Study Evaluation Example Essay

This study was a randomized controlled trial that tested the effectiveness of a community-based program on participants’ wellbeing. A random sampling procedure was used to divide the participants into two categories – an intervention arm and a control arm – and to apply different treatment regimens to each sample (Lipman & Boyle, 2005). The participants did not know which group they were in; a measure which improves the overall efficiency of the study.

This random sampling procedure was implemented on a diverse population of 117 single mothers of children aged between three and nine years old (Lipman & Boyle, 2005). Participants were selected from an advertisement campaign and placed into two broad categories through random sampling. All participants were oblivious to the characteristics of their group. The intervention measures and control procedures were applied to both groups and data was continually collected for an extended period of six months (Lipman & Boyle, 2005).

The random sampling approach and the overall study design has several advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, the inclusion and exclusion criteria were effective because this ensured only women with specific characteristics were selected. In addition to being single mothers, the study only included women who felt lonely. Additionally, randomization in the sampling process eliminates bias thus making the study more effective (Deaton & Cartwright, 2018). The data collection techniques that involves the collection of data on multiple instances over an extended period is also effective as it optimizes the reliability on the findings established. Finally, the study has a huge dataset, thus, making the conclusions made informed (Deaton & Cartwright, 2018). Nonetheless, this study requires a great deal of control to isolate variables that cause change before establishing a correlation.

This study is a survey because it relies on the evaluation of a specific sample of individuals. Additionally, data collection was undertaken on both groups in several ways, including interviews. Cross tabulation was done to evaluate the data collected as is often done in surveys. This study employs a similar design and is, therefore, a survey.

References
Lipman, E. L., & Boyle, M. H. (2005). Social support and education groups for single mothers: a randomized controlled trial of a community-based program. Cmaj, 173(12), 1451-1456.
Deaton, A., & Cartwright, N. (2018). Understanding and misunderstanding randomized controlled trials. Social Science & Medicine, 210, 2-21.