Alzheimer's Disease as a Rare Neurological Condition - Essay Example

A descriptive research design, will not be suitable for a study of this nature because it only seeks to describe the phenomenon of Alzheimer’s and is not appropriate for an investigation that needs to explore the relationship between the chemicals present and the causation of Alzheimer’s.   

            The sample population, selected for the purpose of this research study, will comprise individuals who have reasonable exposure to fertilizers and elements identified as having the potential for risk of causing Alzheimer’s disease. In total, the study proposes to conduct the research on 40 individuals. Three-fourth or 30 of the population will be patients that manifest symptoms of Alzheimer’s and a quarter or 10 will be people with normal health. This will help in ascertaining whether any elements present in the environment, that the normal persons consume, have the potential for immunization, due to which these people are not manifesting any symptoms. The population, as far as possible will equally represent both genders and also different age groups ranging from 50 to 90 years so that the effects of the chemical elements on varying ages can also be ascertained. Similarly, the researcher will also make conscious efforts to ensure that the population includes representatives from different backgrounds on the basis of race, culture, and economic aspects.   

There is no potential bias in this case as the study does not involve any personal interest, racial, regional, or religious aspects of the student. However, a possible bias can be seen in terms of the knowledge of the researcher that fertilizers can be a cause of Alzheimer’s disease and this may lead to conducting the research only to find supportive evidence of the claim or endorsing prejudiced findings. However, to obviate this, the research will give equal significance to locating and including evidence that challenges the researcher’s hypothesis also so as to obtain a balanced view of the issue. Similarly, the researcher will also eliminate any “judgmental bias in the selection and interpretation” of the relevant evidence (MacCoun 1998:262). Besides, through the inclusion of representatives from all segments of the society, the researcher will rule out any possibility of bias in terms of demographical characteristics of the population included as samples in the study. Similarly, by seeking to include both genders in equal numbers the researcher will eliminate any chances of the research being interpreted as biased towards gender orientations.              
The use of fertilizers in recent years, to yield better agricultural harvests, results in the depletion of minerals such as magnesium which is “important for human health” (Foster 2004:195). The fertilizers, on the other hand, contain chemicals such “nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium” that cause Alzheimer’s (195). Therefore, the experiment will include testing soil for chemical content and measuring the subjects’ exposure and its outcomes on the disease. Evidence also shows that hyperphosphorylated T-protein causes the “destabilization of microtubules” which can aggravate conditions such as Alzheimer’s (Nazem & Mansoori 2008:202). Thus, the study will encompass testing of the agricultural soil of the habitats of the population. In addition, samples will also be taken from their normal sources of food for a lab test for chemical content. Besides, if deemed necessary during the course of the actual research, observatory tests will also be conducted where the sample population will be given regulated for a certain period of time to measure any reduction in chemical presence.    

            In this experimentation, there is the possibility of confounding factors that may distort the “association between two other variables” such as the presence of the chemical elements and the occurrence of Alzheimer’s (Kamangar 2012:508). Thus, any other specific condition of the soil or other risk factors than those identified here may be involved in the causation or aggravation of the disease. Therefore, the researcher will take special care to rule out the possibility of any confounding factors negatively influencing the findings of the research. By including different age groups and conducting different tests to ascertain the specific traits in them, the researcher will be able to delineate the influence of chemical agents in each age group and thus eliminate any confounding elements such as older age being the reason for the manifestation of Alzheimer’s disease n these individuals.       

            The researcher will analyze the results obtained through the lab experimentation as well as any secondary research through appropriate statistical analysis. Based on the analysis of the data, and entailing results, the researcher will draw appropriate findings. In this case, the results of the tests on the population and their observation will be tabulated into different heads to deduce the relevant results. Similarly, the results of soils tests, as well as the samples of food, will also be similarly compared to obtain appropriate conclusions.