Evaluation

Evaluation of a Statistical Study on Substance Abuse and Its Effect on Women

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The following is an evaluation of a statistical study of the NJ Women Count which is a collaborative initiative of the State on New Jersey department of community affairs and the Institute for Women’s Leadership, Rutgers University. The study is about substance abuse and its effect on women. It assesses women’s status in relation to substance abuse with a target analysis on mothers who are subject to substance abuse. The study also provides some policy recommendations about the matter.

The main goal of the study is to improve women’s status and increase the ability of women to influence formulation of policies and also increase the number of women in decision making positions (Ashley 2003). The population being considered in this study is mothers who are involved in substance abuse. The type of study used is observational and retrospective whereby the researchers observed the women in treatment facilities for substance use and by using a sample they collected information about the outcomes which has already taken place.

Most of the sources used are from governmental institutions hence the information might not be biased. These sources include the US department of health and human services. However there is biasness in the sense that the researchers and the authors of the study are mainly women. Since the goal of the study is to improve on women’s status the researchers being women, might lead to an unintentional biasness. The variable of interest is to improve the status of women. This is through increasing their numbers in decision making positions and in policy making. This might make the interpretation of results difficult since improving status may mean a different thing. The study also has some confounding variables. For example, the study does not look into the causes of women becoming drug addicts and the early prevention of substance use.

The setting of...