Question

advantages and disadvantages of the statistical methods used and contrast them to the study design

Answer 1

There are two types of research designs -

1. Descriptive - In these, you measure the relationship between two variables (independent and dependent variables). The sample size is large. For example a survey of water shortage in a city.
2. Experimental - In these, subjects are usually measured both before and after a treatment and you’re looking for causality. Sample sizes tend to be small. For example, you might be analyzing a treatment for a small number of cancer patients.

Advantages of the statistical methods -

These methods provide a fast and efficient way of studying a large sample size so better for descriptive design. It also yields objective results. The objective, numerical data is collected because of statistical methods which were difficult to interpret otherwise. Now the data is straightforward, the results can be easily compared with other data. The statistical method allows to interpret large amounts of inherent characteristics in the data. The data collected through these methods can be put to future use by creating campaigns and programs targeted to the studied group. Because of the large sample size, researchers may be able to apply the results of their study to the general population.

Disadvantages of the statistical methods -

The large population size is a huge benefit for this method. But it can also be a negative factor. We need data of the population so have to gain access to that population, which can be highly time taking and very costly. Also, the participants can introduce the risk of bias because they may be more willing to share certain pieces of information. Also, it doesn't allow in-depth study of behaviours and attitudes researchers may not be able to ask detailed, probing questions.