Examining Foodborne Illness Risks - Paper Example

Introduction

According to Hennink, Hutter, and Bailey (2020), a research population generally involves a comprehensive of objects, individuals, or institutions owning some specific characteristics that are of particular interest to the research query. The shared attributes of the groups differentiate them from other objects, individuals, or institutions. In this study, to examine the high rate of foodborne illness incident rates due to food safety risks among CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) proprietors of small, independent grocery stores, the population involves the local government environmental health officers spread across Australia. There are local government environmental health officers in each of the 517 local governments, making it quite a large population to engage in the study. The local government health officers are the appropriate target population for the study since they frequently interact with data relating to foodborne illnesses as they are bestowed with the mandate of inspecting food premises each year under the Australia and New Zealand food code and the food Act of 1984 and compile the inspection report as well as a follow-up inspection. Accordingly, they will be extensively resourceful to the research. A sampling frame enables the researcher to narrow down the population into manageable groups while still maintaining the validity of the study population. A sample frame refers to a set of units that describe the population and from which a sample of the population can be identified (Etikan and Bala 2017, p. 149). The sampling frame for the study is the Australian Department of Health database of local government environmental health, which lists the names and contact details of every local government health officer.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Sample Strategy

A sample will be drawn from the entire population to divide it into a manageable size. A sample refers to a specific group of objects or individuals from the entire population from which data for the research will be collected (Taherdoost 2016). The sample size, number of individuals in the sample, is determined by the size of the entire population for accurate data. The larger the sample size, the higher the difficulty in collecting data, but the more accurate it can provide precise inferences relating to the overall population. This research will determine the sample using a non-probability sampling strategy. Non-sampling probability strategy is preferred over probability sampling strategies since it allows the researcher to choose the most preferred sample population for the study based on subjective judgement (Kallet 2004, p.1229). The non-probability sampling strategy is the most appropriate for qualitative and exploratory research; thus, it will give the researcher a comprehensive understanding of the underresearched population. Unlike the probability strategies, the non-probability strategy provides the opportunity to attain objectivity in sample selection. Moreover, using non-probability sampling will provide the researcher with an easy, cheap, and quick way of selecting a sample.

Using the non-probability strategy, purposive sampling will be exploited in the study (Etikan and Bala 2017, p. 149). Purposive sampling confers the researcher with the autonomy of using their conscience to select a sample that they think would be most useful to accomplish the research purpose (Hennink, Hutter, and Bailey 2020). With the extensive knowledge of the research, the method for executing purposive sampling is quite straightforward as the researcher will just pick the local government officers who fit a specific profile that the researcher prefers. Based on the criticality of the research topic and the need for extensive information, purposive sampling enables researcher to squeeze much information from the gathered data. According to Trafialek et al. (2018, p. 213), dense populations are directly associated with high rates of foodborne illnesses, and the many CALD groups exist in major cities across the country. Therefore, the researcher, using purposive sampling, will local government environmental health officers from large cities in Australia, which have a population of more than 100,000 residents. Besides, CALD proprietors are more concentrated on large cities than in remote areas within the country. Hence the selected sample of local government environmental officers will have a wider perspective and information on the research topic. The selected sample will involve local government officers from only 19 councils which have fulfilled the threshold of 100,000 residents including, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Canberra, Newcastle, Wollongong, Logan City, Geelong, Hobart, Townsville, Cairns, Toowoomba, Darwin, Rockingham, Launceston, and Bendigo (World Population Review 2020).

Recruitment

The participants of this study, the local government environmental health officers from the selected regions, will be recruited through a request on a phone call. Further engagement will be conducted through the email, where questionnaires will be attached in their emails. It is also suggested that those within convenient regions where the researcher can access will be conducted physically for a one-on-one interview relating to the questionnaire for insightful information gathering. The vitality of the study to their responsibilities in ensuring healthy foods among vendors will be explained. They will be guaranteed to be provided with a copy of the completed study for implementation purposes, where they deem relevant and useful in their campaign for food safety and reduced foodborne illness rates.

Several potential confounding factors may undermine the accuracy of the data collection from the given sample. One, it is prone to bias since the researcher employed a subjective judgement approach to determine the participants of the study. Furthermore, it might be hard to convince others that the study utilized a generalizable approach to the larger population. The audience might not quite agree that if different alternatives were used, the overall findings would still be consistent.

References

Etikan, I and Bala, K, 2017, ‘Sampling and sampling methods’, Biometrics & Biostatistics International Journal, vol. 5, no. 6, p. 00149. http://dx.doi.org/10.15406/bbij.2017.05.00149

Hennink, M, Hutter, I, and Bailey, A, 2020, ‘Qualitative research methods’, SAGE Publications Limited, <https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_InCDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=research+methods&ots=3u7JqRq2ix&sig=0qXTLX6pxCG8-aC6uBFjZSwSoEU&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=research%20methods&f=false>

Kallet, R, 2004, ‘How to write the methods section of a research paper’, Respiratory care, vol.49, no. 10, pp. 1229-1232, <http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/49/10/1229/tab-pdf>

Taherdoost, H, 2016, ‘Sampling methods in research methodology; how to choose a sampling technique for research’, How to Choose a Sampling Technique for Research, <http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3205035>

Trafialek, J, Drosinos, E, Laskowski, W, Jakubowska-Gawlik, K, Tzamalis, P, Leksawasdi, N, Surawang, S, and Kolanowski, W, 2018, ‘” Street food vendors”; hygienic practices in some Asian and EU countries–A survey’, Food control, vol. 85, pp. 212-222, <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320200196_Street_food_vendors;_hygienicpractices_in_some_Asian_and_EU_countries_-_A survey>

World Population Review 2020, Population of Cities in Australia (2020) Geonames, viewed, 23 September 2020, <https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/cities/australia>