2-1 Short Paper: Research Methods, Alcohol Consumption

Research Methods
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Research Methods
The article Alcohol consumption among first-time mothers and the risk of preterm birth: a cohort study is an observational study since the researchers were observing the participants and measuring different variables without treating the variables (Song & Chung, 2010; Dale, Bakketeig & Magnus, 2016).
The methods used to collect data included the use of questionnaires to get responses on alcohol consumption, at pregnancy week 15 from the potential, observational Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (NMCCS). Again, data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway was used to provide findings on the preterm birth, categorized as delivery before gestation week 37 (Dale, Bakketeig & Magnus, 2016). Since the purpose of the research was to explore the association between alcohol consumption, before and during pregnancy, and the risk of preterm birth among 46,252 primiparous mothers, it was advisable to use the available data and the questionnaires to capture different responses on the selected variables. The large sample used and the kind of variables that were measured favored the methods chosen by the investigators.
The investigators collected quantitative data during the research. For instance, the questions contained on the questionnaires were closed questions with possible responses of “yes” or “no.” Also, a 7-point Likert scale was used to capture some of the replies with 1= strongly disagree” to “7 = strongly agree.”
Data was analyzed using the Multivariable logistic regression analyses to estimate th...