Food Science
Dr Mike Hornsey
Dr Sue Reeves
• Current concern in food science – 2000
words (50%)
• Submission date 3 February
Ideas:
• Current Concerns
• Contemporary Aspects
• Controversial
Essay Topics
• Functional foods (Nutraceuticals) e.g. Probiotics, Sterols, Stanols,
Fortified products
• Superfoods
• Organic Food
• Genetically Modified Food
• Food Legislation including labelling
• Additives and E numbers
• Food preservation and storage
• Food safety
• Plants and human health
• Omega 3
• Seeds/Berries/Cereals/Soya/Cassava/Quorn etc.
• BSE/Foot and mouth/Bird flu
• Sensory analysis
• Non-nutritional ingredients in food e.g. preservatives, gelling agents,
humectants, colloidal stabilisers
What is a literature review?
• A literature review is a form of specialised
essay which summarises and reviews,
compares and contrasts the evidence
concerning a particular area of research.
According to Lie (2008) of Queen
Mary University
• A ‘good’ literature
review…..
• ….. is a synthesis of
available research
….. is a critical evaluation
….. has appropriate
breadth and depth
….. has clarity and
conciseness
….. uses rigorous and
consistent methods
• A ‘poor’ literature
review is…..
• …..an annotated
bibliography
….. confined to
description
….. narrow and shallow
….. confusing and
longwinded
….. constructed in an
arbitrary way
How do I start?
• Start by searching for literature, read and try to
analyse the papers.
• Use current journals
• Then evaluate the papers – were there things
that could be done differently, how could the
study be improved.
• Try to compare across studies - make a table if
this helps, do they have similar or conflicting
findings.
Getting started cont….
• Avoid describing one paper, then moving on to
describe the next (avoid lists)
• Which papers have the same arguments
• Which papers contradict the findings
• Try to organise the content
• Make a plan – perhaps paragraph headings
Write!
• The hardest thing is getting started. Once
you have written something it is easy to go
back and improve it.
Referencing
A reminder!
Referencing
• Use in the text
• The developed world has experienced an epidemic of
childhood obesity in recent years Reilly & Dorosty, 1999;
Strauss & Pollack, 2001), and rapid increases in obesity
prevalence have also been observed in some developing
countries (Martorell et al., 2000). The epidemic is of
great concern because of its likely clinical and public
health impact (Gregory et al., 2003), and there is
increasing recognition of the problem. According to
Dorostry (2001) at least eighteen editorials or position
statements have been published in paediatric, nutrition
and general medical journals since 1998. According to
the Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO,
2008).............
Reference List
• References not bibliography
• List in alphabetical order
• Full details e.g.
Association for the Study of Obesity (2008) Facts and
Figures. www.aso.org.uk. Accessed 13/6/09
Gregory JR, Collins DL, Davies PSW, Hughes JM &
Clarke PC (1995) National Diet and Nutrition Survey:
Children Aged 1·5 to 4·5 Years. vol. 1, Report of the
Diet and Nutrition Survey. London: H. M. Stationery
Office.
Reilly JJ & Dorosty AR (1999) Epidemic of obesity in
UK children. Lancet 354, 1874–1875
Other things to remember
• Your reference list should match those
references used within the text
• Don’t rely too heavily on one key text
• Journals preferred to books and internet
sites
For more information
• Please contact:
• Dr Sue Reeves
s.reeves@roehampton.ac.uk
• Dr Mike Hornsey
michael.hornsey@roehampton.ac.uk