Activity

Now try this activity.

What might be problematic with these descriptions of methods, or with the methods themselves?

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1. We measured how often nurses ask patients whether they smoke

Problems include: it relies on the nurses remembering accurately, and being honest

2. We compared a new wound care product with usual care

Problems include: what does usual care consist of? And is it the same for all patients?

3. We asked 100 teenagers to participate in our survey of healthy eating

Problems include: how many actually took part? How old were they? Were they male or female?

4. To assess the value of an educational leaflet, we gave the intervention group a leaflet and a telephone help line number

Problems include: by giving the intervention group the telephone help line number as well as the leaflet, it’s not clear what you’re assessing