Thank you for your recommendations on study design and the changes to the questionnaire. Based on my experience I determined that we would use age and state of primary residence as the matching criteria and that three times as many controls as case-patients, or 3 to 1 matching, would give us enough data. The study was conducted using area code as indication of state of primary residence.
We have just received the results. I had the information transcribed; the line listing and revised questionnaire are attached for your review. I had the intern only list "Snuffles" and not "blue cat" to help keep things clear. We should now have enough data from the case-control study to rule out some of the remaining hypotheses, hopefully leaving only one or two hypotheses left to test.
So, here’s what I need you to do next:
Analyze the data provided in the new line listing.
Update your Descriptive Epi Report.
Suggest what we should do next to address the three key components of the investigation process using the ISP we’ve been using throughout the investigation:
Data collection/analysis
Hypothesis development/testing
Management and communication
Then, as before, I need you to submit a plan for what we should do next. Please send me an email summarizing your plan. In your reply email, please attach the completed ISP to justify your recommendations.
