Question

A person who was well-known in the popular media for his views on food additives decided to do research on the effect of artificial colors and flavors on the incidence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). To study this phenomenon, he recruited 25 families with hyperactive children (all boys, ages 8–11) by telling them they had a chance to participate in research that would cure hyperactivity. He asked the parents to eliminate all foods with artificial colors and flavors from their diets. He also told the parents to prepare more foods at home, involve the child with ADHD in the food preparation, and to eat together as families more often. The research found that 23 of the 25 boys in the study experienced statistically significant decreases in incidents of hyperactive behavior. The researcher concluded that artificial colors and flavors cause ADHD. Evaluate the study. Does the study have any limitation(s)?

Answer 1

Answer:

Yes, it has several limitations. First, the study must have the permission of an ethical committee and the signature of the parents' informed consent. Second, before carrying out any investigation, the person must consult in all databases of scientific articles any type of study that supports their hypotheses, in this case, the researcher must consult if there are scientific articles focused on the effect of artificial colors and flavors in food on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for this way, that the results obtained have sufficient support, and third, 25 families is a very small sample to draw general conclusions.

Explanation:

The authorization and development of any research project on human beings will require the previous favorable report of the Research Ethics Committee, in this case, an investigation with personal data/observational studies will be applied, in this way, the study will have the guarantee of compliance with relevant ethical, scientific and legal aspects.

If the researcher needs to know what has been published on this particular topic, he can find this information by searching the database. The scientific databases contain relevant, updated, accurate, verified and quality information.

The methodological part of any research project must define the study population in time and space, clarify if a census will be taken or if it is necessary to take a sample of it. To be representative, he must identify the similarities and differences found in the population, exemplify its characteristics and trends.