Methodology (guide 1000) †Research Design Essay

The current study employs a descriptive-comparative design, with nutrition knowledge, lifestyles, and health behaviours being compared. The scores of the two groups (normal weight and obese groups) were analyzed using the Chi-square to determine if they had a relationship with being obese. Tthe study is descriptive in nature as frequencies, means, and frequency distributions were computed to describe the samples used in the study. Samples and Sampling Plan Hong Kong residents between 18 to 40 years old is the population for this research study. Since the total population for the survey is very large, due to time limitations a sample size of 60 was taken for the survey, with 30 allotted to the normal weight group and the rest to the obese sample. Purposive sampling method is adopted for this research. The selection of employees for the experimental group was made on the basis of their participation in the stress management workshop. To ensure the effectiveness of the study, employees belonging to all levels of management, service time, sex groups and age are selected to participate in the survey. There shall be two samples used in the study, namely, 1) normal weight group and 2) the obese group. Both groups shall be chosen using purposive sampling. Purposive sampling is a popular research recruiting method, as the sample size does not have to be determined at the beginning of the project. It is also an advantage for this study, as the sample size will be constrained by time and available resources (Mack, Woodsong, MacQueen, Guest & Namey, 2005). This study will make use of purposive sample to select respondents. This was based on respondents’ willingness to participate and being available during the period to complete the surveys. Informed consent need to be taken into consideration at the start of any research project. Consent is about participants making a reasonable choice to take part in the study, and, as such, their aspirations need to â€Å"fit† with the goals of the research (Mason, 1997). The researcher will ensure that the participants were fully informed. In addition the researcher discussed the potential consent form with their supervisor and colleagues. This will highlight to the researcher potential ambiguities in meaning, confusing sentences and missing information that are likely to invalidate the measures (Patton, 2000). Informed consent requires the awareness of the researcher that participation is dependant on an individual’s understanding of the goals of the study, and what is expected of the participant. Informed consent will ensure respect for the dignity of the participant (Mack et al. , 2005). Coercion into participation will be avoided at all costs, as the study requires that participation be voluntary (Mack et al, 2005). Thus, informed consent was to ensure the well being of participants as its priority. Additionally, participants would be made aware that their responses would directly contribute to a sharing of knowledge on nutrition knowledge, lifestyles, and health behaviours among Hong Kong residents. In addition, respondents will be reassured that the data collected would be kept confidential. No incentives will be provided for participation in this study. Results collected from the final analyses will be made available to respondents on request. Procedure The respondents who are legible for participation were contacted to ask for their permission in participating in the study. They were sent formal letters or emails indicating this purpose. Calls were made to these individuals to confirm their willingness to participate in the study. This study is meant to research on nutrition knowledge, lifestyles, and health behaviours of normal weight and obese individuals in Hong Kong. The primary source of data is the responses to a questionnaire (see Appendix A). A preliminary study is done on the responses collected from 5 respondents. The questionnaire was then altered based on their suggestions. During pilot testing, wording of some questions is improved to make it more understandable to the respondents. Some questions were eliminated from the questionnaire and new questions were added on the basis of the respondents’ comments. The process was repeated once again to arrive at the final questionnaire to be used on the sample. The data collection period occured over a period of 15 days. The research hypotheses were not divulged rather respondents were only informed that the study aims to determine differences in nutritional knowledge, lifestyles, and health behaviours between normal weight and obese individuals, and so contribute to research on this topic. It is anticipated that respondents are less likely to guess the hypotheses, and so less likely to exhibit socially desirable responses in order to â€Å"please† the investigator. Respondents were called to administer the survey via telephone. Each respondent was told that the completion of the survey will take about 10 minutes and they were asked to email a signed consent form if he is amenable to the terms of participation. In all cases, consent forms were printed and stored separately to consent forms, and each questionnaire booklet was identified only with a respondent number. On completion of the study, respondents were thanked, and were briefly informed of the study’s hypotheses. Respondents were also informed that the results of the study will be made available to them on request following submission of the final thesis. References Adamson, A.J.,  Rugg-Gunn, A.J.,  Butler, T.J.,  & Appleton, D.R. (1996). The contribution of foods from outside the home to the nutrient intake of young adolescents.   Journal of Human nutrition and Dietetics, 9(1), 55-68 Department of Health, Hong Kong. (2006). Obesity. Retrieved on October 20, 2006 from http://www.dh.gov.hk/english/main/main_chp/surveil_pr_dig_kncd_obesity.html.