***EVERYTHING NEEDED FOR THIS ASSIGNMENTS HAVE BEEN PROVIDED***
Evidence-based practice information can be published in a variety of sources. In module 2, we explored a peer-reviewed journal article about a cohort study. Additionally, we explored sources that included background information from your local health service provider (community health needs assessment) and our textbook. In this discussion, we will explore background information on a study. However, this study appears on a government website, in this case, the government agency will be the author. Although the researchers published their own research in scholarly journals, we will only use the government website in Step 2 for this discussion.
As part of this discussion, you will evaluate your second research study for our class. This will allow you to move from evaluating a study using the questions in Box 17-1 to a deeper analysis of how a study’s design, structure, and setup can influence its results. Remember to include specific examples from the study to support your statements.
Surveys are prevalent and appear in primitive forms on social media sites (e.g. Facebook) to very lengthy surveys such as the U.S. Census survey every decade. Some of you may be familiar with the U.S. Radiologic Technologist (USRT) Survey. The link in Step 2 below takes you to the website.
Step 1: Review the following terms in our textbook:
cohort (review p. 81 & the glossary, p. 252)
survey (p. 92)
qualitative & quantitative studies (Table 8.1 on p. 113 & this online summary (https://libguides.macalester.edu/c.php?g=527786&p=3608639)
response rate (p. 94)
respondent bias (Table 7.2 and 7.3 on pp. 92-3)
investigator bias (Table 7.2, 7.3, 7.6 on pp. 92-3; 98)
Step 2: Review the U.S. Radiologic Technologists Study (https://dceg.cancer.gov/research/who-we-study/cohorts/us-radiologic-technologists) website and the historical archive of the website (https://web.archive.org/web/20210318003102/https://radtechstudy.nci.nih.gov/questionnaires.html) features specific questions asked.
On the archive of the website, you can navigate through the study by using the left navigation options on the website. Review the options under “Detailed Study Descriiption”, “Archive”, or any additional pages you might need to find information for this discussion.
Step 3: In your discussion, address the following questions (note the word count change for the initial discussion). Remember to provide specific data/amounts/information to address each question. Particularly, make sure you have reviewed the USRT’s survey methodology and survey instruments, to give specific examples from the USRT website of potential problems for the study in these three areas: response rates, respondent bias, and investigator bias.
Address these questions:
What was the purpose of the study? (the answer should also mention the specific group of people in the study.)
Is this a cohort and/or “true” cohort study? Explain your reasoning with specific information (refer to your textbook.)
Why do you think the study was designed as a survey? (Explain your reasoning with specific information; refer to p. 92 of the textbook.)
Is this a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed research project? ( Explain your reasoning with specific information.)
What was the response rate? Reflect on changes. (The reader needs to know the participant amount to have context for the participant rate percent.)
Was there respondent bias? (Explain your reasoning with specific information.)
Was there investigator bias? (Explain your reasoning with specific information.)
Step 4: Include the website reference citation and in-text citations in your initial discussion. (For APA 7 formatting, review Webpage example 2Links to an external site.; note the introduction of an abbreviation in the in-text citation and similarities with Report by a Government Agency). If including information from the archive website, remember you will have 2 citations with different URLs and dates of publication.
The original post is a minimum of 300 words, but you can write more than that.
BOOK USED: Introduction to Research and Medical Literature for Health Professionals. (2019). United States: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
