This lecture online will help you understand and learn the process of analysing a question or a concept.

Approximate time: 5 minutes

After you have watched the video consider the following question:

What is analysis?

When writing an essay, analysis involves looking at the main ideas you want to include in your essay and seeing if/how some of those ideas are 'connected'. Example one below explains the concept of analysis.

Example

Question
Below is a list of factors related to the diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure. Group together the items on the list that are 'connected' and then develop categories (headings) to describe the lists you have developed.

  • Educate patient about high blood pressure
  • Confirmation of high blood pressure
  • Evaluation of newly diagnosed patient re their medical history
  • Weight reduction
  • Lifestyle factors
  • Increase physical activity
  • Evaluation of newly diagnosed patient re their medical history
  • Classification of high blood pressure
  • Address patients concerns and questions
  • Address barriers to treatment e.g. lifestyle
  • Reduction of sodium intake

There are numerous ways the items on the above list can be reorganised into categories. Scroll down below to view the two model examples.

 

Model one

Lifestyle modification

  • Weight reduction
  • Increase physical activity
  • Reduction of sodium intake

Diagnosis

  • Screening
  • Confirmation of high BP
  • Classification of high BP
  • Evaluation of newly diagnosed patient re their medical history

Education

  • Educate patient about high blood pressure
  • Address barriers to treatment e.g. lifestyle
  • Address patients concerns and questions

Model two

The Lifestyle Modification category is incorporated as part of the Education category.

Diagnosis

  • Screening
  • Confirmation of high BP
  • Classification of high BP
  • Evaluation of newly diagnosed patient re their medical history

Education

  • Educate patient about high blood pressure
  • Address barriers to treatment e.g. lifestyle
    • weight reduction/eating patterns
    • reduction of solium intake
    • increase physical activity
  • Address patients concerns and questions

This process of seeing the relationships between concepts and developing categories is one aspect of analysis.

Another aspectof being analytical is to think about how the categories relate to each other.

Now that the categories have been formed, you need to think about re-ordering your categories from most important to least important, or to order them in some other logical way.

Thinking about model 1 above, it would make sense to begin with Diagnosis followed by either Education or Lifestyle modification.