An overview of selected methods for the identification and qualitative assessment of risk factors

The problematic nature of the identification and assessment of the risk factors is a familiar subject area. As a result of this, many scientists are continually attempting to modify existing methods and develop new approaches to achieve this objective. Therefore, it is recommended to periodically review the methods used – this reveals areas of knowledge in this area which remain undeveloped and also determines which methods can complement or verify each other. In this article, current methods for the identification and qualitative assessment of risk factors are described and compared in a tabular manner; the author also proposes potential approaches for the modification and improvement of these methods.