Question

Variables This week, you studied different kinds of variables. Refer to the South University Online Library and select an empirical article that covers a topic of interest to you and has clearly identified variables, ensuring that the study is recent (i.e., conducted within the past five years). Describe the methods used. In addition, discuss the variables and scales used in each study. At the conclusion of your discussion, describe how you would code these variables in Minitab.

Answer 1

Introduction

• The controversy that erupted during the last quarter of year 2008 brought people’s attention back to the debates between breastfeeding and the use of breast milk substitutes like commercial infant formula.
• Infant feeding practices refer generally to meet the nutritional and immunological needs of the baby. A study of infant feeding practices was carried out on a sample of 100 mother and infant pairs. The results revealed that only 20% of mothers in the study currently exclusively breastfeed their babies. It also shows that socio-economic factors like mother’s work status, marital status and educational attainment had direct bearing on these practices. Employed mothers tend to cease from breastfeeding their babies and eventually stop and just resort to formula feeding as they go back to work. The study also showed that mothers who are married and living with their partners are more likely to breastfeed their infants than single mothers. Those with higher educational attainment resort more to formula feeding and mixed feeding than those with lower educational attainment. Health care professionals influence mothers the most when it comes to infant feeding decisions.

Methodology

1. Type of Research

• The type of research that will be used in this study is qualitative research and quantitative research. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior. The discipline investigates the “why” and “how” of decision making.

nominal - values indicate qualitatively different kinds

qualitative variable = nominal variable

quantitative var. = ordinal or interval var.

• Besides this, the researcher will also examine the phenomenon through observations in numerical representations and through statistical analysis. Along with questionnaires that will be given out to respondents for the statistical representation of the findings in the study, interviews with the respondents and a few experts in this field will also be conducted.

Sampling Method

• The research sampling method that will be used in this study is random sampling to obtain a more scientific result that could be used to represent the entirety of the population.
• From 20 each, 3 will be picked through random sampling. The health care facilities and institutions in these three will then be the target sources of respondents of the researcher. The health care facilities and institutions will be contacted to obtain a verbal consent to administer the questionnaire to mothers at their places.
• A letter of consent will also be sent to them along with a sample copy of the questionnaire that will be used, as well as the protocol of the researcher.

Data collection was conducted throughout the facilities? and health centers? operating hours from Mondays through Sundays in order to include both working and non-working mothers.
Respondents
The respondents in this research will all be coming from one single location - City Hospital, because of the socio-economic conditions present in the area that is relevant to the study and also as it fits the time frame and resources of the researcher.

Questionnaire
The questionnaire requires information about the socio-economic and demographic background of the mother. It also has questions related to previous infant feeding practices and the birth of her youngest infant and also regarding the baby’s general health and age.

Conclusion
Majority of the mothers formula feed their child and only a minority exclusively breastfeeds their children, especially as per recommendation of the World Health Organization. While majority of the mothers in this study showed a positive attitude towards breastfeeding, most of them decided only to formula feed due to the reasons of insufficient milk supply and work.

Majority of the mothers that served as respondents in this study fall under the age range of 17-30 years old. More than half of them were also college graduates while a significant number are undergraduates and have only reached until high school. Most of the mothers are housewives and the others remaining have full-time jobs, part-time jobs and self-employed.
      It can be concluded that numerous internal as well as external factors influence a mother in making infant feeding decisions, and a greater fraction of these is socio-economic in nature.