After reading the introduction to the article, broadly speaking:
What is the health topic of focus in this particular research article? (Note, this is NOT the same as a research objective or research question)
The study by Dangi and Bhise (2017) is sought to discuss Respiratory Illnesses among Cotton mill employees.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
In your own words, summarize the rationale that the author(s) provide for needing to address this health issue (i.e., why does this health issue need to be studied?).
The rationale behind the study is that cotton mill factories generate a lot of dust which has an effect on the workers. Moreover, the studies that have investigated both severe and lasting exposure to cotton dust never mention the use of personal protecting gear by cotton mill workers.
Describe one objective, research question or hypothesis from the study, in your own words.
This aim of the research was to study the outcome of cotton dust exposure on pulmonic function and respiratory symptom.
The following questions focus on the study sample.
Who is the target population? Be sure to describe any unique characteristics of the target population (e.g., rural, disabled, low-income, etc).
The target population for the study is the cotton factory workforces, who are low-income earners, as well as the cotton mill factory management who mainly comprise of high-income earners.
Who does the study sample actually consist of? Be sure to describe how the sample was collected (e.g., a quota sample) and any other unique characteristics of the sample that was recruited.
The sample for this study comprised of 100 male mill factory workers. The study used another 100 male participants, of same age and gender and inhabiting a residential place, as a control group. The participants had no history of environmental or occupational exposure. The sample population was aged between 20 t0 50 and worked for 8h/day for 6 days a week. A questionnaire was used to find out about the respiratory signs among the workers.
What was the total sample size for the participants recruited into the study?
The total size of the sample was 200 participants.
To what degree is the study’s sample representative of the target population? Justify your answer.
The study sample represented the target population to directly since they were all made up of factory workers.
Using the article’s Results section, find one example of a descriptive statistic that was presented and answer the set of questions below about this descriptive statistic.
List the descriptive statistic you chose.
The descriptive statistic that I would use is the mean
What variable was being measured?
The variable measured was Forced expiratory volume (FEV) and forced vital capacity (FVC).
Discuss how that variable was measured?
The variable measured was Forced expiratory volume (FEV) and forced vital capacity (FVC) which were measured by spirometry
What was the level of measurement for that variable? Explain why it fits under this level of measurement.
The level of measurement was ratio scale level of measurement. It is fit because it is able to show correlation.
Given the level of measurement for the variable, why was that descriptive statistic used? Was it the appropriate descriptive statistic to use for this variable? Explain why or why not. If not, explain what a more appropriate descriptive statistic would have been.
The use of the mean is useful in giving a measure of the central tendency. It is also easy to convert the FEV1/FVC ratio as a mean during an interval which is delimited by the specific fractions remain of FVC.
Find the result of one hypothesis test (inferential analysis) from the article and then answer the set of questions below about this inferential analysis.
List the hypothesis test result that you chose.
The p in the test gives the marginal significance within a statistical hypothesis representing the probability of occurrence of the hypothesis. The p-value was mostly obtained in comparison to the control. Chest tightness, cough and breathlessness among cotton mill workers averaged p<0.001 which is statistically important since for this particular study when p>0.05 the statistic is less significant.
First, provide the research question for the hypothesis that was tested, using your own words.
The research question being tested is whether there exists a relationship between exposure to cotton mill dust and respiratory infection.
List the test statistic and the p -value for the result from the hypothesis test stated in 4a.
The p-value was mostly obtained in comparison to the control. Chest tightness, cough and breathlessness among cotton mill workers averaged p<0.001 which is statistically important since for this particular study when p>0.05 the statistic is less significant.
Describe if the results are statistically significant or not, and how you arrived at that conclusion.
The Chi-square test was statistically important, p<0.0001, and shows that spirometry abnormality was more widespread in asymptomatic workers. What does the number for the p -value tell us, aside from providing a cut point for concluding statistical significance?
In everyday language, what does this result of the analysis tell us about the variables being tested? That is, explain the results for someone with no background in statistics.
The p-value also shows how the effect of the cotton dust compare between those exposed and those not exposed. The results show that as the duration of exposure increased, spirometry abnormality increased. Put differently, the likelihood of developing breathlessness, cough and chest tightness increased with continued exposure.
Did the authors provide an effect size (i.e., real world significance value) for that result?
Yes
If yes, list it, and explain what the effect size tells you about that result (i.e. discuss the magnitude and clinical significance expressed by the effect size). Your response must include the variables being tested.
The authors gave a real-world significance value for the result noting that in the 100 participant sample, 65 of reported to having cough, 30 complained of chest tightness and 85 complained of breathlessness.
A student researcher wanted to further explore the data from this article and posed the following research question : Is age related to peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR)? Answer the following questions about this new research question.
Given the levels of measurement for the IV and DV you selected, which hypothesis test (inferential statistical analysis) would be most appropriate to answer the research question? Explain why this is the appropriate statistical test.
Null Hypothesis test: age is related to PEFR irrespective of occupation
Alternative hypothesis: PEFR varies with activity/occupation hence not related to age.
Based on the statistical analysis you selected in 5a, provide an example of how the results of that test should be reported, using mock numbers. Your write-up must include all relevant values, should be stated using correct statistical terms and notation, and be formatted according to statistical reporting standards. (Reminder: For this question, you are not running any analyses)
The study also examined the age factors and found that there is a positive association between age and length of exposure. The study found the mean age of the workers was 38.56±8.57 with a mean duration of exposure being 8.85±0.85. The p-value stood at p>0.0001 indicating that the likelihood of developing respiratory illnesses was still high low irrespective of age. The peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) was low among cotton mill workers at 8.43 and control subjects was 9.83. This shows that PEFR is not fully related to age. The hypothesis test the would best answer the question is whether PEFR varied across different ages of cotton mill workers at a constant time of exposure. The test would be appropriate as both are exposed to external factors that affect their respiration hence age would be the dependent variable.
References
Dangi, B., & Bhise, A. (2017). Cotton dust exposure: Analysis of pulmonary function and respiratory symptoms. Lung India , 34 (2), 144. doi:10.4103/0970-2113.201319
