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Peer Review

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Institution

Course Name

Instructor Name

Date
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Peer Review
Peer Review: The Challenges of Diagnosing and Treating Syphilis in Pigmented Skin
The thesis proposal on The Challenges of Diagnosing and Treating Syphilis in Pigmented
Skin provided sufficient background information to assess and contribute to its empirical
validity, utility, and reliability. However, it did not include sufficient statistical data on the public
health outcomes of patients with darker skin tones. There was no quantification of the public
health outcomes in terms of recovery, diagnosis, and treatment of syphilis among different
populations. While it did provide descriptions of the disparities in healthcare access and
outcomes, quantitative data could have helped in providing a clearer indication of the scale and
scope of the problem.
Despite the lack of sufficient statistical data on syphilis differences between different
racial or ethnic groups, the significance was compelling enough to justify the need for training,
education, or research. The syphilis problem among people with darker skin tones has been
prevalent in developed countries with a diverse racial and ethnic population. The proposal thesis
did not include a research question, but it provided the purpose and aim of the proposed study.
However, it could have distinguished between primary and secondary syphilis and their differing
impact on the diagnosis and treatment of pigmented individuals. According to Whiting et al.
(2023), symptoms and signs of secondary syphilis can be protean or subtle and can mimic other
conditions and diseases. Therefore, the distinction between secondary and primary syphilis could
have refined the purpose and aims of the proposal.
The student peer should consider other sources of data for the literature review,
background, and significance sections to provide additional information on the scale and scope
of the problem identified. For instance, the National Library of Medicine provides recent and
peer-reviewed sources featuring statistical analysis. Other sources that could have enriched the
aforementioned sections include PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, and ScienceDirect. Quantitative
data could have improved the significance and problem-identification elements of the thesis
proposal because of its high level of reliability and validity. According to Williams (2021),
quantitative studies have strong and scientific methodological considerations that offer unbiased
statistics compared to qualitative data methods. Therefore, the peer student should have
considered scouring the suggested literature sources for updated and accurate statistical and other
quantitative data to justify the purpose.
The method selected for the proposal thesis was robust, which was the mixed-methods
approach. The approach allows researchers to acquire subjective and objective, or qualitative and
quantitative data, respectively. Hence, the researcher can acquire a fuller understanding of the
problem of the research question. Besides, the mixed-methods approach can help in synergizing
and integrating multiple data sources, thereby allowing the researcher to study complex problems
from multiple perspectives (Dawadi et al., 2021). The major addition to the methods section is
the utilization of thematic analysis for qualitative research. Thematic analysis can provide the
researcher with themes that narrow down the most pertinent problems relating to the research
problem.
Overall, the thesis proposal provided a clear definition of the problem but lacked
sufficient statistical information to quantify the scope and scale of the problem. Also, the
methodology section did not outline how the researcher would analyze qualitative data.
Therefore, the proposed amendments to the proposal included the inclusion of statistical
information in the significance, background, and literature review sections and a description of
appropriate qualitative data analysis methods the researcher will utilize.
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Peer Review: How Weight Stigma and Weight Bias Impact Individuals with Obesity in
Healthcare
In the thesis proposal, there is sufficient background and significant information to justify
training, education, or funding for the study. It included statistical information about the
prevalence and projections of obesity in the US population. The data obtained was from recent
sources, which added to the validity of the conceptualization of the research problem identified.
On the other hand, there was no statistical information on the extent of the stigma people
suffering from obesity face in the US context. Another major strength of the background
provided is the definition of key terms, which include weight bias and weight stigma. Hence, the
researcher standardized the concepts and variables involved in the study to prevent confusion
among researchers in subsequent studies but did not narrow them down and provide them in the
methods section.
The significance is compelling enough to justify the need for education, training, or
funding to address the problem of weight stigma and obesity bias. It identified a major issue in
healthcare service delivery for people suffering from obesity, which is the overt focus on body
mass index (BMI) measures in interventions rather than focusing on patient wellbeing. The
problem is a novel one since society has only recently shifted its attitudes towards the
appropriate and acceptable body weight and shape. Various studies have demonstrated the
negative impact that the recent internet-inspired wave of body positivity discourses is having on
individual health, including de-marginalization and obesity acceptance (McWhorter, 2020). In
that regard, the thesis proposal is timely and needed to reverse the negative trends the body
positivity movement has established.
A major limitation of the proposal thesis’ methods section was the lack of a clear
research question to aid in the data collection and analysis process. The researcher provided
multiple variables and concepts, including healthcare provision, weight stigma, self-esteem, body
image, and mental health problems like anxiety and depression. The multiple variables made it
difficult to understand how the researcher would conduct the study to deal with the problem
identified. As suggested in Loock et al.’s (2022) study, improving the methods section would
require narrowing down the different variables identified in the literature review to the most
relevant. Fewer variables mean that other researchers in the future can replicate the study to
determine its validity and reliability.
The proposal thesis should adopt an exploratory research design since the problem
investigated is a relatively recent phenomenon instigated primarily by the body positivity
movement. According to Olawale (2023), exploratory research is similar to the activities of an
explorer or traveler in that the researcher is free to change the approach and has the flexibility to
incorporate new information as the research process progresses. Adopting an exploratory
approach would require additional research on studies published in reputable peer-reviewed
journal sources to acquire the relevant variables and determine the ones most crucial for dealing
with the identified research problem.
The thesis proposal was sufficiently robust in the selection of research studies published
recently in reputable journal articles. It dealt with a recently emergent problem of obesity
acceptance and de-marginalization that could be negatively affecting individuals in the US. The
definition of the concepts and variables was clear and precise, providing a standardized
conceptual framework for reference by other researchers conducting future studies. However,
adopting an exploratory research design could have improved the methods section since it could
have enabled the researcher to narrow down the variables to the most relevant.
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References

Dawadi, S., Shrestha, S., & Giri, R. A. (2021). Mixed-Methods Research: A Discussion on Its
Types, Challenges, and Criticisms. Journal of Practical Studies in Education, 2(2), 25-
36.

Loock, V. S., Fleischer, J., Scheunemann, A., Froese, L., Teich, K., & Wirth, J. (2022).
Narrowing Down Dimensions Of E-Learning Readiness In Continuing Vocational
Education—Perspectives From The Adult Learner. Frontiers in Psychology, 13,
1033524.

McWhorter, K. L. (2020). Obesity Acceptance: Body Positivity and Clinical Risk

Factors. Cardiac Diseases—Novel Aspects of Cardiac Risk, Cardiorenal Pathology and
Cardiac Interventions.

Olawale, S. R., Chinagozi, O. G., & Joe, O. N. (2023). Exploratory Research Design in
Management Science: A Review of Literature on Conduct and Application. International
Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 7(4), 1384-1395.

Whiting, C., Schwartzman, G., & Khachemoune, A. (2023). Syphilis in Dermatology:

Recognition and Management. American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 24(2), 287-
297.

Williams, T. (2021). Why Is Quantitative Research Important? Grand Canyon University.

https://www.gcu.edu/blog/doctoral-journey/why-quantitative-research-important