Evaluate the research method

Two psychologists investigated the relationship between age and recall of medical advice. Previous research had shown that recall of medical advice tended to be poorer in older patients. The study was conducted at a doctor’s surgery and involved a sample of 30 patients aged between 18 and 78 years. They all saw the same doctor, who made notes of the advice that she gave during the consultation.
One of the psychologists interviewed each of the patients individually, immediately after they had seen the doctor. The psychologist asked each patient a set of questions about what the doctor had said about their diagnosis and treatment. The patients’ responses were recorded and then typed out. Working independently the psychologists compared each typed account with the doctor’s written notes in order to rate the accuracy of the accounts on a scale of 1 – 10. A high rating indicated that the patient’s recall was very accurate, and a low rating indicated that the patient’s recall was inaccurate.
When the patients were followed up, there seemed to be a strong relationship between poor accuracy account scores and ability to take the correct dosage of medication