The choice of an analytical path in biomedical and public health research
Keywords:
exploratory approach, confirmatory approach, design, data analysis, previous knowledge, hypothesisAbstract
Introduction: The importance of prior knowledge is argued, together with the objectives, the nature of the data and the type of design, in the choice of analytical resources in biomedical and health research. Prior knowledge is seldom taken into account, and this omission leads not only to contenting ourselves with a simple description when more complex resources are needed, but also to using superfluous analytical ornamentation.
Development: Prior knowledge can be summarized in an analytical perspective, which in turn can be specified in 3 key verbs: explore, confirm or verify. These 3 verbs are decisive when choosing the design and analytical resources, although they are not made explicit when formulating the research objectives. Conclusions: Except in development research, whose purpose is to obtain a tangible product, in research there is always an underlying perspective, which can be exploratory or confirmatory, and in the latter case it can be aimed at providing empirical support for a conjecture or a verify hypotheses, which have been previously founded on theoretical or empirical grounds.
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