The Concept of - Research Paper Example

Concept of Research Paper I. Introduction The main purpose of writing the concept of research paper is to communicate to audiences about the proposed research study. Often times, concept papers can be used to apply for private or state funding. In some cases, concept papers can be used to inform the audiences about the importance of completing the proposed research study (Statistics Solutions). Basically, the proposed research topic is about the need to discuss the link between zinc deficiency and the development of cancer cells. So, what do we really know about? In the study of medicine, cancer is defined as a type of disease that is characterized by having abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells (Brown, Thomas and Kotecki 81). As a person becomes older, the risks of having cancer also increase (CDC b). In the absence of effective therapeutic intervention, the onset of cancer can be deadly. (Figure I – Age-Adjusted Incidence Rate of All Cancer Patients in the U.S. on page 2) Figure I – Age-Adjusted Incidence Rate of All Cancer Patients in the U.S. Source: CDC b Often times, cancer cells may develop in different parts of the human body (i.e. lungs, bronchus, or trachea, liver, stomach, colon, rectum, prostate, esophagus, pancreas, blood, urinary bladder, etc.) (American Cancer Society). In U.S. alone, the most common type of cancer includes prostate cancer amongst men and breast cancer amongst women followed by lung and bronchus, colon and rectum, corpus and uterus, urinary bladder, melanomas of the skin, non-hodgkin lymphoma, kidney and renal pelvis, and thyroid (CDC a). (See Figure II – Different Cancer Sites on page 3; Figure III – Top 10 Cancer Sites in U.S. on page 3) Figure II – Different Cancer Sites Source: American Cancer Society Figure III – Top 10 Cancer Sites in U.S. Source: CDC a As a common knowledge, cancer is one of the most common types of diseases that can lead to the untimely death of people (Ho). As of 2012, there are as much as 14,090,100 new cases of cancer worldwide (American Cancer Society). However, not much is known with regards to ways on how zinc deficiency can lead to the development of abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells. Therefore, in the process of completing the proposed research study, it is possible to educate people about the importance of having sufficient dose of zinc in our daily nutritional intake. (See Figure IV – New Cancer Cases Worldwide as of 2012 below) Figure IV – New Cancer Cases Worldwide as of 2012 Source: American Cancer Society II. Thesis Statement Learning more about the relationship between zinc deficiency and the development of cancer cells can help reduce the incidence of cancer worldwide. III. Goal Statement The main purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between zinc deficiency and the development of cancer cells. In the process of conducting a systematic literature review, this study seeks to meet the following research objectives: 1. To inform the readers about the relationship between zinc deficiency and the development of cancer cells; and 2. To increase the readers’ knowledge on how to prevent the risks of having cancer. IV. Research Questions To complete this study, the following questions will be used in guiding how the researcher would design and conceptualize the proposed research study: 1. Is there a link between zinc deficiency and the development of cancer cells? 2. How does the presence of zinc deficiency lead to the development of cancer? 3. What happens to the cell in case there is no adequate supply of zinc in the human body? V. Literature Review Several studies strongly suggest that zinc deficiency can lead to the increased risk of developing cancer (Ho; Leitzmann, Stampfer and Wu; Yan, Hardin and Ho; Song, Leonard and Traber; Ho, Courtemanche and Ames). Through proper and complete nutrition, Ho and Ho, Courtemanche and Ames strongly suggests that it is possible to avoid developing cancer. As such, zinc has been considered as one of the most important minerals that can protect people from the health and socio-economic consequences of having cancer. So what is the relationship between zinc and cancer? Basically, zinc plays a significant role in the synthesis of DNA-binding proteins which includes the repair of DNA (Ho; Song, Leonard and Traber). Zinc is more likely to be involved in the prevention of oxidative stress (Song, Leonard and Traber). As such, Valko, Rhodes and Moncol revealed that oxidative stress are common in the cellular signaling pathways of different types of cancer cells. Therefore, in the absence of adequate zinc, the breaking of DNA together with the modification of DNA caused by oxidative process can damage the DNA which subsequently increases a person’s risk of developing cancer (Ho; Poulsen; Song, Leonard and Traber; Ho, Courtemanche and Ames). This is idea is true due to the fact that zinc deficiency is more than enough to compromise the ability of cells to repair the DNA damage (Ho, Courtemanche and Ames). In the study of Song, Leonard and Traber, the authors conducted an experimental studies on rats. To test the effects of zinc on DNA, Song, Leonard and Traber purposely fed some rats with at least 30 mg Zn/kg and less than 1 mg Zn/kg for a time period of 3 weeks, and 6 mg Zn/kg for a time period of 6 weeks. Based on the research findings, Song, Leonard and Traber found out that rats with zinc deficiency had the most DNA damage in the peripheral blood cells as compared to other group with normal zinc intake. Prevention of serious health risks is always better than cure. For this reason, it is important for us to learn more about the normal daily recommendation for zinc. As such, the proposed research study would seek to address the following questions: (1) Are there any variations between the normal daily recommendation of zinc for men and women?; (2) Would regular intake of zinc supplement be enough to avoid the risks of developing cancer?; (3) Would regular intake of zinc supplement be effective in terms of suppressing the growth of cancer cells?; (4) Would regular intake of zinc supplement be enough to inhibit the spread of tumor cells?; (5) What are the harmful effects of ingesting zinc more than the required daily dosage?; and (6) How does adequate zinc intake affect the flow of cellular pathways? VI. Proposed Research Method Quite a lot of research studies have been made with regards to the link between zinc and cancer. Therefore, to address the questions presented in chapter V on page 6, the proposed research method would be purely qualitative by nature. As such, a systematic review will be conducted based on the published online articles between 2005 to 2015. In search for relevant journals, the proposed research study will make full use of inclusion and exclusion criteria. In general, inclusion criteria are generally some of the study features that will be included in the systematic literature review whereas those under the exclusion criteria are study features that will be excluded from the actual systematic literature review. Basically, the main reason why there is a need to set out a clear distinction between the inclusion and exclusion criteria is to help the researcher in guiding which specific journals will be gathered and disregarded from the proposed research study (Card 38). (See Table I – List of Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria below) Table I – List of Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria Inclusion Exclusion online articles between 2005 to 2015; articles published in English only; articles with no questionable research method and findings. online articles published before 2005; articles published in other languages; articles with questionable research method and findings. The proposed research method strongly supports the thoughts and arguments of positivists and post-positivist in the sense that the process of conducting literature review is good since it allows the researcher to come up with useful and valid information that are based on facts (Kamberelis and Dimitriadis). In doing so, the researcher may have lesser risks of presenting data that are not scientifically proven. Thus, minimizing the risks of presenting or coming up with wrong information. VII. Research Ethics The proposed research study will observe the following ethics considerations: (1) avoid coming up with wrong information; and (2) avoid the risks of being accused of plagiarism (Van Rys, Meyer and Sebranek). To avoid the risks of being accused of plagiarism, the researcher should make it a habit to cite or reference all online publications or academic books used in the study. Doing so will give the researcher the opportunity to give credit to people who deserves it. To avoid coming up with wrong information, all information presented in the proposed research study should mainly come from peer-reviewed journals. Likewise, the use of logical reasoning could also help in coming up with useful and valid information concerning the link between zinc and cancer. VIII. Timeline of the Research Study The proposed timeline or time table presented below shows the expected date of completion in each of the identified tasks:   February March Tasks 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Search for Topic                           Draft the Research Proposal                         Introduction           Thesis Statement         Goal Statement         Come Up with Research Questions         Literature Review             Proposed Research Method         Research Ethics                           Total Number of Words: 1,539 References American Cancer Society. "Global Cancer: Facts & Figures. 3rd Edition." 2015. Web. 23 February 2015 . Brown, Kelli McCormack, David Q. Thomas and Jerome Edward Kotecki. Physical Activity and Health: An Interactive Approach. London: Jones and Bartlett Publishers International, 2002. Print. Card, Noel A. Applied Meta-analysis for Social Science Research. New York: The Guilford Press, 2012. Print. CDC. "U.S. Cancer Statistics: An Interactive Atlas." 2015b. Web. 23 February 2015 . —. "United States Cancer Statistics (USCS)." 2015a. Web. 23 February 2015 . Ho, Emily, C. Courtemanche and B.N. Ames. "Zinc deficiency induces oxidative DNA damage and increases p53 expression in human lung fibroblasts." Journal of Nutrition. 133.8(2003): 2543-2548. Ho, Emily. "Zinc deficiency, DNA damage and cancer risk." Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. 15.10(2004): 572-578. Kamberelis, G. and G. Dimitriadis. Focus Groups: From Structured Interviews to Collective Conversations. Oxon, OX: Routledge. p. 3, 2013. Print. Leitzmann, Michael F., et al. "Zinc Supplement Use and Risk of Prostate Cancer." Journal of National Cancer Institute. 25.13(2003): 1003-1107. Poulsen, H.E. "Oxidative DNA modifications." Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology. 57.Suppl 1(2005): 161-169. Song, Y., et al. "Zinc deficiency affects DNA damage, oxidative stress, antioxidant defenses, and DNA repair in rats." Journal of Nutrition. 139.9(2009): 1626-1631. Statistics Solutions. "Research Concept Paper." 2015. Web. 23 February 2015 . Valko, M., et al. "Free radicals, metals and antioxidants in oxidative stress-induced cancer." Chemico-Biological Interactions. 160.1(2006): 1-40. Van Rys, J., V. Meyer and P. Sebranek. The Research Writer. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. p. xiv, 2012. Print. Yan, Michelle, Song, Yang, Wong, Carmen P., Karin Hardin and Emily Ho. "Zinc Deficiency Alters DNA Damage Response Genes in Normal Human Prostate Epithelial Cells." Journal of Nutrition. 138.4(2008): 667-673. Read More