diet? How often do you exercise?  I would investigate my fellow classmates again, considering they are all first semester freshmen.  Based on this data I could analyze if the freshmen fifteen was real, how many people this affects, and what factors play a part of gaining weight in college.

There are some similarities and differences between the two readings we had to do.  Some similarities are that both of the writings are analyzing something and presenting their data.  The main difference that comes between these two writings is how they present their data.  In Freakonomics, the results are merely explained, and very little evidence is given on how they managed to obtain these results.  Also, in Freakonomics the research was not done by the authors.  They are using evidence that was gathered from a different experiment.  In Economists sell bagels, the data was presented much more effectively.  This writing supported the claims they made with concrete evidence and provided charts and graphs to help the reader understand the data that is given.

IMRaD Report

There are some significant differences between the IMRaD Report and the argument based research papers that I have written in the past.  One of the major differences is that for the IMRaD report I have to gather the research myself.  I am required to conduct an experiment or a survey to acquire the data I will use.  In the papers that I have written in the past, I usually gathered that sort of data from outside sources, and did not acquire my own data.  By acquiring my own data, I give this report more credibility by referencing results that I obtained myself.  Along with the data I gather, there is a different way of presenting it that is different than a normal research paper.
Another major difference is that in this report I will have to present the data in the paper.  The IMRaD report requires me to use graphs and chars in the paper and reference them throughout my writing.  In my past writings, I have never included charts and  graphs in the actual paper.  I may have referenced a fact that I found from a chart, but I would not include the entire chart in my paper.  These charts and graphs allow the audience to better follow along with the point you are attempting to make.
I think that last major difference is the format that this report will be in.  In my past classes, I would write in a typical format: introduction, body, and conclusion.  I did not use headings, nor did I have separate sections included in my paper.  In the IMRaD report, I am supposed to use different sections such as introduction, methods, results, and discussion.  These main ideas may have been presented in my last papers, but they were not displayed in this sort of format.  This also allows the reader to follow along more easily.  There are many ways to break down this information, and this allows the reader to be able to find the information they are looking for much faster.