Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Objectives
1. Determine the information required for your
study.
2. Understand the different types of data.
3. Learn about different sources of data.
4. Know the criteria to select the data collection
method.
5. Learn how to enter the data in an analyzable
format.
Required Information
Population
Factors that define the population (generalizability).
Exposure
Definition.
Outcome
Definition.
Types of Data
Qualitative Data
Quantitative Data
Qualitative Data
Tend to be open-ended and have less structured
protocols.
Rely more heavily on interactive interviews.
Small number of subjects.
Qualitative Data
Utility:
Useful to understand the processes behind
observed results.
Help in generating hypothesis to design
quantitative research.
Quantitative Data
Rely on random sampling.
Structured data collection methods.
Produce results that are easy to summarize,
compare, and generalize.
Qualitative
Sources of data
Primary
Clinical observations
Questionnaires and
interviews
Secondary
Reportable diseases,
registries
Administrative
databases (hospital
discharges, medication
prescriptions)
Hospital charts
Vital statistics
Personal interview
Face-to-face more response
Telephone less response
Better for complex, semi-structured questions
Errors:
Social desirability bias
Recall error
Self-administered questionnaire
Paper, computer
Better for sensitive data
Cheaper (main advantage)
Low response rate
Errors
Misunderstanding
Recall error
Use of Records
Medical records
Electronic databases
Advantages:
Less recall errors (information has been reported prospectively)
Low cost
Disadvantages:
Proxy respondents
E.g., For dead, incompetent or disabled subjects
Diaries
For frequent behaviors (e.g. diet, exercise)
Cost
Acceptability
Simplicity
Meaningful
Reliability
Validity
Responsiveness
(sensitivity to change)
Reliability (consistency):
The tool of measurement produces similar results
under consistent conditions.
Unit-3
Unit-4
Variable-2
Variable-3
Type of Variable
Continuous
e.g. Age, weight, blood pressure.
Categorical (discrete)
Dichotomous (binary)
Polychotomous (multi-category)
Nominal
Ordinal
Unit of Analysis
Individual data
Patients
Physician
Individual Data
Data Extraction/Entry
Questions