Living near a natural gas hydraulic fracturing site is associated with increased

Question

Living near a natural gas hydraulic fracturing site is associated with increased rates of sinus problems, migraines and fatigue, according to new research. Scientists had 7,785 randomly selected participants in a large Pennsylvania health system fill out health questionnaires. About a quarter met criteria for one or more of three disorders: chronic rhinosinusitis, migraine headaches and severe fatigue.

The study, in Environmental Health Perspectives, ranked participants according to how closely they lived to fracking sites and larger wells. Compared with those in the bottom one quarter by this measure, those in the top one quarter were 49 percent more likely to have sinusitis and migraines, 88 percent more likely to have sinusitis and fatigue, 95 percent more likely to have migraines and fatigue, and 84 percent more likely to have all three symptoms.

The senior author, Dr. Brian S. Schwartz, a physician and environmental epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, acknowledged that there may be variables the researchers did not account for, and that this was an observational study that does not prove cause and effect. But, he said, “there have now been seven or eight studies with different designs and in different populations, and while none is perfect, there is now a growing body of evidence that this industry is associated with impacts on health that are biologically plausible.

QUESTION

1. State the research question(s) of the study. Note that what is needed is NOT the problem statement but the research question

2. Identify the independent and dependent variables in the study. Describe the variables

3. List the hypotheses for the study

4. Discuss causality vs. correlation in the context of the study

5. What are the conclusions from the study?

6. What are the implications of the study? (10 points)

7. What are some other variables that could be included in the study, in your opinion? State the variable and the rationale for why you feel it should be included (10 points).

8. What would you suggest for future research? (10 points)

Explanation / Answer

1 The question is whether living near fracking sites and oil Wells and health problems have correlation

2 The independent variable is living near fracking sites and Wells. The dependent variables are sinus problems, migrane and fatigue

3 The hypotheses is that living near fracking sites and Wells doesn't cause health problems

4 causality means there is cause and effect relation. The correlation means variable tend to move together. The above stud shows there is correlation between living near fraking sites and oil Wells and sinus problems, migrane and fatigue. But the study doesn't show causality between these variables

Can answer only 4 parts according to chegg policy. Please send other parts as separate question

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