Safety research: resources, challenges, and assessment needs

Safety is a term used to refer to prevention of an occurrence of risk that might cause damage, either severe or mild. It also refers to the precautions taken to reduce the risk of death, injury, property damage or hazards that might accrue during the performance of activities. Safety measures include fire safety, health safety, building safety, road safety, food safety, workplace safety, which individuals insure.

Resources

Basing on various risks that humans are exposed to, often occur under working fields. One of the sources that will aid in conducting research is an interview in various working environments and different homes of people. Notes are taken during interviews especially under working environments such as roads, hospitals, agricultural centers and companies. Questions are also asked during interviews by the interviewer and have to be well framed based on the subject of safety. Electronic devices such as sound recorders are used where it is inappropriate to write. Questionnaires go hand in hand with interviews, as it gives a clue of the interviewee on what he/she is asked. Open-ended questionnaires are appropriate, as it will give wider information on safety. Close-ended questionnaires are appropriate when the researcher requires information on safety in a given field. Carrying out hypothesis by a researcher in a given field, for example, conducting research on health measures require a researcher to conduct hypothesis in a given hospital. First, the research should be planned, with health care unit identified. Tools to be used while researching and the people involved in the research such as health care managers in the given hospital, nurses, patients and staff personnel. Eventually the hypothesis is carried out and clear information about health safety and measures undertaken to avoid health hazards (Brown, M. pg. 34).

Potential problems

While carrying out a study, several barriers and problems might accrue. As for hypothesis carried out in respective fields, the managers of such units determine what, when, how the research is to be conducted. This hinders the researchers from their actual goal and end up with less or inappropriate information on safety. If a safety research is carried out in different institutions or companies, information might be conflicting and hence render it unreliable. To solve these problems, managers, working staff and anyone involved in research should cope to make the research reliable, and similar topics should be assigned to avoid conflicting information (Kulakowski, E. And Chronister, L. pg. 199).

Questionnaires and interviews conducted should be done, under ample environment, to avoid unreliable information from the interviewee. Questions asked should relate the topic and should not directly refer to the person in subject, with appropriate language. Electronic devices could also render difficult to use and unreliable, hence proper measures should be taken to avoid inconveniences that might come forth with electronic media. Alternative should be provided to avoid inconveniences by such electronics. Examples of such alternatives include writing down whatever is asked.

Conclusion

Safety is a matter of concern to the current society. It involves precautions taken by individual while under different fields to ensure they are safe from any hazard whatsoever that may rise and endanger the life of human beings. To determine the extent of safety and risk to which human are exposed to, research should be carried out from time to time. Newer methods should be initiated, with, technology to ease the study.