Influenza Vaccination

Groom HC et al. (2014) sought to determine whether there are differences between blacks and whites in influenza vaccine-seeking behavior. It is a problem because patient initiative in seeking out influenza vaccination may be an important aspect to consider when evaluating racial/ethnic disparities in influenza vaccination among adults. Research questions that the authors investigated is whether the proportion of vaccinated person 65 years and older who sought out influenza vaccination varies by race, and whether any relationship between attitudes toward influenza vaccination and vaccine seeking. The target population is adults 65 years and older. They used probability sample design because they analyzed a national sample 3138 adults

It is a description of the operations that will be undertaken in measuring the construct. The authors have operationalized the measure appropriately. For instance, to measure the influenza vaccination coverage, they developed the empirical measure by using self-report (Have you received influenza vaccination in the past year?) then they used nominal measurement (Yes or No). The authors also conceptualized, identified the constructs, identified the indicators, developed the empirical measures clearly. The methods they used are open that we can identify the concept, constructs, and measures from the study. Therefore, I believe I would be able to replicate the study myself. In addition, we need to know data structure to tell

One aspect of public health research method that I learned is that measurement is central to quantitative research because it provides the fundamental connection between empirical observation and mathematical expression of quantitative relationships. I also learned that the goals and techniques associated with probability samples differ from those of nonprobability samples. If we want to get results that are valid for the whole study population, we should know how to draw a sample in such a way that it is representative of that population. But it is not necessarily that nonprobability samples are not representative of the population. It means that nonprobability samples cannot depend upon the rationale of probability