This was a necessary decision even though it may give the study some lower representativeness toward smaller enterprises with possible differences in work environment.
Our estimates rely on some assumptions of representativeness, such as that observations from hospital surveillance are representative of all English hospitals, not just those participating in the scheme, and that reporting practices did not change between the two waves of influenza.
Sites for field visits, interviews, and FGDs were selected to represent all 6 districts equally and to purposively introduce some diversity and representativeness in the sample.
Although the TK operates nationwide, there could be some limitations regarding representativeness.
This thus affects to some extent the representativeness of our results.
The response rates among GPs and OPs raised some concerns about representativeness.
Although this is a voluntary sample from those registered in the GP and ENT communities, the demographic distribution of respondents (age, gender, region) is cross-checked against available population statistics for the two professions to provide some assurance about representativeness.
Total N is not always consistent with total sample size due to missing data on some items The representativeness of the sample can be determined by comparing respondents on key characteristics to NDSS registrants.
With regard to representativeness, some basic characteristics (sex, age, pack years, FEV1% of predicted, and GOLD classification) of the ICE COLD ERIC cohort have been compared with two other COPD cohorts from the literature (Evaluation of COPD Longitudinally to Identify Predictive Surrogate Endpoints [ECLIPSE] and Investigating New Standards for Prophylaxis In Reducing Exacerbations [INSPIRE]).
If this advocacy group claims, with reference to this PIA, that the regional public actually supports their agenda, this claim is only true if the organizers of this PIA ensured that there is some kind of representativeness relation between their sample and the regional public.
