Question

Propose a research study that examines the relationship between population growth and health. Identify the research topic, include discussion of how you would frame your research question and what theory or theories you would use, select an appropriate research methodology, weigh any ethical implications, and discuss any challenges or threats to data collection, reliability, or validity that may arise.

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) Proposal: There are two sides to this study, one is affirmative and one is negative. Both aspects can be proved through research of historical progress in the medical field. The affirmative part of the research is of the hypothesis that, a copious population leads to an increase in the demand and supply chain of medical progress and facilities. For instance, if a place has a low population, then there is a lower investment in the field of medical research. Places with lower populations would generally have medical technology that has been researched in countries of higher population. In other words, the lower population does not particularly demand too much in the field of research. Places with higher populations are prone to pandemic diseases and hence have a lot more invested in the field of medical research, development of vaccinations, biotechnology etc.

The negative hypothesis of this study would entail that a place with a higher population is prone to more diseases. More people lead to more contamination and inadequate resources. This is simply how population growth and health are related. For instance, places with higher population have more waste and sewage. This results in frequent water contamination and hence more outbreaks of water-borne diseases.

Research question 1 – Does a higher population lead to a higher demand in the field of research?

Research question 2 – Does a high population lead to more pandemic outbreaks?

Methodology – Secondary Research Analysis – Data from PEW Research on the history of outbreaks, countries that have made the most progress in terms of medical research and investment and the population of the nations involved. There are no ethical implications to this kind of study.

The probable issue that one might face with the correlation of data is that there might be a confounding variable. This means that another factor other than ‘population’ might be affecting the medical research and the rate of outbreaks. For instance, places with more factories have more diseases or places with a better economy have more medical progress.