Reflection

The annotated bibliography assignment was one that greatly enhanced my ability to “practice using various library sources, online data bases, and the Internet to locate sources appropriate to your writing projects.” In order to successfully complete this assignment, I was required to find a topic that had an extensive amount of research and ensure that it was specific enough. I originally searched for PTSD treatment articles, but then made it more specific by focusing on service dogs as treatment. I also succeeded in addressing the last course learning outcome, “ strengthen your source use practices ( including evaluating, integrating, quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, synthesizing, analyzing, and citing sources.) I evaluated each article and decided how it was to be used in the literature review. I also had to summarize each article and analyze how reliable the authors were.

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Notes 

• alphabetical order
• title is specific
• use name year citation  no more than 10 names then use et al
• summary
  • do not introduce
  • what topic covered
  • research question
  • main argument or point
  • evidence
  • compare methods
  • conclusion
  • don’t quote
• evaluation
  • reliability
  • why reliable
  • credentials
    • university or research institute or degrees
  • is it biased
  • sentence or two on how it will be used in literature review
    • interviews are small sample size but better data

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Final Draft

Kloep ML, Hunter RH, Kertz SJ. 2017 Mar 13. Examining the effects of a novel training program and use of psychiatric service dogs for military-related PTSD and associated symptoms. Am J Orthopsychiat. [Internet]. [cited 2019 Apr 22]; 87:425–433. Available at https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/ort0000254
(Kloep et al. 2017
This study focused on how the use of service dogs affected military-related PTSD and various symptoms through a three-week long program. The researchers questioned whether or not service dogs were a useful treatment for PTSD and they argue that service dogs can be a beneficial form of treatment, as it reduced the amount of PTSD related symptoms. The researchers placed the military veterans into two separate groups and each participant self-reported their symptoms at three different times. These times were 1 month before training, at arrival, and 6 months after completion. The results supported their hypothesis and they came to the conclusion that service dogs, along with trauma resilience training programs, are a useful treatment.
The data is reliable because it was done over a long period of time, making the digression of the PTSD related symptoms seem more realistic. There are certain limitations due to the fact that the data was self-reported, therefore there may be some bias within the data collected. However, self-reporting allows for the data to be more personal. The authors are reliable as Hunter has done multiple research studies based on various forms of mental illnesses, therefore has extensive knowledge in the mental illness field. I will use this article to show how the small and personal sample size shows how service dogs drastically reduce the PTSD effects over a duration of time.

Ohaire ME, Rodriguez KE. 2018 Feb. Preliminary efficacy of service dogs as a complementary treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder in military members and veterans. J Consult Clin Psych. [Internet]. [cited 2019 Apr 22]; 86:179–188. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000267
(Ohaire et al. 2018)
This study wanted to focus on how effective the use of service dogs is in reducing PTSD symptoms due to the lack of data. The researchers were aware of how the use of service dogs to treat PTSD was increasing and wanted to tests whether or not it is actually effective. A trial was done comparing symptoms of military veterans who served during 9/11 with and without service dogs. Both groups still received usual care. Their PTSD-related symptoms were tested for at five different time points. These time points were during the application process, during the waitlist period, prior to receiving the dog, when the dog is received, and 3 weeks after the dog is in the home. Professionals and the researchers asked the participants a series of questions to determine the changed in PTSD related symptoms. Despite the decrease in PTSD-related symptoms, there were not enough to meet the national guidelines.
The articles are not completely reliable as only one author has completed previous research involving service dogs or military members, while the other has no previous research. This may provide some bias as one researcher is more knowledgeable about the topic than the others. There are certain limitations as this was not done over a long period of time. This will be used to compare the difference between interviewing techniques and self-reporting, as well as to show the reliability as the researchers used national numbers to test whether or not the decrease in symptoms was enough. This will also be used to show how it is important to tests for PTSD related symptoms after a significant amount of time has passed because 3 weeks is not as sufficient as 6 months in regards to testing for improvement in symptoms.

Yarborough BJH, Owen-Smith AA, Stumbo SP, Yarborough MT, Perrin NA, Green CA. 2017. An Observational Study of Service Dogs for Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Psychiat Serv. [Internet]. [cited 2019 Apr 22]; 68:730–734. Available at https://doi-org.ccny proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/10.1176/appi.ps.201500383
(Yarborough et al. 2017)
This study researched what exactly was expected from the service dogs, how the service dogs provided assistance, and whether or not it was effective in reducing PTSD related symptoms. Questionnaires were distributed among 77 military veterans who were either waiting to receive a service dog or had a follow-up after receiving a service dog. The questionnaires were received almost 3 months after receiving the dog, therefore allowing valuable time for there to be a significant change in their symptoms. Overall, the researchers found that service digs assisted the veterans with nudging or licking to prevent any sort of anxiety attack, therefore supporting their hypothesis that service dogs are useful.
This study is reliable as there is a wide range of military veterans and there was also data collected over a significant amount of time. The data was also self-reported which may contain some bias, however, may also provide more insight. The authors are reliable as they have previously completed research projects and have written various research papers on the topics of PTSD or mental illnesses stemming from military-related traumas. This article will be used to show how studies done over a duration have time have more reliable data and how self-reporting affects the data and prevents bias.

Yarborough BJH, Stumbo SP, Yarborough MT, Owen-Smith A, Green CA. 2018 Jun. Benefits and challenges of using service dogs for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychiatri Rehabil. [Internet]. [cited 2019 Apr 22]; 41:118–124. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/prj0000294
(Yarborough et al. 2018)
The focus of this study was to determine the benefits of using service dogs as a way to treat PTSD or PTSD related symptoms for military veterans. The researchers conducted very personal interviews and observed training sessions, allowing them to get one on one interactions with the veterans so they can see the progress. The symptoms were not self-reported as in other studies, which may cause some bias on behalf of the researchers. They came to the conclusion that service dogs are an effective form of treatment for military veterans who suffer from PTSD or PTSD related symptoms, however, there is still more research that needs to be done in this area.
The study is reliable because the researchers are experienced and have extensive knowledge in this form of research because they have previously done research related to PTSD or other mental illnesses related to military trauma. The data may contain some bias because it was not self-reported. The duration in which this study took place was not specified, which may be a limitation. This will be used in my paper to show the difference between self-reported and the researcher collected data. This will also show how a small sample size may be beneficial if the data being collected is very personal, as in this study.

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