Scholarly vs. Popular Publications: News article compared to the original research paper
Research Summary Example: Popular Publication
- Devlin, M. (2019). Problem gamblers’ siblings also prone to risk-taking: UBC study. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
Research Summary Example: Scholarly Publication
- Limbrick-Oldfield, E. H., Mick, I., Cocks, R. E., Flechais, R. S., Turton, S., Lingford-Hughes, A., … & Clark, L. (2019). Neural and neurocognitive markers of vulnerability to gambling disorder: a study of unaffected siblings.
Research Summary Example: Objectives of Original Research Paper
Limbrick-Oldfield et al. (2019)’s objective was to determine if the siblings of gambling addicts had the same indicators of vulnerability to addiction as gambling-addicted individuals. The researchers sort to find out if there were neural and neurocognitive indicators in people with gambling disorders by comparing them to their siblings who were Gambling Disorder-free. Gambling Disorder leads to the functional impairment caused within the individual losses control over Gambling, thus making it a behavioral addiction.
The researchers were also curious about the dilemma in addiction studies on where the individual usually has vulnerabilities to addiction or whether the vulnerabilities develop over time as an adaptive neural consequence of repeated behaviors. The protracted sequence of winning and losing in gambling activity produces the same effect as a chemical dependency on drug-related addictions.
The researchers needed to isolate the vulnerability maker in comparing them to their unaffected close biological relatives through an endophenotype approach and needed to observe and analyze the neurocognitive mechanism underlying gambling addicts and their first-degree relatives. The relatives were expected to show the same neurocognitive and neural markers as their respective Gambling addiction siblings.
The central indicators of gambling addiction include being impulsive, making risky decisions, and incentive processing. An individual with gambling addictions tend to be more impulsive and risk-takers, vivid after taking the Cambridge Gamble Task and the Iowa Gambling Task. These indicators are also evident among substance addiction victims as the genetic range of traits corresponded with addiction’s genetic risk.
The effect of rewarding outcomes on gambling addiction individuals has been studied by observing their insula, ventral stream, and the orbital prefrontal cortex using functional MRI. The results have shown reduced activity in the network with others showing hyperactivity due to increased activity in the brains’ target parts of their brain due to a gambling win. This is an indication of reward dependency by the individual but can also be interpreted as incentive sensitization that comes from winning or losing in a gamble. Get legit paper writing services now!
Several theories have been trying to explain addiction, for example, the theory of gambling addiction vulnerability, which emphasizes reward deficiency, theory of addiction development, which states that risk taking impulsivity is elevated according to controls. The researchers hypothesized elevated risk-taking and impulsivity among the siblings according to the theory of addiction development (Limbrick-Oldfield et al., 2019).
Research Summary Example: Methodology
The researchers hypothesized a difference between individuals’ behaviors and neuroimaging with Gambling Addiction and their biological siblings. In selecting the participant of this research, the researchers developed criteria for their selection where that had to be between the ages 0f 18 and 60 years, not have suffered from any psychotropic illness, like anxiety and depression.
The participants were also required to be drug-free, which was to be confirmed with a urine test and breathe alcohol test. The male individuals with Gambling Addiction were 18 and were recruited from the National Problem Gambling Problem Clinic in London, United Kingdom. A Gambling Disorder diagnosis was confirmed with a score of more than 8 in the Problem Gambling Severity Index.
They also developed another independent cohort of participants who had never had Gambling Problems after a local advisement campaign, and their addiction-free states confirmed with a less than 8 in the Gambling Addiction Severity Test. The participants with Gambling Addiction problems were all adults, making the researchers opt that the control group has eight male and female individuals (Limbrick-Oldfield et al., 2019).
Comparing the risk-taking and impulsivity was done between groups using the two-tailed Welch’s Test that assumes equality invariance. The results of the Cambridge Gamble Task and MCQ were compared using multi regression models. A functional MRI was carried on the three groups with some individuals being excluded for various reasons like a computer error and excessive in-scan motion with valid results obtained from 15 siblings, eight of whom are male and seven female, 35 Controlled group members, and 18 gambling disorder victims.
The participants’ brain images’ data were analyzed using the DDSL Expert Analysis Toll with a general linear model developed with four separate linear regressors: full wins, full misses, near wins, and near misses. The Voxel-wise group-level statistic was carried on the groups’ wins and non-wins (Limbrick-Oldfield et al., 2019).
Research Summary Example: Findings
The researchers found an increase in self-reported impulsivity in addition to delayed discounting among men with Gambling dependence. There was also significant evidence of elevated adverse urgency and weaker evidence of a “lack of” or negative urgency. An individual suffering from Gambling Addiction was also vulnerable to making impaired decisions and placing large bets. There were differences in the results of their siblings who scored negative urgency. The reward process testing showed that the individual showed no evidence of neuroimaging markers indicating vulnerability to Gambling Disorder (Limbrick-Oldfield et al., 2019).
Research Summary Example: Limitations
The size and composition of the sample of the research increased the sampling error of the research. An initial sample size of 20 for each group is less than 10 percent of the global population; thus, generalizing the global scale results would lead to severe errors. The sample size reduced size due to various errors in the testing process, further impairing its accuracy. The use of phones to collect data for this research study presents several challenges, for example, the ambiguity of some answers; the research cannot also observe the nonverbal cues on the interviewee in order to judge the accuracy of their answers.
Phone interviews also make it easier to interview unintended individuals, which can reduce the accuracy of the research findings. The self-reported data collected via phone calls limits the data collected’s accuracy, especially where there is no observation to reference. Finally, gender inclusion is a problem in this research as the researchers ought to have developed a 50 percent male and 50 percent female cohort for all the groups involved in the study (Limbrick-Oldfield et al., 2019).
Research Summary Example: Objectives of Original Research Paper
There was no accuracy or objectivity in the report of Limbrick-Oldfield et al. (2019) by Devlin (2019). The author of the articles exaggerated the finding in order to come up with a catchy title for the articles by confirming the existence of a correlation in the behavior of Gambling Addicted individuals with their siblings who have no addiction problems. Mass media is a vital tool in disseminating research findings relevant to the general public. It updates the public about the most recent Research and Development finding and its impact on their life.
It is, therefore, imperative that journalists share accurate information with no prejudice. They should also consult the researcher to explain and breakdown the findings for practical journalism. Another remedy for misrepresenting the facts of a research study is that the researcher should write highly detailed scientific papers to report their findings to the community of scholars and a more straightforward and more digestible version for the general public.
