RESP 2300 - Expository Essay (Research Paper): Assignment Information

Instruction
Students will investigate a newer type of (respiratory) therapy (therapy = modes of ventilation, medications, therapeutics, equipment used, etc…) and will use evidence-based research to develop a point of view about this newer therapy (do you think it is better in relation to the current or older therapy) in a clear and concise manner. (Some students have determined there is no difference between them). Students will accomplish this by preparing an expository essay. This will require students to research current therapeutic methods and the newer therapy and compare methods and outcomes to determine which one they believe is better and why. Your audience (for this paper) is current respiratory therapists. They don’t care about mundane information on how something works (unless it is brand new); they want to know what’s better by looking at data/numbers and information related to that.

You must provide evidence in your paper about what you are discussing and why you believe something. This means incorporating data into your paper and presenting your data to validate your point of view as well as presenting some outcomes of the research papers and comparing them.  

Journal Articles
A minimum of four (4) peer reviewed journal articles must be selected and all four journal articles must be used when writing the essay. Students must follow these guidelines when selecting articles.  

1. Four articles must be from peer reviewed journals. (You can use more articles, and articles from nonpeer reviewed sources, but 4 must be from peer reviewed journals.)  

2. A minimum of two (2) peer reviewed articles must be related to the newer type of therapy/mechanical ventilation/equipment/protocol/etc… within the last 10 years.