Introduction
Childhood obesity is a central problem that will be discussed in the context of this research paper. Simultaneously, it is of critical importance to find an answer to the main research question that states “Does parent education about a healthy lifestyle increase the positive outcomes and prevention of childhood obesity compared with medical treatment?”. Consequently, the primary goal of this paper is to describe samples and setting, sample strategy, and research design and to provide a rationale for choosing these approaches.
Sampling/Setting
As for the sample size, 100 families will take part in this study with the approximate total number of participants of 200 (100 children and 100 parents). This number of people will be enough to discover a correlation between independent and dependent variables and increase the validity and relevance of the collected information. As it was indicated in the previous papers, the research will compare the impacts of medical intervention (Group 1) and parents’ education (Group 2) on levels of obesity of their children. Consequently, for Group 1, the inclusion criteria are 1) age from 6 to 18; 2) BMI < 95; 3) a desire of parents and children to take part in this project; and 4) no previous use of medication to reduce BMI. For Group 2, they are 1) age from 6 to 18; 2) BMI < 95; 3) a desire of parents and children participate in this project; and 4) taking medication to reduce BMI. These selection criteria will help reach higher validity and reliability of information and assist in reducing bias and the impact of extraneous variables. Typical exclusion criteria may be a lower BMI and health problems such as cardiovascular diseases. All measurements such as BMI will be taken in a hospital setting (in Miami, FL), as professional equipment and assistance may be required. Parents will be educated in conference rooms to create a favorable learning environment while the rest of the study will take place outside the hospital, as it is essential not to violate the privacy of the participants.
Sampling Strategy
As it was mentioned earlier, one of the inclusion criteria is a desire to take part in this experiment and contribute to the development of evidence-based practice and research in this area. Consequently, to comply with these characteristics, the most appropriate method is a voluntary sampling. In this instance, people are self-selected, as, in this context of this paper, it is important not to violate privacy and other rights (Remler & Ryzin, 2014). Thus, the subsequent step of the selection process requires determining whether participants comply with the inclusion criteria. Consequently, only a combination of the elements of voluntary and quota sampling will allow achieving the research goals and finding answers to the main questions.
Research Design
In this case, the most appropriate research design is an experimental one, as according to the study, it is essential to discover relationships between two variables and review the impact of different interventions including medical one and parents’ education on BMI of their children (Windsor, 2015). Nevertheless, in this instance, researchers will be in control of the assignment of the interventions or treatments, and it pertains to the characteristics of quasi-experiment (Windsor, 2015). In this case, regulating it is important, as dividing participants in groups will be based on the initial selection process and their compliance with the characteristics of Group 1 or 2. Consequently, apart from possible bias, this research design can be viewed as the most appropriate one since it will assist in monitoring the long-term experiment while paying vehement attention to patient safety. Generally speaking, this quasi-experiment will imply measuring the results of two groups and monitoring any progress and reduction of BMI.
References
Remler, D., & Ryzin, G. (2014). Research methods in practice: Strategies for description and causation (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Windsor, R. (2015). Evaluation of health promotion and disease prevention programs: Improving population health through evidence-based practice (3rd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.