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Selecting And Describing The Methodology Used
PTSD with Substance Use Disorders Female versus Male Veterans
INTRODUCTION.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder caused by frightening or distressing events. Some events that can lead to PTSD include sexual or physical assault, domestic or childhood abuse, serious illness resulting in admission in an intensive care unit, experiences such as losing a baby, and a severe accident that caused severe injuries. On the other hand, substance use disorder is a drug addiction and affects a person’s habits and brain, leading to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or medication. In particular, this paper will critique the methodology used in the research carried out about veteran women and military men. Psychology Paper
The kind of research used.
The kind of research used in the methodology was the quantitative research method. This is due to the use of archival data to conduct the research. The reason for using g the archival data is that the military veteran population should be protected. Also, the author tries to establish the cause-effect relationships among the variables and the data gotten from the archival data. Research would have been the suitable method to determine the number of persons affected by the PSTD and SUD. Getting the original data from the ground would have been the best method of obtaining data. Using the participant’s observation, and in-depth interviews with the affected would help acquire first-hand information that would neither be exaggerated (Andrews et al., 2018). The quantitative research used doesn’t suit the particular dissertation, for it involves certain populations in a specific place. With permission, one can be granted to collect the correct data in the proper manner possible.
Sample and population
The samples used were 38,656 women veterans and 785,052 male veterans. Though there was an exhaustive data collection, the sample size was too large for the data analysis, as shown by the numbers. This is because, at some point, the data may confuse the analyzer, and the results gotten would be wrong. The sample size used should have been at least medium-range, yielding a bit of reliable results. The population used in the research was the military veteran; this limited the collection of the data since this group is based in a specific place that is protected. Instead, higher learning institutions would be the best option to collect data. This is because the higher learning institutions are not restricted and can be used to collect such data (Andrews et al., 2018). This would enhance the interviewing of the infected and get their views concerning the same.
Instrumentation
The instrument used in the data collection was the archival documents. The used records would provide data that is outdated. This makes the instrument inappropriate for the data collection and presentation. The characteristic of the population is changing dramatically due to the present technology. Retrieving data from archival documents or books may enhance misleading data, leading to misleading analysis and results. The preferred instrument in the data collection would be interviews of the affected and questionnaires to collect a bit of reliable data free from bias. Collection of the data using the interviews and the questionnaires would help get the primary data from the source, reflecting on the actual characteristics of the whole population. For example, the sample of the people used represented the entire population (Pavot et al., 2018). What if, as of now, the number of people in the camp has increased? Using the data from the archival books and documents would lead to misleading data, meaning that the produced results are wrong.
Data collection and procedures
The researcher used documents and other records as part of the data collection; this would have been appropriate for studying different aspects apart from the population. The demographic trends are changing dramatically, and this would have led to misleading information. Instead, the use of open-ended surveys and interviews would be appropriate in getting the required information that is up to date. The use of open-ended interviews would provide the current trends and the required characteristics of the population, including the infection rates. This would enhance the comparing the provided data and the gotten information to give good information. For example, the data in the methodology stated that the number of veterans eligible for mental health treatment in 2010 was 1.3 million, but only 31 % of the veterans went to seek medication. Updated data would have shown an increase in the number of those with mental health treatment. Also, due to the advanced technology and the awareness created on different platforms, the percentage of veterans seeking treatment would have increased. The procedures used in the data collection do not follow the proper process; they should start by identification of the issues, identifying the set goals after placing the problem, plan an approach then collect the data (Grumet, 2018). This will make it easy to get the required and reliable data.
Data analysis
The method of data analysis used in the study is the Chi-Square test for goodness of fit. Though the technique compared men and women on acquiring the disorders, it was not clear on the difference between the two groups. To curb the problem of the difference, a t-test would have been the appropriate test to use. As per the study, both the observed and expected data were obtained from archival documents and books. This would have increased the errors gotten from the calculations; in the t-test, only one set of data would have been used, which would have minimized the possible errors. Also, according to the sample used, to avoid many mistakes, it would have been better to use a t-test instead of a Chi-Square test before goodness of fit (Grumet, 2018). This is because providing a second set of data depicting the expected data would have introduced some errors, which could have exaggerated the results.
Limitations
The study was limited to the archival documents and the other records, which provided older data to analyze the recent trends. For example, the researcher quotes that they acquired the data from the publicly available data that every citizen about the military veterans can access. The data collected recently could contradict the data from the old documents, which would have resulted in biased results. To avoid the limitations, the recent methods of collecting current data could have been deployed to ensure that there would be excellent and reliable data. The use of the observed data and the data gotten from the interviews would best cater to this limitation. The interview and the observed data would cater to the up-to-date data and depict the current trend of the infections (Pavot et al., 2018). Also, the first-hand information gotten by the interviewer would help in the innovation of new causes of the illnesses and find out their solutions.
Weaknesses of the study
The study’s main weakness was the failure to use a control group that would have been used to compare the results gotten from the analysis. The researcher would have used a control group, say a number of the veterans who are not affected by the two infections, to curb this problem. This would have given a base for comparison and deliver results based on the healthy group. The subsequent weakness of the study that was observed was the description of the population was poorly done, the data used for the analysis had much more veteran men than veteran women; this implied that in the military camp, there is a wide gap between the number of the veteran women and veteran men. The researcher would have narrowed the gap to avoid the considerable gap (Huang et al., 2020). This would have given reliable data hence obtaining good results.
Conclusion
The methodology used in the above study has some of the methodology characteristics that should be tackled to ensure full representation of the required data. These characteristics include selecting the population to be used, the techniques to be used in the data collection, a good data analysis tool, and the study’s weaknesses. All these characteristics should be considered first before the start of any study. To achieve this, the researcher should follow the given instructions thoroughly, and also, the researcher should stay within the context of the dissertation (Pavot et al., 2018). For example, the researcher would have included every data in their study, including the control group and the affected group.
References
Grumet, M. R. (2018). Supervision and situation: A methodology of self-report for teacher education. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 1(1).
http://journal.jctonline.org/index.php/jct/article/download/394/pdf
Huang, S., Sanfilippo, F., Herpain, A., Balik, M., Chew, M., Clau-Terré, F., … & Vieillard-Baron, A. (2020). Systematic review and literature appraisal on the methodology of conducting and reporting critical-care echocardiography studies: a report from the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine PRICES expert panel. Annals of intensive care, 10(1), 1-13.
Pavot, W., Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Tay, L. (2018). The cornerstone of research on subjective well-being: Valid assessment methodology. Handbook of well-being. No scholar handbook series: Subjective well-being.
Andrews, D., Kana, A. A., Hopman, J. J., & Romanoff, J. (2018). State of the art report on design methodology. In Marine Design XIII (pp. 3-16). CRC Press.
