To complete this assessment task, you will be required to:

• Conduct a community-based public health nutrition research activity related to food access and availability; and
• Report on this activity with a written manuscript and oral presentation (10 minutes).

Task overview and aims: Food intakes of Australians are influenced by a range of individual, community and societal factors. Public health nutrition (PHN) focuses on issues affecting whole populations rather than individuals however, to develop effective PHN strategies it is important to understand the impact of population/community level factors on the behaviours and intakes of individuals. This assessment task will allow you to explore your own community and develop an understanding of the factors which are impacting the nutrition behaviours and health of your community members, and how these factors could be used to inform PHN policy and practice.

This task requires you to demonstrate capacity to engage in a research activity to develop understanding and appreciation of community nutrition issues in context. You will be required to work within the Public Health Nutrition 'group' that will include all students enrolled in the course.

Task details: This task includes multiple components which should be completed sequentially throughout the term. Components 1 through 8 (as outlined below) are formative only and will not be required to be submitted for marking. Components 3 and 4 MUST be completed by their due dates to enable completion of subsequent components by all group members. Components 9 and 10 (outlined below) MUST be submitted for marking.

1. Conduct a literature review of food access and availability in Australia
2. Conduct research to develop understanding of the socio-economic and health characteristics of your community
3. Conduct a Healthy Food Access Basket (HFAB) survey in a total of three stores (one online) in your community
4. Enter your community data into a shared group Excel spreadsheet (links to this spreadsheet will be provided to students during term)
5. Conduct basic analysis of data collected by the group (using Microsoft Excel)
6. Develop a written account of the methods used for collecting and analysing your data
7. Develop a written report of your results and develop at least 2 tables of results (using APA table format)
8. Develop a written discussion of your results in comparison to other communities represented in the 'group' and previously conducted HFAB surveys throughout Australia.
9. Compile a manuscript that provides a full report (including introduction, methods, data analysis, results (including 2 tables), discussion, conclusion) of this public health nutrition research activity (and including a cover letter and title page).
10. Develop and deliver a 10 minute online oral presentation that provides a full report of this public health nutrition research activity.

NOTE's: all students will be given opportunity to submit each of the formative components (1 through 8) for feedback from the course coordinator. Tutorial sessions will be conducted throughout the term to provide assistance in completing all components.

COMPLETE DETAILS OF EACH COMPONENT ARE OUTLINED IN THE UNIT ASSESSMENT GUIDE AVAILABLE ON THE MOODLE SITE.

Research manuscript:

In developing your final research manuscript, you will be required to meet the manuscript preparation instructions provided in the 'Instructions for contributors' for the journal Public Health Nutrition https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/information/instructions-contributors

Your written manuscript will be marked according to how well you meet the specified requirements and instructions for this task, and in accordance with the Written assessment standards (outlined below). Written feedback will be provided throughout your submission.

Written assessment standards

High distinction: your written assessment should demonstrate confidence and competence in addressing all aspects of the tasks and areas of inquiry. The manuscript: includes discussion which is highly relevant and valid throughout and provides clear evidence of mastery of the subject matter; is coherent and flow clearly from point to point, is drawn from extensive research; is creative, thorough and accurate in its use of supporting evidence, exhibits an exceptional level of critical thought and extensive analysis, interpretation and explanation, as basis for formulation of arguments; includes original thinking throughout, is based on clearly evaluated evidence and logical carefully framed assertions; is presented and organised almost faultlessly.

Distinction: your written assessment should demonstrate confidence and competence in addressing most aspects of the specified tasks and areas of inquiry. The manuscript: Includes discussion which is mostly relevant and valid; Is mostly coherent, and presented in a mostly logical and clear manner; Is drawn from mostly relevant research and uses supporting evidence accurately; Demonstrates a high level of critical thought, and thorough analysis, interpretation and explanation in formulating arguments; Is focused, but some areas lack creativity and/or originality in the interpretations of ideas; and Includes a few inconsistencies/errors in presentation and organisation.

Credit: your written assessment should demonstrate conscientious effort and emergent competence in addressing the specified tasks and areas of inquiry. The manuscript: Includes discussion which is relevant and valid, but some areas are inappropriate and/or unconvincing; Is logical but some areas of discussion have marginal value and/or relevance; Is drawn from research but some evidence is irrelevant and/or is used inaccurately; Demonstrates some critical appraisal and includes some areas where ideas are merely described; Has some connections between ideas, but generally lacks creativity and/or originality; Includes several faults in presentation and/or organisation.

Pass: your written assessment should demonstrate some effort and emergent competence in addressing the specified tasks and areas of inquiry. The manuscript: Includes discussion which has only some degree of relevance and validity; Shows minimal or no critical thought; Is generally coherent in some parts, but lack of clarity in expressions in other parts leads to confusion and ambiguity; Demonstrates some evidence of research but contains many erroneous assertions and irrelevant materials; The approach is mostly descriptive and reproductive; it provides little or no evidence of analysis or synthesis; Contains numerous faults and/or organisation is inconsistent and/or incomplete.

Fail: your written response to the assessment demonstrates lack of competence, and little or no attempt to address the assigned tasks. The manuscript: Includes discussion which is poorly conceived, shows minimal or no relevance to the task and fails to establish validity for the work; Contains too many significant faults to be regarded as a University standard piece of work; Does not demonstrate engagement in and/or understanding of course work materials; Shows little or no evidence of research; Overall, is presented and/or organised in a manner which does not satisfactorily meet academic standards.

Oral presentation:

• Presentation is very well organised and the performance runs smoothly.
• Information included in the presentation clearly outlines completed activities and results
• Presentation includes at least 2 tables which are presented in APA format and content of tables is explained thoroughly
• Presenter is engaging, maintains eye contact, with limited reference to notes
• Presenter speaks clearly in an understandable voice, uses clear tone, enunciation, and reasonable pace; messages are clearly received and understood
• Presentation slides are easily read, do not include excessive amounts of text, include appropriate graphics and/or images and information, and is appropriate length/duration
• Presentation includes references and a reference list.
• Presentation is not excessively under or over-length (ie. not shorter than 9 minutes and not longer than 11 minutes)

To complete this assessment task you will be required to:

• Participate in AND contribute to three (3) online journal club meetings presented as synchronous discussions (using a Zoom session on the unit Moodle site).

Task overview and aims: As students (and in your future role as health practitioners), you are required to read many journal articles across a range of disciplines. It would be unreasonable to think that we will always understand everything that is contained in these articles (especially data analysis techniques). It is important to develop confidence in understanding much of what we are reading and conducting further investigation of issues/topics when we do not understand what is written/read.

This task requires you to demonstrate capacity to engage with others in an online learning environment to develop understanding and appreciation for research skills used in research and professional practice. Through supported group discussion, you will be given opportunity to develop understanding of key learning topics in public health nutrition and skills in evaluating published journal articles using an evidence based and objective approach.

Task details: The specific days and times for each meeting will be determined upon consultation with all students at commencement of term. Prior to each meeting, you will be required to:

• Read, review and discuss three (3) journal articles (will be provided in the unit Assessment Guide on Moodle)
• PRIOR to each meeting (and following your reading of the article) you will need to consider the evaluation criteria (see below) to be able to participate in related discussions during the meeting.
• Use the Journal Club Evaluation Tool to document your responses to the following criteria:

1. What was the purpose of the study?
2. Why is the research being conducted?
3. Why the research is considered significant/important?
4. Are the research questions/hypotheses clearly stated?
5. What do you judge to be the standard of writing?
6. Who were the subjects?
7. What was the study design?
8. What methods were used for measurement?
9. What was the primary outcome measure (s)?
10. What was the secondary outcome measure (s)?
11. What methods were used for data analysis?
12. What are the main outcomes/results?
13. What is the significance of the results?
14. What is the ‘take-home’ message (s) of this article?

• Completion and submission of your evaluation of the article discussed;
• Participation/interaction in the online meeting.