The report under analysis, Study Raises Estimate of Paralyzed Americans, filed by Roni Caryn Rabin in The New York Times of April 20, 2009 in health section. This report has been taken from electronic edition of the same. The report which I am going to analyze is based on a study to be released by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.
The report indicates that survey research method was employed to conduct study. This study reports that far more Americans than previously estimated are paralyzed to some degree: 5.6 million people, representing 1. 9 percent of the population, or roughly 1 in 50 Americans. This means percentage method has been used in this study to estimate number of paralyzed Americans. When the study mentions total number of population it indicates that population of the study is paralyzed Americans. The study also used ratio method to indicate 1 out of 50 Americans as paralyzed. The number of the same, 4. 6 million or 1. 4 million, in previous reports was mere “guesstimates”.
The study while indicates factors which cause paralysis counting method is being used. The study says that 1. 275 million Americans with paralysis resulting from spinal cord injuries — five times the previous estimate; here again counting method and ratio method are used. Stroke, the report reveals, affects the mobility of 1. 6 million Americans, was found to be the leading cause of paralysis; here again counting method and ranking technique are used.
While indicating that spinal cord injury was the second-leading cause, at 23 percent of cases, statistical technique ranking and percentage method are relied on. The extrapolation statistical method was applied to acquire the data of the study. The sampling technique was used to conduct telephone survey of about 33,000 households. The study population was rigorously defined to approach population relevant to the survey being conducted. The report points out that the validity of the data collection instruments has been ensured by consulting experts from around the country.
The study report shows that an operational definition of paralysis has been used by researchers to obtain measurable data for the study; the operational definition of paralyzed person in the study is that anyone who had either “inability” or “difficulty” moving arms or legs, as long as it was caused by a central nervous disorder and not arthritis or back trouble. As the survey relied on reports from family members, not medical records, therefore, we conclude that the study is based on primary data not on secondary sources of information.
Almost half of the respondents are considered to be suffering paralysis had “some” or “a little” difficulty in moving. Here classification technique is applied to make groups of the respondents. Counting method is also applied. It can be concluded from the report that statistical procedures like tabulation, class limits, class boundaries, class intervals, tally columns and frequency distribution have been used to present the data in meaningful form and to analyze and interpret data and draw conclusions of the study.
The director of the Division of Human Development and Disability at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Gloria Krahn, said the numbers may look high because paralysis was defined as a condition affecting function rather than as a medical diagnosis. she further adds that this is the first study that looks at paralysis in this kind of way. It reveals how large this group is. These conclusions drawn by Gloria Krahn are based on secondary source of data. While the reporter files this report she is also relying on secondary source of the data.
We are also relying on secondary source of data as we are analyzing this report. According to the report the study shows that the number of persons suffering paralysis due to multiple sclerosis has doubled over the previous estimate; in this case the comparative statistics are used. The report refers to epidemiological methods; these methods are also involved different statistical procedures such as data collection, presentation, application of different measures of central tendencies and dispersion and interpreting and analysis of data.
The study under discussion is termed as well-defined study; it means it is conducted following all statistical techniques and procedures. Reeve foundation was skeptical about old data of paralyzed Americans and it conducted new study and it found new facts more than it was expected; this conclusion is drawn on the basis of comparative statistics. Roni Caryn Rabin . Study Raises Estimate of Paralyzed Americans. April 20, 2009. downloaded on April 21,2009. .http://www. nytimes. com/2009/04/21/health/21para. html? th&emc=th