Science Fair Proposal* Revised

1. What is your topic?
My topic is Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

2.What is the driving problem behind your experiment and the quote by an expert to support the problem? (Expert citation must be in MLA format.)
The driving force behind my experiment is that through the research that I have collected, I have noticed that based on race you are more susceptible to a type of head and neck cancer than your other counterparts. For example, the book Cancer in Minorities by Lovell A. Jones, illustrates the that the black race is more susceptible to a  poorer prognosis for head and neck cancers then whites (non-Hispanic) or Hispanics. "Since 1950, the age-adjusted mortality rate per 100.000 population for buccal cavity and pharyngeal cancers has decreased from 6.6 to 4.7 for white males while increasing from 4.9 to 10.2 for black males." Contributing factors that led to a poor prognosis are tobacco usage, alcohol consumption,  and low socioeconomic status. "The study population included 103 cancer patients (38 women and 65 men), and 91 controls (39 women and 52 men). Individuals living in the most deprived areas (OR, 4.66; 95% CI, 1.79– 12.18) and those who were unemployed (OR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.21– 4.26) had a significantly higher risk of cancer than people who had high levels of educational attainment (OR, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.05–0.58)."   Evidence-Based Dentistry 11, 57-58 (2010) | doi:10.1038/sj.ebd.6400726

3.What is your hypothesis? (Must be in If-Then form.)

• If a minority race (black, Hispanic, Asian, etc) has a higher prevalence of smoking and alcohol usage, then they are most likely to develop head and neck cancer.
• If a patient has a low socioeconomic status and is a minority race, then they are most likely to die from head and neck cancer head and neck cancer.*

* chosen hypothesis

4.Write a paragraph summary of how you will perform the experiment. Include the tools you plan on using.

I will perform the experiment by studying research and data that I get from various legitimate sites. For example, one piece of research that I found was by a journal titled "Evidence-based Dentistry", which examined the socioeconomic status of  103 patients who had malignant cancers of the oral cavity, including the oropharynx, hypopharynx, or the larynx.  I will also be going to Kaiser Permanente to ask the doctors at the Head and Neck Surgery Department if they have any information about the topic at hand. The tools that I will be using are graphs and raw data that I collect from the various websites that I will be examining. I will also call the Cancer Information Service to see if they can supply me with data. I will be using Excel or statistical tools (proportional hazards model) so I can make my data about the correlation of head and neck cancer and socioeconomic status.

5. Select one of the project categories  for your experiment:
Animal Biology & Physiology

Working EQ and Possible Answers

(1) What was the working EQ you used during your presentation?

• The working essential question that I used for my presentation was: "What do you have to know to be a successful  ENT  doctor."

(2) Did you decide to revise your working EQ after your presentation? If so, write your revised EQ here.  If not simple write "I am not going to revise my EQ at this time".

• I am not going to revise my EQ at this time.

(3) What are possible answers to your current working EQ?

• Some possible answers to my working EQ is that in order to be "successful" you need to be as good as your team. When doing my mentorship and independent component, I see that the doctors and nurses work extremely close with one another to provide the patient with the best care possible. Another possible answer would be that, although this might sound cliche, you have to have passion for what you do daily. Being an otolaryngologist encompasses the knowledge and the passion for head and neck anatomy, but if you didn't have that passion, then why spend 3-4 years of your life dedicated to a particular interest, when you could be focusing on another field, such as Pediatrics, or something that really catches your attention. Also, a possible answer would be in order to be a successful ENT doctor, you would need to know the various duties that your job entitles you to do.