Source 2

Source Document Analysis Worksheet

Bhardwaj, VK, Veeresha KL, Sharma, KR				26 November 2011
Author’s name (last, first)				Publication date
Prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment needs among 16 and 17 year-old school-going children in Shimla city, Himachal Pradesh
Title
Indian Journal of Dental Research		Shimla City, Himachal Pradesh, Indian Journal of Dental Research
Book series OR Journal		Location and publisher OR volume, issue, pages

1. What is the source’s stated purpose (the argument or thesis)?

The purpose of this research paper is to determine the prevalence of malocclusion (irregularity of the teeth or a molar relationship of the dental arches beyond the accepted range of normal) and orthodontic treatment needs among 16 and 17 year old school- going children in Shimla city, Himachal Pradesh. The other purpose is determining what steps should be taken to help prevent or care for malocclusion in India. It will help determine the demand for orthodontists and in accessing the resources required for such services. It can also lead to government intervention for oral care. They conducted the survey on children between the ages of 16 and 17 because it is the age that most of the malocclusion can be corrected since most of the growth and maturation of the jaws gets completed around this time.

2. What evidence does the author provide to support his or her main argument? How is the author attempting to logically prove his or her thesis and how does this affect the organization of the document?

The authors provide us with data that was gathered through their own efforts and research. They had a question in mind and wanted to determine its significance. Their major findings revealed that 20.28% of the male and 24.52% of the female students were affected with malocclusion. This results in 79.58% of the students having no abnormality or minor malocclusion and 20.42% of the children having malocclusion that required treatment.

3. Who is the audience? What does the author assume the audience already knows about the topic?

The audience involves any orthodontist interested in opening a practice in India. This is also beneficial to the government or support groups that are interested in providing oral care.

4. Describe the author’s methods (i.e. how does the author know what he or she knows)?  In your opinion were they appropriate why or why not?

The methods that the authors’ used were appropriate. They observed the mouths of school going students in the city they were interested in and used a very common and known database for comparison. They followed the guidelines established by the DAI to get consistent results. The only problem is that I don’t know what percentage of the population attends the school system. If a large population does not attend the schools, then a large population is being left out of the research and there could potentially be a higher percentage of children with malocclusion.

5. To what other sources (theorist, researchers, artists) does the author refer? Explain the specific ideas the author draws upon from these other sources to support his or her own argument (the theoretical framework).

Since this is the first study like this within that city there is not much reference to similar research. However, the authors do reference other researchers from that have performed similar studies in other parts of the world. Some locations have had higher percentages of malocclusion, while other countries have had lower percentages. It was found that the school children in this city had a lower percentage of malocclusion than children in the US.

6. What are the connections between this source and your project? How useful or applicable is this source’s approach to your own project? How is yours new and different? 

This source is a great reference for the orthodontic condition and perception in India. It shows that 1/5 school going children suffer from malocclusion. It also demonstrates the availability of oral care within the region. Not only does there seem to be a lack in ability to obtain dental care, but there also doesn’t seem to be as much of a want for it. This is a great resource for my project because I will mainly be involved with asking the community questions about their oral condition since I cannot open and observe their mouth. I will be able to take this data and know that around 1/5 of Indian school going children probably have malocclusion. This will be helpful when I want to understand results from my own research.