For my Position paper I have chosen to do: Question 1. Action must be taken to improve New Zealand’s immunisation rates.

The improvement of immunisation rates is a topic that interests me greatly, because even though there is so much evidence showing how effective and safe immunisation has been and still the immunisation rates are lower than optimal. Why is this? Although the position paper asks about New Zealand rates of immunisation this is, in my opinion, a worldwide problem. What is really interesting that some of the trends I have seen from the New Zealand research can be seen across the world in general.

Baseline information on New Zealand rates of immunisation at varying ages has been extracted from the Ministry of Health website. The comparison of these statistics with levels of immunisation from the World Health Organisation (WHO) gave a more comprehensive view with which I was able to use to commence a research review in the university library.

There is no substitute for a painstaking literature search in the university library.  It does get easier and faster the more I use it.  I remember back to my first assignment search - what a nightmare! I had no idea what I was doing. Thankfully, the library provided instructions which were helpful, but there is no real substitute for just getting right into the library and using it. One of the problems is the ease with which I can get side-tracked by all sorts of interesting information and it is all too easy to find oneself absorbed in material quite unrelated to the original search!  I think the first requirement for literature review is self-discipline, followed closely by determination and stick-at-ability.

This time I picked my keywords and searched. When over a 1500 headings are listed it is time to start modifying the search. I first chose only peer-reviewed and still there were 1140 results. Now it was time to start playing with the dates. For New Zealand immunisation the library has peer-reviewed information from 1904 to 2014. Even limiting the search to just a six year period yielded 496 articles. This was going to be a long job.

When researching for an assignment I outline of the points I would like to cover before starting. I have learned the error of going into the library blind and hoping beyond hope that I find something useful. Going in blind to the library wastes too much time and energy. I also often go back to the library or the internet while I am writing to check that I have the support for my points and that I am heading in the right direction.

Searching for reference material is so very time consuming. In fact, way more than I ever thought. I always imagined it was the writing that takes the time, yet I was wrong. With research it is not just the time reading the papers that is so time-consuming. Searching the data bases and finding enough material to support your arguments can be difficult, yet worth it. So often I have learnt so much relevant information which sparks new lines of enquiry. For example, why are there different levels of concern regarding immunisation within different communities in New Zealand? Perhaps due to not having children or living in New Zealand for some time, I had forgotten how much disparity still exists between social and ethnic groups in New Zealand. I always hoped these differences were getting less, yet with my initial research this is not the case and action must be taken to avoid the risks of preventable illness within these group.