Validation of Findings: Obesity - Assignment Example

Qualitative Research on Obesity Introduction Qualitative research is one of the tools used by many peopleto try to find solutions to problems that the world faces. This is always successful when the methods of qualitative research are used in a proper way. Obesity is also one of the major challenges the world is facing today. It is crucial to first define my research problem and know its background before selecting the best design model. The people who are going to participate in this research should also be identified as well as the research location so that I get to know what I am expecting for the study. Through the study of obesity issues such as people not being free to talk about their excess weight may come up. I should be prepared to handle such cases and other limitations that the study may face. The appropriate data collection methods and the instrumentation should be done efficiently to help in making the study efficient. Finally, I will ensure there is well organized validation of findings from my research work. With proper application of qualitative research methods, my study wants to find a lasting solution to the issue of obesity. Problem The challenge that this study wants to address is the increasing number of deaths recorded yearly in the United States due to complications related to obesity. Every year, close 150,000 deaths due to obesity complications are recorded. The number is very big and the society has to look into it. The issue of obesity is a problem worth looking into as it is causing deaths of people who could be participating in building the economy. It is also a loss to the society as a lot of resources are used to handle the obesity cases and some of the victims end up losing their lives (Carroll, 2012). Another major issue regarding the increased obesity cases is the fact that it is now cropping down to younger kids. Some of these innocent lives are lost yet they were not aware about obesity issues and how they can live a healthy life to avoid obesity. It is also hurting that as some people die because of excessive eating others die due to shortage of food. History The number of people dying due to complications related to obesity has doubled as many cases are expected to be recorded yet. Obesity is a health disorder that leads to other health complications which are serious threats to human life. Among these complications are high blood pressure, respiratory complications, diabetes, stroke and heart diseases. These health complications are very serious and some of them cause death after a short period. In the United States cases of obesity have been increasing as per data released in 2012 (Havard School of Public Health, 2013). Many things have been listed as the cause of this scenario. Change in lifestyle of the people has led to people relying on cheap food with a lot of calorie. Advancement in technology has also been listed as a cause to increased obesity as people nowadays live a life that has less physical exercises. Most people always use their vehicles even for shorter distances and this makes them less fit physically. Objectives The main objective of this research is to determine the best ways in which the society can control the increasing deaths due to obesity and to find a way of balancing distributing the food produced in the world to stop death due to excessive feeding and food shortages. The specific objectives for this research are the following: To establish the best way of advocating for eating healthy meals that are cholesterol free. To determine ways through which the technology can be used effectively without making people loose physical fitness. To determine the reasons why suddenly cases of obesity are becoming excess in young children. My study seeks to accomplish the best way of dealing with obesity cases and reduce them rather than just keeping records of the increasing rates of obesity. Coming up with the best solution to this problem will be an accomplishment for this research. Design I will use a case study design model for this research where few cases are going to be studied to cater for the entire population affected by the phenomena under study (Hays, 2012). The selected few cases are going to be related to the issue of obesity either directly or indirectly. This type of design model usually gives detailed data and this would be necessary especially in my study where lifestyles of people and their behaviors are to be analyzed. Case study design model is also appropriate for my study of obesity since it is going to help in reducing the population that has to be included in the research as for this model a limited number of people can be used to come up with generalizations. Therefore, conducting this research is going to be easy and affordable in terms of time and resources due to the use of the case study design model (Hoepfl, 2012). Participants Since the research will cover obesity which is a wide field, the participants are going to be many. The participants of this research range from the people who are going to provide the data needed for the study to the individuals who are going to aid in making this study successful. The people living in the society who are affected by obesity either directly or indirectly are among the participants for this study (Baker & Oslen, 2013). A case study on the lives of these people to establish the causes of increased obesity in the society is going to be conducted. Doctors and other health officers are going to participate in this study as they are going to provide relevant information relating to obesity and the extent of this disorder to the lives of many people. A group of people is going to be selected to help in conducting the case studies in different states in the country. Participant Protocol Ethics are going to be put into consideration when this research is going to be conducted. No participant is going to be pushed to the wall to produce data and for those who seek to remain anonymous their decision is going to be respected. Close to 800 people are going to be given room to participate in this research. The size picked is reasonable considering more than 100,000 lives are lost to obesity related complications annually. The participants picked are going to be people who have been exposed to obesity or those who have been in a family where obesity is a common condition. Case studies on the lifestyles of such people would yield the best data for the study. Health centers that are involved in matters to do with obesity are also going to be relied on for data. Soliciting the participants is going to be through explaining to them the increasing harm of obesity and thus the need for their involvement to solve the problem. Research Location In scenario when it is not necessary to disclose the location where the data was sourced from, confidentiality is going to be maintained. This would be important when anonymity was requested. Questions on different types of lifestyles that people live today are going to form part of the details of the interview room (Srinivasan SR & Watiggney, 2011). The interviewees will also be expected to give information about their health conditions that may be attached to obesity. Observations are to be made on the different types of food that are considered to have high levels of calories. The hospitals are going to be good observation locations for this research as they would provide data on the extent of obesity. Before making observations in the stated locations, consent must be given by relevant authorities. The officer in charge of the hospitals must allow release of data about the obesity related issues and deaths. Researcher Issues Some issues may affect a researcher’s work thus compromising reliability of the study’s result. The issues may be related to the research or totally not part of the study. Biasness is one of the major issues and I would ensure it does not affect my study in any way. To ensure my study is not bias, the study population is going to be selected while considering issues such as race, gender, age and even financial status. Before making decisions on the proportions of the population that is going to be used in this research, the dispersion of different groups in the population is going to be considered. For example, if a third of the area’s population consists of females then also a third of the participant in the research are going to be females. This is going to ensure fairness in conducting of the study (Patton, 2011). Instrumentation The instruments to be used for the study and how the tools are to be used are very important to consider. Doing this helps to make the study quick and reliable as I would know what to use and how to use them during the study. Interview questions are the major tool for my study. The questions to be asked in the interview are going to be revolving around the lifestyles of people, the food they eat and health conditions (Stake, 2012). The mode of asking these questions is going to be open-ended as people are expected to have varying answers to such questions. Some who will wish to avoid other questions will be considered. In cases where the interviewee needs a question to be illustrated further, clarification questions will be provided. The clarification questions are going to be particular and well fractured to avoid pushing the interviewee to pick specific answers. Pilot Study The people who are going to participate in this research are individuals from the society who have been victims of obesity in any way, health officers who deal with matters relating to obesity and people in the society concerned about this health disorder. The individuals who are victims of obesity will be asked questions about the kind of lifestyle they had that made them get to that condition. On the other hand the health professionals are going to be asked to provide data to justify the deaths related to obesity and also clarify the causes of this health condition. They are also going to be requested to offer options of how people can live healthy. The questions asked to these people are going to be similar if the participants fall in the same category. Statistical analysis will be done to check the pilot results and validate them as being true (Carol & Flegal, 2012). Data Collection Collection of data for this study requires approximately three months. During the three months the planned case studies will be conducted and the parties to be interviewed will be confronted also. The stipulated time is believed to be enough since the case studies will be just about learning the lifestyles of specific people. The participants are going to be informed that the data they are providing is going to help find a lasting solution to the problem of increased death tolls due to obesity-related disorders. Before data is collected from any participant he/she is going to be informed to avoid future conflicts on data published (Carol & Flegal, 2012). The type of information required for this study is more of social information as it looks at the behaviors of people. The way through which data will be collected is through interviews and asking questions relating to the issue of obesity. Observations are also going to be made. Limitations My study is likely to face some limitations due to the type of research design used. The case study design only considers a portion of the people affected by obesity conditions and this may give room for critics on the reliability of the study’s results. The data collection methods of this research may also pose limitations. The use of interviews may be faced with a problem of uncooperative interviewees or people who may give false information (Burr, 2011). Observation methods of collecting data can sometimes be inaccurate due to false judgments and prejudgments which can lead to misleading conclusions. For the study of obesity, an observation of the body size of a person without calculation of the body mass index would lead to false data. The location of the study also brings limitations of accessibility since some places would need a long-day travel. Time limitations due to my personal commitments may also affect the study. Validation The results of my research are going to be validated through triangulation where many ideas behind obesity that I did not research on are going to be put into consideration. Other perspectives of obesity that are going to be looked at include the concerns that international health organs such as World Health Organization, have towards the condition and the possibilities that someone can have of living longer with this health condition. Triangulation of this study’s data will be through acquiring information from other reliable sources and connecting them to my findings (Thurmond, 2012). One of the independent variables for this research is the people’s lifestyle and obesity condition is a dependant variable. The internal validity of this study is expected to be high as it is anticipated that lifestyle changes bring about obesity. The study on obesity relates to many people in the world and many other factors that have been studied before can link to it. Therefore, a high degree of external validity is expected (McDonald & Guion, 2011). Conclusion Following all the steps highlighted in this research protocol, my study on obesity is going to be successful in finding solutions to the increasing cases of obesity in our society today. The issues of biasness and other limitations such as fear of discrimination from the participants are going to be handled in the best way to ensure everyone is made part of the study. Qualitative research will help solve this problem of obesity if the appropriate methods are adopted. References Sociology Press . (2013). An Introduction to Qualitative Reaserch . Grounded Theory Review , 205-298. Baker, J. L., & Oslen, L. W. (2013). Childhood body mass index and the risk of coronary heart disease in adulthood. N Engl J Med , 37. Bugental, J. (2011). The art of the psyotherapist. New York: Norton. Burr, G. (2011). Contextualizing critical care family needs through triangulation. An Australian study. 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