Health practical Flashcards
what is the aim of our health practical?
to conduct a questionnaire to investigate the difference in smoking behaviour (trying an e-cigarette, attempt to quit) between male and female students at P College
what is our non-directional hypothesis for our health practical?
there will be a signfiicant difference in the smoking behaviours (e.g. trying an e-cigarette, attemping to quit) between male and female students at P college
what is our null hypothesis for our health practical?
there will be no significant difference in the smoking behaviours (e.g. trying an e-cigarette, attemping to quit) between male and female students at P college)
describe the method used in our health practical
+ sampling method
- the method used to compare the smoking behaviour of male and female students was a questionnaire, including 3 closed questions.
- handed out to 20 participants in the smoking area during break time
- sampling method -> opportunity sample - 20 students (10 male + 10 female) were approached and asked whether they consented to completing a questionnaire about smoking behaviour
the questionnaire we used in our health practical
Please circle your gender: Male | Female | Other
Q1. How long have you been smoking for?
Less than a year | More than a year
Q2. Have you ever tried an e-cigarette?
Q3. Have you ever tried to quit smoking?
ethics in our health practical
- all students were over 16
- they provided fully informed consent as there was no deception
- all pp’s clearly understood that they had the right to withdraw before they took part
- confidentiality was upheld: no personal information was gathered and responses were anonymous
- the debrief invovled a summary of what the researchers expected to find, contact details if the participants wanted to withdraw and were signposted the stoptober website
describe the procedure of our health practical
- 20 students who smoke were approached in the smoking area at break time
- first they were asked if they smoke, if they did they were informed about the aim of the study and the ethical guidelines (right to withdraw, confidentialitty, etc.)
- if they consented to take part they were given a questionnaire to complete in their own time (3 closed questions measuring smoking behaviours)
- oncen it was completed, they were fully debriefed and thanked
state two (quantitative) results from your health practical
Q1. How long have you been smoking for?
Less than a year - Female 6 and male 2
More than a year - Female 4 and male 8
Q2. Have you ever tried an e-cigarette?
Yes - Female 9 and male 8
No- Female 1 and male 2
Q3. Have you ever tried to quit smoking?
Yes - Female 5 and male 2
No - Female 5 and male 8
describe the conclusions from your health practical
- more males (8) than females (4) have smoked for more than a year, suggesting males start smoking at a younger age compared to females
- similar number of males (8) and females (9) have tried an e-cigarette, suggesting little difference in smoking behaviour between genders
- more females said they have tried to quit smokng (5) copared to males (2), suggesting females could be more motivated to stop smoking, perhaps due to health reasons
what statistical test did we use in our health practical?
chi-squared
justify your decision to use the statistical test used to analyse your practical investigation
- the study is measuring a difference between males and females
- the data is nominal (frequency of responses)
- the experimental design is independent measures (pp data can only be counted under either the male or female category)
explain whether your results are significant at p<0.05 and if the research hypothesis can be accepted
health practical
the calculated value is 1.98 which is less than the critical value of 3.84. therefore the results are not significant at p<0.05 so the null hypothesis is accepted, which states …
explain why you used a chi-squared test on your data
health practical
the hypothesis predicted a significant difference between male and female students and their smoking behaviours.
the level of measurement is nominal as smoking behaviour was tallied under male and female categories
the design was independent measures as there are two different groups being studied (males and females)
explain strengths of our health practical
P: High reliability
E: all received the same questionnaire about smoking use with the same questions
T: Therefore can be replicated to check for consistent results
P: gathered quant. data
E: used closed questions in study - e.g. how long have you been smoking for? (more than a year/less than a year)
T: therefore easy to analyse, can compare to see difference in smoking use
P: ethical
E: pps gave full informed consent to take part in the questionnaire about smoking behaviour as there was no deception. it was confidential as all responses were anonymous.
T: addiction is a sensitive topic so participants may not want to take part
explain weaknesses of our health practical
P: Lack of qual. data
E: does not get participants throughts and feelings behind their smoking use and behaviours
T: this reduces internal validity
P: small/restricted sample = low generalisability
E: 20 students - 10 males and 10 females at P college
T: not representative - reduces population validity
P: low internal validity
E: social desirability bias may have influenced their answers regarding smoking use/behaviour
T:
