Introduction of Topic

Consumption of caffeine among students in colleges and universities has significantly become a common trend in contemporary society. Caffeine is a natural stimulant that influences the function of the central nervous system enabling consumers to be more psychoactive. many controversies have frequently been raised on the effect of caffeine on cognitive advancement and performance. For instance, while some researches argue that consumption of caffeine adamantly helps in enhancing learning, retention and alertness hence should be encouraged especially during the period of examination, on the contrary, other extreme researchers ascertain that caffeine as a stimulant only increases the metabolic reactions in the body such as raising the blood pressure and increases alertness. According to Nutrition Journal of 2007, it ascertained that more than 51% of students resort to caffeine and caffeinated drinks to aid them in preparation for tests. Therefore, the investigation aims to evaluate if caffeine truly affects students test score to help in solving the adamant contradiction that has massively dominated the contemporary academic society. The study is important as it aims at availing the contradictions while eradicating the fallacies associated with caffeine.

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Review of Previous Findings on Topic

Many scholars and clinical officers have often had a divergent opinion in the relation between caffeine and students' performance. Caffeine and caffeinated substances have continued gaming massive popularity among studies across America. Caffeine has proved to be extremely effective in improving performance in both sophisticated and simple attention tasks as it massively affects attention and executive control networks. While it is popularly associated and attributed to acute perceivable profits of cognitive and psychomotor performance. According to the American Psychological Association, caffeine has numerous behavioral and psychological effects on consumers due to its antagonization of the endogenous adenosine actions at the adenosine A1 and A2a. For instance, in spite of increasing wakefulness among students enabling them to study for their examination, caffeine also causes tremors like reducing hand steadiness and increases the blood pressure after consumption and improves physical performance like increasing speed when tapping feet.

Moreover, in spite of increasing blood pressure and improving physical activities, arguments have been made that caffeine improves students' retention. However, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention report, caffeine significantly improves the reaction timeframe mental performance and endurance in human subjects. With the composition of adenosine that has adamantly been implicated as a primary contributor to physiological effects linked with caffeine. It also improved the long and short term memory with the scopolamine-induced memory. According to John Hopkin University, caffeine has a large impact on improving and enduring high test score among college students that regularly consume caffeine-induced beverages. With its ability to improves memory and promote wakefulness, caffeine immensely contributes to high test scores among college students as it allows students to learn comprehensively for extended hours and retain the concepts learned unlike the normal traditional methods.

Nevertheless, despite the logical and empirical evidence that caffeine substantially influences performance, many scientists have established that caffeine has no significant influence, effect or impact on human memory and test results. For instance, numerous factors including the time the tests are issued can greatly determine the test outcome whether a candidate is on caffeine or not. Caffeine has also been narrowly linked only with raising the blood pressure among the consumers. Irrespective of the proof, opposers of effects of caffeine in improving the student's test scores propel that it is illogical argument since caffeine has an insignificant impact in the retention of concepts, but such outcome is frequently determined by diverse phenomena. However, opposing argument is ineffective and insufficient unlike proposing arguments. Therefore, based on the predetermined literature, many doctors and scholars agree on the effectiveness of caffeine in boosting test scores.

Explain why Additional Research is Needed

The previous research and investigations have frequently focused on the effects of caffeine in increasing the body's metabolic reactions and the other ones. The predetermined critical analysis of prevented facts indicated high improvement when caffeine is incorporated. However, they portrayed significant weaknesses such as irrelevant and insufficient in explaining the massive adherence to the products among students in colleges. After the extensive analysis of the literature, additional investigation is needed to substantiate if truly consumption of caffeine influences or improves brain or cognitive performance among students. Thus, it will help in promoting awareness of the multidimensional impacts of caffeine.

The Current/Present Study

The study establishes the desire to explore how caffeine affects students' test score in schools. Previous studies and investigations have adamantly explored the topic. The objective of the study is to establish the effectiveness of caffeine encompassed in most caffeinated beverages consumed by many college students in school. The research strives to link the consumption of caffeine with improved test scores among students. With adamant previous research and studies, the current investigation aims at establishing a distinct platform that encourages moderation as caffeine substantially contain adverse and negative shot and long-term effects such as dehydration. Through utilizing adequate sampling, observation and questionnaires and qualitative analysis, the investigation will focus on attaining participants' reactions and outcomes when both on caffeine and when not o caffeine. Moreover, the observation would involve close evaluation of the relationship between the caffeine-dependent individuals and non-caffeine dependents; therefore, the study will be specific and measurable to ensure the correct conclusive outcome.

Participants

The investigation methodology involves random sampling of the students and college tutors and lecturers in different colleges that were spread across diverse socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, and religions. Such wide random sampling was vital to eradicate prejudice or discrimination among participants' gender was also a critical issue to be considered during the random selection. For example, the study involves 370 participants all from different colleges with age ranging from 17 to 25 years. Gender was also critically considered to ensure gender balance and comparison. Among the 370 participant females were approximately 160 students. The participants came from diverse ethnicity starting from African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and Mexicans, native white Americans and Indian Americans. Despite being a random ensuring balance between age, gender and race would substantially help in ensuring authentic and respectable outcome without biasness.

Materials

The investigation aimed at attaining the students' opinion of the effectiveness of caffeine in promoting good scores during tests. Hence, all the participants were presented with research materials like the premade and predetermined questionnaires at the beginning of the semester. Further, well-crafted semi-structure interview comprising of open-ended questions were established for the participants to provide a clear picture of the diverse connotations of the effects of caffeine on a test score. For instance, some of the questions included "Have you ever taken caffeine or caffeinated beverage before sitting for a test?" "Did consuming caffeine help you improve your test scores?" "Do you take caffeine frequently in college?" such open-ended interview questions provide a conducive platform for understanding the connection between human cognitive development, caffeine, and psychomotor performance.

Design

The questionnaire contains 15 questions which involve the measurement of caffeine utilization among college students. The questionnaires addressed tests scores as the dependent variables of caffeine consumption which is the independent variables. Moreover, all variables to be adopted will be on a 5-point Likert scale of 1- (no/never) to 5-(always/very) during their measurement. Through utilizing the qualitative research design, it will enable the investigation to establish the correlation of the variables. Moreover, the quantitative research design was also vital at it enable the study to link the previously researched studies and the current investigations through providing supportive numerical facts and evidence.

Procedure

The research study requires that the students, tutors, and lecturers in different colleges that were randomly selected from a diverse range of phenomena like education, social and economic status, race gender and ethnicity. Utilizing the non-probabilistic sampling due to the aims of attaining a wide range of information and certainties of the effects of caffeine on test scores. Further, attaining ethical and clinical approval and personal consent to subjects the participants under the critical clinical observation of the effects of caffeine in only raising metabolic reactions and increase of blood pressure. The data collected from the participants for a period of 3 weeks. Additionally, the first survey will conduct in the first week and the second after 2 weeks to ensure conformity of the findings. The time needed will vary depending on the participant, but I expect to use around 30 minutes for each interview.