Study design and research question influences data collation
Records
i.e Health data from existing sources collected on asthma
and maternal smoking.
collected using a standardised case reporting form.
Health records (usually hospital) are commonly used in health research.
Case series
data on physiological measures (i.e.
related to an organ or body functions) is
often collected
Questionnaires
administered by interviewers face to face, or by phone
one study a self-administered questionnaire was used.
most common methods of data collection
physiological data
can be collected from primary sources (i.e. directly by
conducting tests on a patient, or developing a
questionnaire to extract the data),
secondary sources (i.e. obtaining data from records).
-Xrays, MRI scans, electrocardiograms, respiratory function
tests, blood pressure, and many types of laboratory tests
(e.g. blood, cholesterol, glucose test).
Videotape observations
example to obtain data on infant pain during immunisation
not a commonly used method in quantitative
research studies but can be used to great effect if
conducted correctly.
Physiological/Clincal data measures
Health research often focuses on some aspect of a
person's health status.
result the researchers may collect physiological data from a
variety of sources.
i.e new medication which reduces blood pressure.
measure BP
not always practical to collect to reasons bc cost
or the lack of appropriately trained staff.
so we need participants to report these variables using a survey.
survey in which they are asked to report their height and
weight so we can then calculate BMI.