Question no. 1) Demographic data is collected for every study. What is the purpose of
describing the demographic data?
Answer: According to the Merriam- Webster Dictionary, demography can be defined as “the study of changes that occur over a period of time in human population” (Demography). Demography plays an important role in identifying the past trends and hence planning for the future. It helps in devising policies and their implementation (Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick). Demography gives an idea of the past statistics so that it can be used for the synthesis and appropriate formulation of policies. Also it can be helpful in determining the changes that would have taken place following the implementation of the new policies. In terms of diseases, demography gives an idea of the disease dominance in different age groups and countries. This may be used as an indicator in deciding health related policies pertaining to different age groups, risk factors and their preventive measures.
Question no. 2) There is a tendency for novice researchers to develop their own instrument if they cannot really find one. How might you respond to a peer or manager who asks you to help develop a new tool to collect patient data on anxiety prior to cardiac catheterization?
Answer: A new tool for collecting data could be taking a sample population from among the admitted patients in the cardiac departments of different hospitals. These patients need to be interrogated prior to their catheterization. The study should continue for at least a period of a year. The symptoms should then be collected, synthesized in the form of a data and analyzed from statistical point of view. This would give the demographic data of the patients of cardiac catheterization with anxiety prior to the procedure.
References
'Demography'. Merriam- Webster 2015. Web. 20 June 2015.
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick,. New Brunswick At The Dawn Of A New Century. 2015. Web. 20 June 2015.
