Epidemiological Study and Nutrition - Essay Example

"Epidemiological Study and Nutrition" is a brilliant example of a paper on food and nutrition.
Scientific method:

The scientific method refers to a process that includes three steps, which are observation of facts, i.e., rationally scrutinizing; proved through experimentation to verify the facts through which; the third step, a theory can be developed for the nutrition of the thesis.

Epidemiological study

Epidemiological Studies is a type of observational research in which the relationship between two or more factors is studied, i.e., the correlation between disease traits and nutritional habits and how these factors affect large groups of the population. 

Clinical trial

Clinical Trial is a study in which an intervention is staged for a particular disease to find out what are the effects of the intervention on disease and health condition.

In Clinical trials, people are divided into groups, and then specific intervention is applied to see how it affects them and what the effects of these interventions (experimental drugs, diet, nutritional enrichment) are. They are called randomized clinical trials.

Randomized Clinical Trials are also divided into two types, i.e.,

Single-Blind Experiment: -

In this type of treatment, the participants do not know what kind of treatment they are getting, but only the researcher is aware of the treatment for a particular group.

Double-Blind Experiment: -

In this type of research, neither the researcher nor the patients know what kind of treatment each group is getting. This experiment is the most preferred because in this type of observational study, as already stated above, the chances of the researcher to know what he expects to observe diminish by a great margin. As for the patients who are given other treatments instead of the prescribed treatment, the procedure is called a placebo, i.e. giving a drug that does not affect the patient. In a double-blind experiment, the researcher requests his assistants to research on his behalf through which the researcher deduces results. 

Factors studied in epidemiological studies:

For different types of studies, variant factors are considered. For example, when researching the aging process, it is more likely that the research is conducted on animals instead of humans because such a study may detrimental to human health.

One more thing that should be considered when conducting an epidemiological study is to make sure that the effects of the drugs or a controlled environment are not taken for granted. i.e., research showing that smokers are less likely to eat vegetables shouldn’t be considered a relation. It’s just a presumption that should not lead the researcher to form a theory on it and make others believe it as well. For example, people who smoke eat fewer vegetables or a person who eats vegetables rarely must be a smoker.

Conducting a clinical trial:

While conducting a clinical trial, the researcher must make sure that necessary steps are taken into consideration, so that any sub-conscious favoritism, directed towards a particular patient or pre-assumed theory, can be minimized. This is done to ensure the validity and credibility of the trial.

Limitations when reading about research in the media:

Limitations about research in the media should consist of the following factors, i.e.,

Bias: Who conducted the research, and who paid for it? It is important not to let a person get self-deceived into propaganda orchestrated by the financers of the research. Also, any personal bias in the research from the researcher should be looked into, a researcher does a research keeping in mind what the outcome should be, and one must carefully review the results and only then bring them to the notice of others.

Sources: Whether or not the facts obtained to complete this report comes from a reputable source? This is an important factor considering the authenticity of the research. Researchers can find any information anywhere around the internet to make people believe what they want them to believe. This is why people must look into the sources from which the report is presented instead of believing in the report itself. Ideally, peer-reviewed journals are the best option for finding sources for the result, as they are also reviewed by the specialists from the respective fields of research.

Last but not least; it is about the claims made in research. It is important to note that some researchers make claims about a new idea or approach just to attract readers and make them believe at the same time. The part of the report filled with pragmatism should be considered true, and the portion of the research with unreferenced facts, where outrageous claims are made without any credible proof, should be considered false.