Validity:
Unfortunately I chose two different methods of collecting the data. One way was from a structured interview, and the other was by handing out the questionnaire. This poses many problems in the validity of my results. The people who were given the opportunity to take the questionnaire away and think about the items, are going to give very different answers compared to those who had to answer almost immediately. This is due to the power of the subconscious in decision-making. It is a misconception that a person should go on their ‘gut feeling’ when making a decision, however research has shown that giving the subconscious time to process the information yields a far greater accuracy rate in responses (24). I would not have had this problem if I had only used one method of gaining the data.
Another problem faced in questionnaires is the face validity of the items. This means how I write the question can affect how the person responds. For example leading questions can influence a person to respond in a way that the question suggests them too. It is also important to consider if some of the items I used were actually asking what they were supposed to. For example ‘How many hours of exercise do you do a week?’ is an ambiguous question. People could answer based on what they did that day, the past month or what they hope to achieve in the future. This is also relates to social desirability bias, where the respondents answer is what they think they should put down, rather than their actual opinion. For example almost everyone is aware of the affects of smoking, drinking and not exercising on a person’s health (17). This means that the items related to these ‘bad habits’ may not show an accurate representation of the respondent’s real answer, as they may feel guilty for still smoking or not exercising.
Sources:
I tried to use as many official sources as possible like the government, a national census and medical journals. This is important when using the information from these sources as a small-scale study is going to lack validity, and a personal website is often only going to contain personal opinion. It was also important to only use UK based sites where appropriate. This is because statistics and information on non-UK based websites are primarily based on other countries not the UK.
(24) serendip.brynmawr.edu
(17) kidshealth.org
Conclusion –
My questionnaire proved an effective method of gaining quantitative data in the topic of understanding attitudes and concepts in health. The qualitative data provided a rich background of attitudes and understandings that the respondents held, which helped me explore the reasons behind behaviors in relation to heath. Health is influenced by the person’s situation. A person with a disability is much more likely to class themselves as unhealthy; similarly different cultures have different perceptions and attitudes towards health, all of which must be taken into consideration when understanding a person’s concept of health. For example a culture where alcohol is not allowed, drinking affects are reduced or nonexistent in the population. Similarly, some people may report being ill one day and not the next. It depends on the person’s situation and the duration of the symptoms they feel. However the definitions of ill health interchange. Even when a person has no symptoms they can still be ill. And the definitions often overlap in personal and professional terms. A person can suffer from a disease, a disorder and an illness all at the same time from one condition. For example diabetes is a malfunction over the pancreas, a set of symptoms such as dry mouth and a diagnosable condition through a glucose test. This overlap needs to be considered when evaluating a person’s understanding of the terms. I learnt that there are many different factors that affect a person’s health. However viewing the combination of these alongside their concepts and understanding gives a far greater picture of the individual’s attitude towards health and ill-health.
