Article Critique
Research Problem
In this study, the researchers explain that there is large scale abuse of stimulants and particularly ADHD medications among students. Though prior studies have tried to explain the prevalence of this abuse and why students choose to use these substances, there is no in-depth explanation of the users conceptions of these stimulants, there behavior once they start using them and the factors that prompt them to start using these prescriptions. Such data can only be collected by conducting a qualitative study whose aim is to collect rich in-depth explanations for phenomenon based on the subjects personal experience (Creswell 2003).
This study focuses on students (university undergraduates in one of the universities in the United States). The researchers have justified the scope of the problem using data collected from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in which it has been found that more than 4.4 million children between the ages 4 and 17 (school going age) have been diagnosed with ADHD which calls for doctors to prescribe ADHD medications which are stimulants to treat the disorder (Desantis, Webb, Noar, 2008). The high prevalence and the stimulating nature of the prescriptions which encourages abuse as well as physical and psychological dependency is one of the reasons as to why the researchers chose to study students in the university. The researchers also based their study on literature review of findings of prior researches which indicate that there is a high prevalence of illegal use of ADHD medications in American college universities. The use of university students is therefore based on findings of prior studies as well as facts from data bases.
The data of the research will contribute towards a richer understanding of the growing incidence of illegal use of ADHD stimulant nationally. Strategies that can be used to stem the surge of ADHD stimulant abuse can also be identified from the collected data.
Research Question and Purpose
The research question and purpose of the study have been clearly defined. The research question is how and why college students of the studied American public university use illegal prescription stimulants (Desantis, Webb, Noar, 2008). The research question has been developed from limitations in literature review and facts from a national data base.
The purposeobjectives of the study is also clear in which the researchers seek to establish the factors that first prompted users to start using ADHD medications prescriptions, the reasons for continual use of these medications and, where as well as how the students access the ADHD medications. The purpose of the study correlates well with the research question and problem. In addressing these objectives, the study will adequately and appropriately answer the research question hence address the research problem.
Hypotheses
This research is dominantly qualitative and as such, the researchers have not stated any hypotheses to be tested in order to answer the research question. For typical researches, hypotheses are usually developed mostly based on the theoretical framework guiding the study or on facts or on the literature review which forms the background of the research (Salkind, 2006). In this case however, the researchers did not state any hypotheses because they seek to draw their conclusions from findings of data collected from explanations given by the subjects. The aim of qualitative studies is to get rich in-depth explanations to the phenomenon being studied hence most of these studies do not usually have hypotheses.
Strengths and Limitations of the Study
This studys limitation is the method that was used to select subjects. The researchers used a convenience sample which is often discouraged in research work as it is not representative of the entire population being studied. Convenience sampling is non-probability as it implies that not every member of the population has equal chance of participating in the study (Salkind, 2006). This method of sampling encourages researcher biases and increases errors. In this case, the demographics of the sample such as percentage of Greek students, juniors as well as seniors included in the sample do not accurately mirror the demographics of the entire campus thus a researcher based bias resulting to an error in the demographics of the population.
The researchers and any future research should attempt to use stratified sampling which is probability and more representative of the population as it ensures that every member is represented in the sample. Stratified random sampling also reduces researcher based biases that characterize sampling (Salkind, 2006).
Based on research findings that use of stimulants in universities is dependent on factors such as the universitys regional location and school competitiveness, the findings of this one university can not be generalized to all universities in the United States. Future research should attempt to compare results from various universities before drawing a conclusion that be generalized.
Use of trained and qualified individuals to collect data is strength of the study and is important as it decreases errors that occur during sampling and collection of data. Combination of quantitative and qualitative studies was also strategic as it ensured that the researchers collected all the relevant numerical as well as response data without overlooking any of the two. A combined approach enabled the researchers to conduct a more comprehensive research as various factors which have an influence on the findings could comfortably be factored either in the qualitative or quantitative part without overlooking anything or being restricted due to the nature of the study. Use of interviewers who are familiar with the respondents also a strength as it increases the accuracy of collected data. This is because human subjects are usually more comfortable talking to those they are familiar with particularly over an issue that is as sensitive as this one.
Aspects of the Study
The interpretations of the researchers are consistent with the research findings and are supported with factual evidence. The study found that the rate of illegal use of stimulants was higher among male white and Greek students which correlates with studies conducted ion other universities. It also found that the rate of prevalence was higher in the university than previous studies had found which was attributed to the fact that the sample had a higher percentage of Greek students the campus is located in one of the states ranked among the top three in the US for prevalence of ADHD diagnosis and because the ADHD stimulant use is rising with time nationwide.
The study also found that most of the students who illegally used the stimulants first used them in college. It was found that those who illegally used the stimulants lacked adequate knowledge on the appropriate doses, the side effects of these medications and on the prescription of stimulants because they did not seek or have information about the drugs before they stated using them. It was found that most students illegally used the stimulants to enhance their academic performance during periods of high academic pressure and stress as they found the stimulants to increase their concentration and ability to study for longer periods of time. The findings show that the stimulants are quite easy to get as they are mostly supplied by few fellow students who have legal prescriptions but do not take the whole dose and instead sell the extra pills to their friends and colleague who they claim need them.
Most students who illegally used the stimulants did not feel any guilt as most believed that the stimulants were harmless and morally acceptable as they were only used for academic purposes. They did not view their actions as illegal as these medications are prescribed and can be bought from any pharmacy unlike other illegal drugs sold on streets by drug dealers. Those who supplied the medications also thought it was a way of helping their friends and getting rid of the extra pills which they did not need.
No generalizations have been made that are unwarranted on the basis of the sample used. In the findings, the researchers attribute the high rate of use of the stimulants to the fact that a large percentage of Greek students were incorporated in the sample. This correlates with prior findings which indicate that prevalence of illicit use of stimulants is also high among Greek Students (Desantis, Webb, Noar, 2008).
In this study, the researchers offer implications of the research for practical purposes. The researchers use the research findings to propose three possible ways through which the problem of illegal use of ADHD stimulant can be stemmed in college campuses.
Ethical Aspects of the study
This study presents no form of deception particularly as far as selection of subjects is concerned. The researchers took various steps to safeguard the participants as is required by ethical guidelines to research when using humans as subjects (Leedy, Ormrod, 2005). Before commencing the study, the researchers sought approval of the methods they were going to use from the human subjects committee of the universitys institutional review board. When selecting students to be used in the sample, the researchers explained the purpose of the study and how the participants would benefit from it. No coercion or undue influence was used in recruiting the participants as the researchers explained that participation was purely voluntary. Informed written consent was obtained before those who were interested could be allowed to participate in the study. The researchers also took steps to protect the confidentiality of the participants. Their names were changed as well as other identifying markers or references to organizations, events or other people that could expose the participants identity.
Research Design
This study is qualitative though some relevant quantitative data also was collected hence can be described as integrated. The researchers clearly explained the design making it known that though qualitative data was what they sought to achieve, quantitative data was also important particularly in sampling of the subjects so that they would be representative of the population. The methodologies to be used in both cases have clearly been described.
Since time is one of the most crucial resources in research and considering the fact that time had no effect on the phenomena that was being studied, conducting a cross-sectional study would have been more preferable than the longitudinal approach that was taken. A cross-sectional study would have allowed the researchers to carryout a more comprehensive study as it would have allowed them more time. They might even have had the time to use a probability method to select samples such as stratified random sampling so that every student in the university was represented in the study.
As mentioned before, the study is not exclusively qualitative as both qualitative (responses) and quantitative (numerical) data was collected. Quantitative data collected include data on demographics of the sample, the number of students who used the stimulants illegally based on the demographics and the number of students who used the medications due to certain indicated reasons.
Qualitative Sampling Designs
The setting, which is students in one of the public universities in the US, is quite appropriate for the research question. The only limitation which weakens the study is that the university is based in a state that is rated among the top states in the US for ADHD diagnosis. This fact makes the setting seem to be researcher biased.
The researchers used convenience sampling which has limitations as it is non-probability and not representative of the population. It results to errors and its findings can not be generalized to the entire campus or other universities in the US. The overall sample size (1148) is appropriate for quantitative data but not qualitative as conducting in-depth interviews for all these people would be time consuming and expensive (would have required the researchers to higher and train a larger number of research assistants). The number of subjects who illegally used prescription of ADHD medications was 585 (Desantis, Webb, Noar, 2008). Responses from these individuals are the most crucial and relevant to the research question. Based on the population, a college university, this sample size, though large for a typical study was appropriate for the research question.
Data Collection Procedures
The only bias presented in the study is that a larger percentage of Greek Students was used in the sample size than was appropriate due to the method used to sample (convenience sampling). This is significant as the phenomenon under study is also influenced by cultural background. Their number affected the results and the conclusions made.
The data was collected from the subjects in their natural setting which in this case is at the campus. The research assistants were selected such that they matched with the demographics of the sample to ensure comfort for the subjects. It is not revealed whether other people were present during data collection but since this is a sensitive issue though not a big deal at the university, and the fact that the researchers sought to ensure comfort as well as confidentiality for the subjects to enhance accuracy of the collected data, the interviewers must have carried out the interviews without the presence of other people.
Data Quality in Qualitative Studies
The fact that the researchers used some direct quotes from respondents increases the trustworthiness of the data as the reader is able compare the interpretations of the researchers with the responses to determine whether they are consistent. Use of in-depth interviews to collect data also increases the datas trustworthiness as these have been described as the interviews to use when collecting qualitative in-depth data (King, 2004).
There researchers seem to have compared their findings with those of prior studies in order to enhance and appraise the credibility of the data. According to Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill (2007), using multiple perspectives is one way of increasing the validity of qualitative findings particularly where triangulation is not available. In this case, the researchers used perspectives of fellow researchers. They should also have considered taking the findings back to the respondents for their opinion based on their personal experience. Both strategies are allowed in validation of qualitative data (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2007).
Qualitative Analysis
Analysis of the data indicates that illegal use of ADHD prescription stimulants is increasing over time in universities among students and is higher in white male students who are upperclassmen as well as in Greek students as compared to non-Greeks (Desantis, Webb, Noar, 2008). It emerged that most college university students used illicit prescription of ADHD drugs to enhance their academic performance particularly during the final week when pressure and stress is highest (2008). It was discovered that most of those who illicitly used these stimulants do not possess adequate information on stimulant prescription, legal consequences of illegal use and their side effects both psychologically and physiologically (2008). It also emerged that students have easy access to these stimulants which are mostly provided by students who have legal prescriptions but who do not take their doses as required. More importantly, those illicitly using the drug do not feel any guilt or view it as illegal. Illicit prescription of stimulants has become a culture at the university.
The resulting themes from analysis of the collected data adequately describe the phenomenon that was being studied. The research objectives have been attained and the research question adequately addressed.
Conclusion
Though characterized by several limitations as it is with every other research study but with more strengths, it can be concluded that these researchers conducted a quality research study. The methodologies used are consistent with the research design and correlate well with the research problem. They are also adequate and appropriate in answering the research question. The researchers followed research guidelines that govern such a study and were able to come up with valid and reliable in-depth explanation as to how and why university students illicitly used stimulants. The findings are also significant as they have some practical implications to the American society as a whole.
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