Choose which of the following limitations are methodological, in a study of home UV treatment of depressive illnesses. (Select all that apply.)

Question

a. A study performed in Afghanistan is published only in a British journal.
b. The operational definitions are not in line with the conceptual definitions.
c. The study framework is related to the social costs of depressive illness.
d. The subjects excluded from participation in a study of depressive illness and UV home treatment were those who had been hospitalized in the past for depression.
e. A multi-site study examining UV home treatment and depressive illness is conducted only in major west coast urban centers.

Answer 1

ANS: A, B, D, E
Limitations are restrictions or problems in a study that may decrease the generalizability of the findings. All studies have limitations, and these might be theoretical and/or methodological in nature. Theoretical limitations are weaknesses in a study framework and conceptual and operational definitions of variables that restrict the abstract generalization of the findings. Methodological limitations are factors in the study design that can limit the credibility of the findings and restrict the population to which the findings can be generalized. Studies can be generalized to the population from which the sample was drawn; a sample drawn from one geographic area can, in general, be generalized back only to that area. The findings from a study conducted in Afghanistan (and published in English in a British journal) can be generalized back to Afghanistan. Studies conducted in one language and published in another may be flawed in other ways.