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6 views4 pagesResearch Study Examples and Analysis
The document presents solved exercises related to the design of research studies, focusing on identifying response and explanatory variables, determining the nature of studies (observational vs. experimental), and discussing sampling methods. It includes examples analyzing smoking habits by gender, the effect of alcohol on reaction times, the effectiveness of safety helmets for cyclists, and the impact of tea consumption on heart attack risk. Each example provides detailed responses to specific questions about the study design and methodology.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
6 views4 pagesResearch Study Examples and Analysis
The document presents solved exercises related to the design of research studies, focusing on identifying response and explanatory variables, determining the nature of studies (observational vs. experimental), and discussing sampling methods. It includes examples analyzing smoking habits by gender, the effect of alcohol on reaction times, the effectiveness of safety helmets for cyclists, and the impact of tea consumption on heart attack risk. Each example provides detailed responses to specific questions about the study design and methodology.
Translated by
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© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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SOLVED EXERCISES.
DESIGN OF RESEARCH.
Example 1:
A study is being conducted in Juneau, Alaska to determine whether the
The habit of smoking is different between the two sexes. It is taken as a
simple random sample of size 100 from a population of
adult men. A simple random sample of size is taken.
120 of a population of women. It is found that the proportion
the proportion of male smokers in the sample is 0.40
women who smoke is 0.55.
a. What is the response variable?
Response:
Variable respuesta (Y): es el hábito de fumar (FUMA/NO FUMA).
b. What is the explanatory variable?
Respuesta:
Variable explicatoria (X): es el sexo de la persona (Hombre/Mujer).
c. Is this an observational or experimental study?
Response:
Este es un estudioobservacional, ya que sólo se le pregunta a las
people by their gender and smoking habit. There is no treatment.
imposed by the researcher.
d. Is this a prospective or retrospective study? Justify.
Response:
It is a prospective study, as it begins by selecting a sample.
random sample of men and a sample of women that is the variable
explanatory. And then the proportion of smokers that is inquired about.
the response variable.
e. Say which sampling method was used to obtain the
sample. Justify.
Response:
The description of the study:
A simple random sample of size 100 is taken from a
population of adult men. A random sample is taken
simple of size 120 of a population of women.” Corresponds
a stratified random sampling by gender.
First, they are divided into two strata, men and women, and then they
take simple random samples from each stratum.
That defines stratified random sampling by sex.
Example 2:
To study the effect of alcohol on reaction time to a
stimulus, 60 subjects are randomly distributed into two groups
equal. The subjects of a group consume an amount of alcohol
specific, and the subjects of the other group consume a drink not
alcoholic. Reaction times are measured in seconds for
all the subjects before and after the drink.
a. What is the response variable?
Answer:
The response variable is: the reaction time to a stimulus in
seconds.
b. What is the explanatory variable?
Respuesta:
The explanatory variable is: the group or treatment (with alcohol/without
alcohol).
c. Is this an observational or experimental study?
Justify.
Answer:
This is an experimental study because the researcher
actively imposes a treatment on the subjects (to drink a beverage
alcoholic for one group and non-alcoholic for the other.
d. Is this a prospective or retrospective study? Justify.
Respuesta:
Being an experimental study is by definition a study
prospective. That is to say, the researchers selected the sample according to
the explanatory variable (treatment) and investigated the variable
response (reaction time). An experimental study cannot
to be retrospective.
Example 3:
Consider the following 2x2 table, which contains the results of
a study that analyzes the effectiveness of safety helmets
for cyclists, to prevent head injuries in case of
accidents (Thompson R, Rivara F, Thompson D. 1989 “A case-
control study of the effectiveness of bicycle safety helmets
New England Journal of Medicine, 320: 1361-1367.
Use of helmet
Head injury Yes No Total
Yes 17 218 235
No 130 428 558
Total 147 646 793
a. Identify the explanatory and response variables.
Response:
The explanatory variable (X) is the use of a helmet (yes/no).
The response variable (Y) is the head injury (yes/no).
b. Explain how they should have selected the sample
researchers for this study to be observational
prospective and how they should have selected the sample
the researchers for this study to be observational
retrospective.
Respuesta:
In order for this study to be prospective, the researcher should
having first selected the explanatory variable, that is,
seleccionar a147ciclistas que usan casco y a646ciclistas que no
wear a helmet and find out the percentage of head injuries in
each group.
Para que este estudio fueraretrospectivo, el investigador debería
select first a235 cyclists with head injuries and to
558 cyclists without head injuries and to these two groups.
find out what percentage was wearing a helmet in the accident.
Example 4:
An article published in the newspaper Publimetro on April 26th.
2002 describes that tea reduces the risk of suffering heart attacks.
A Dutch study indicates that regular drinkers of this
infusions protect against heart attacks.
People who drink tea regularly might have a risk
substantially lower risk of a heart attack than those who do not
they said yesterday Dutch researchers.
The scientists at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam and others
Dutch institutions examined the long-term impact of
tea consumption in the incidence of myocardial infarctions in a group
of elderly Dutch men and women.
4807 people participated in the study conducted on adults
Dutch people over 55 years old. They were followed up.
from 1990 to 1997 to assess the incidence of the disease
chronicle.
In the most recent edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
the researchers said that their study showed that people
they are regular tea drinkers (more than 375 ml daily)
reduce the risk of heart attack by half compared to
non-consumers and the risk of it being a deadly attack decreases to
less than one third compared to those who do not take it.
a. What is the response variable?
Respuesta:
La variable de respuesta (Y): infarto al miocardio (si/no).
b. What is the explanatory variable?
Answer:
La variable explicatoria (X): bebedor de té (si/no).
c. Is this an observational or experimental study?
Justify. If the study is observational, is it prospective or
retrospective?
Response:
It corresponds to an observational study since the
the researcher is not applying any treatment to the people.
The study is prospective.
d. Mention a possible confounding variable. Justify.
Response:
A possible confounding variable could be the quality of life of the
person, since it affects the habit of drinking tea and also
influence the possibility of a heart attack.