Research Methods in Health Sciences

1. Think of 3 different variables used in health research. Describe the variables and what type of measurement scale (nominal, ordinal, interval, ration) they are and if they are measured directly or indirectly. Describe also how the measurement of that variable affects how we use it or how we think of it.

2. Read the Ritchie, Miller, &Smiciklas-Wright article and discuss the reliability and validity of the measurement tools that they used. Why did the authors feel it necessary to validate the Tanita system? What measures were taken to ensure reliability in the measurements?

3. Each of the excerpts listed in the discussion area was taken from a published research article. What you see was the complete description for how the sample was gathered. For each, determine whether or not the sampling strategy resulted in a biased sample and, if so, what could have been done to avoid having a bias. Or, whether or not having a biased sample would have a negative impact. Also, if you don’t think enough information was provided, what other information would have been helpful for the reader?