Print

Print


Thank you Kevin and Anne.  Have found the books on Amazon.  It's just
that I don't like to be beaten by what are probably just posh words for
as you say, simple sums.  And when reading and unpicking a paper one
needs to understand these things or one cannot draw a reliable
conclusion for oneself.  This may sound a bit nerdy but I know what I
mean!!
 
Mary
 
Mary Smolen
Staff Nurse
Occupational Health Department
Royal Bournemouth Hospital
 
Tel:  01202 704215
Fax:  01202 704513
 
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: 09 June 2011 12:27
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [OCC-HEALTH] Research Terminology
 
Judging by what my daughter has had to cover in her MSc in Occupational
Psychology I bet you excel at "sums" Kevin. She is even helping her
friend who is in the second year of a Maths degree with her stats
course. I much prefer what many hard core statisticians would consider
the pink and fluffy approach to data collection -  the qualitative
approach.

Have you come across the Derek Rowntree book "Statistics without Tears"
published by Penguin ISBN0 14-013632-0? Not sure if it is still in print
but it is what made statistics make a (bit more) sense to me. It is
great for students who work in health care as he uses examples which
make sense such he uses the height, systolic blood pressure reading, etc
of a group of people to explain statistical principles. 

If still available, another easy reading resource for those who don't
take to stats like a duck to water:

Adamantios Diamantopoulos, Bodo Schlegelmiclch  Taking the fear out of
data analysis. Published by Dryden Press ISBN 0-03-099006-8
It did for me what it says in the title. The most difficult part of this
book is being able to remember, let alone spell, the names of the two
authors.

Happy reading

Anne Harriss
Course Director
LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY


On 09/06/2011 10:44, "Kevin Maguire" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
These terms belong to one (big) branch of research, that of sums (they
call it statistics but they're just sums).  Quantitative researchers
like big sums.  Qualitative researchers sample knowledge and ideas
rather than units and so have different ways of analysing and
describing.   Sums tend to be taught by people who love sums and they
forget that most people just want to use them so don't be blinded by
terminology.  Think conceptually: what do I want to find out? What is
the best way of finding that out?  This will keep you sane.  Letting the
tail wag the dog is not so good for sanity.
 
Research methods are best learnt In a controlled but experiential
manner.  If you want to learn specifically about statistical techniques
(especially in relation to epidemiology), there are plenty of courses
around: every MPH will teach you such stuff.  Every Higher Ed
Institution will offer relevant  courses on quantitative methods if you
are just interested in that aspect.
 
Good luck with your sums.
 
Kevin  
 
PS I ought to add that I am not anti-sums.  It's just that I agree with
a mathematical friend who used to say: statistics is too important to
leave to mathematicians.
 
 
Dr. Kevin MAGUIRE CPsychol MCIEH, Senior Lecturer, Division of
Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University,
Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BU. UK. Telephone ++ 44 (0) 115 848 5540

From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Smolen, Mary
Sent: 09 June 2011 09:01
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [OCC-HEALTH] Back Pain.. better not to do "back exercises"

Very interesting.  Thank you Diane.  Would be interesting to see what
Physios have to say about it.
 
Incidentally does anyone know of a resource to help me understand the
terminology used in research studies?  Prior to my commencement of the
OH degree last year I did a distance-learning module on Research but
this did not fully equip me to get all these words like 'linear and
logistic regression models' or 'adjusted odds ratios'.  I would LOVE to
understand every word I read!!  Is there a course available or
something?
 

Mary Smolen
Staff Nurse
Occupational Health Department
Royal Bournemouth Hospital
Castle Lane East
Bournemouth
BH7 7DW

Tel:  01202 704215
Fax:  01202 704513

To email confidential information to me from a source outside the RBCH
NHS Trust,  please email
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> 

 
This message may contain information that is privileged or confidential.
It is intended for the addressee(s) only and should not be forwarded or
copied to any third party without the consent of the sender.  If you
received this in error please contact the sender and destroy the
message.
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Diane Romano-Woodward
Sent: 08 June 2011 22:23
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [OCC-HEALTH] Back Pain.. better not to do "back exercises"


Hello Listy



I cam across this article form a reputable USA university on 681 people
with low back pain



http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16186460


These results suggest that individuals with low back pain should refrain
from specific back exercises and instead focus on nonspecific physical
activities to reduce pain and improve psychological health.

Food for thought...

Diane
******************************** Please remove this footer before
replying. 
OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html 

CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH
******************************** Please remove this footer before
replying. 

OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html 

CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH
DISCLAIMER: This email is intended solely for the addressee. It may
contain private and confidential information. If you are not the
intended addressee, please take no action based on it nor show a copy to
anyone. In this case, please reply to this email to highlight the error.
Opinions and information in this email that do not relate to the
official business of Nottingham Trent University shall be understood as
neither given nor endorsed by the University. Nottingham Trent
University has taken steps to ensure that this email and any attachments
are virus-free, but we do advise that the recipient should check that
the email and its attachments are actually virus free. This is in
keeping with good computing practice. ********************************
Please remove this footer before replying. 

OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html 

CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH
******************************** Please remove this footer before
replying. 
OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html 
CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH

********************************
Please remove this footer before replying.

OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html

CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH