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Research on lesbianism: selected effects of time, geographic location, and data collection technique.

It is the intention of this article both to be descriptive of elements of the lesbian life style that appear to be consistent over time and to examine the results of using widely different data collection techniques attempting to differentiate such behaviors. In addition, the study from which the data are derived examined areas of change and social movement among selected areas of personal commitment or interaction. Research in the area of covert behavior is extremely difficult. Certain types of covert behavior preclude traditional survey and sampling procedures, making parameter estimates for the general population, as well as precluding the use of inferential statistics for data analysis. The masking of the deviant self is perhaps most pronounced where the covert activity in question is illegal (Klockars, 1974). Given this, a comparison of the impact of different research techniques on the quality of data generated in the study of deviant behavior would appear to be important. The data were collected from three separate groups involving three data collection times spread over a 10-year period, involving three geographic locations, and involving two different data collection techniques. A total of 394 lesbians were interviewed or responded to a questionnaire distributed with the cooperation of a large, well-known homophile organization. An analysis was made, and both significant and nonsignificant differences in sample types are discussed. It should be noted that these data represent a small segment of the data generated by the study. The parts of them presented were chosen because they address pertinent theoretical and methodological questions in the area of researching covert behavior.

Achievement

There is more than one way to collect data for linkage analysis. What a study of epilepsy can tell us about linkage strategy for psychiatric disease.

The most popular strategy for finding genes in psychiatric diseases has been to focus on large pedigrees with many affected members. While this strategy has sound advantages, it also has drawbacks that have seldom been addressed. The strategy of using smaller families also has its place in a linkage analysis. To illustrate the point, I discuss herein the successful search for a gene for another common complex disease, namely, idiopathic primary generalized epilepsy. There, investigators in the Los Angeles (Calif) Epilepsy Program used mostly nuclear families who were chosen through a proband with highly specific characteristics. An independent study, using a different strategy but one still focused on small families, then confirmed the linkage. However, investigators of both epilepsy projects put much care into determining which clinical characteristics would be used to define the index cases. The implications for the study of psychiatric disease are as follows: (1) careful attention must be paid to clinical presentation, and (2) there is room for both large-pedigree and small-family strategies in designing linkage studies.

Data Collection

Collecting data on potentially harmful events: a method for monitoring incidents in general practice.

OBJECTIVE: The prediction and subsequent prevention of errors, which are an integral element of human behaviour, require an understanding of their cause. The incident monitoring technique was developed in the study of aviation errors in the Second World War and has been applied more recently in the field of anaesthetics. This pilot study represents one of the first attempts to apply the incident monitoring technique in the general practice environment. METHOD: A total of 297 GPs across Australia anonymously reported details of unintended events which harmed or could have harmed the patient. Reports were contemporaneously recorded on prepared forms which allowed a free text description of the incident, and structured responses for contributing and mitigating factors, immediate and long-term out-comes, additional costs etc. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The first 500 reports were analysed using both of qualitative and quantitative methods and a brief overview of results is presented. The methodological issues arising in the application of this technique to such a large, widely spread profession, in which episodes of care are not necessarily confined to a single consultation, are discussed. This study demonstrated that the incident monitoring technique can be successfully applied in general practice and that the resulting information can facilitate the identification of common factors contributing to such events and allow the development of preventive interventions.

Australia

Computer-aided personal interviewing. A new technique for data collection in epidemiologic surveys.

Most epidemiologic studies involve the collection of data directly from selected respondents. Traditionally, interviewers are provided with the interview in booklet form on paper and answers are recorded therein. On receipt at the study office, the interview results are coded, transcribed, and keypunched for analysis. The author's team has developed a method of personal interviewing which uses a structured interview stored on a lap-sized computer. Responses are entered into the computer and are subject to immediate error-checking and correction. All skip-patterns are automatic. Data entry to the final data-base involves no manual data transcription. A pilot evaluation with a preliminary version of the system using tape-recorded interviews in a test/re-test methodology revealed a slightly higher error rate, probably related to weaknesses in the pilot system and the training process. Computer interviews tended to be longer but other features of the interview process were not affected by computer. The author's team has now completed 2,505 interviews using this system in a community-based blood pressure survey. It has been well accepted by both interviewers and respondents. Failure to complete an interview on the computer was uncommon (5 per cent) and well-handled by paper back-up questionnaires. The results show that computer-aided personal interviewing in the home is feasible but that further evaluation is needed to establish the impact of this methodology on overall data quality.

Blood Pressure

How will I collect data? Methods for exploratory studies.

In summary, level I methods offer the investigator a way to navigate previously uncharted waters. They allow the investigator to answer questions about the phenomenon of interest from the point of view of the subjects. These methods are increasingly finding favor with nurse researchers.

Anthropology, Cultural

Collecting data on pregnancy loss: a review of evidence from the World Fertility Survey.

Estimates of levels and differentials of pregnancy loss are presented for 40 developing countries participating in the World Fertility Survey (WFS) program. Judged against agreed-upon levels of spontaneous loss in human populations, WFS surveys measured from 50 to 80 percent of recognizable losses. The coverage of induced abortions appears to be much worse. Consistent with data from other sources and settings, the probability of loss is strongly correlated with maternal demographic characteristics: age, pregnancy order, pregnancy spacing, and pregnancy loss history. Despite incomplete coverage, the WFS data on pregnancy loss provide considerable, and largely unexploited, insight on the dynamics of the reproductive career.

Data Collection