1 Research

Question 1

What’s an experiment?

Answer 1

When one or more variables are actively manipulated (or controlled) to see whether these produce changes in another variable(s).

True experiments can answer cause-and-effect questions.

Question 2

What are observational studies?

Answer 2

Here, no variables are actively manipulated. These types of studies provide descriptive data.

Question 3

Describe the research process

Answer 3

1 theory - contained in the intro

2 hypothesis - research aims/questions

3 experiment

Question 4

Types of observational studies

Answer 4

CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH - explores relationships between variables

FIELD RESEARCH - naturalistic observations, study of records and artefacts; qualitative interviews

PARAMETER ESTIMATION - estimation of population characteristics

Question 5

What is quantitive research?

Answer 5

Using numbers to describe, define, and compare data.

Can be descriptive and comparative.

Question 6

What is qualitative research?

Answer 6

Non-numeric descriptors of data are used.

Good way for conveying meaning and context.

Question 7

Population

Answer 7

The whole set of individuals that you are interested in studying; and that you want your data to generalise to.

Question 8

Sample

Answer 8

The subset if the population; the participant you actually study.

Question 9

Data

Answer 9

The measurements that were made on the participants of the study.

Data to present to others is best when it systematic, focused and replicable.

Question 10

Cases

Answer 10

These are the individuals or instance that are being measured.

Question 11

Variables

Answer 11

These are properties or characteristics of the events, objects or persons that may have different values at different times, depending on the conditions.

These are the factors being manipulated and measured.

Question 12

Two types of variables

Answer 12

Independent and dependent

Question 13

Independent variable

Answer 13

This is the variable that we manipulate.

Independent variables are the variables that we are interested in manipulating. This is to see if there is an affect on what we aim to measure.

Question 14

Dependent variable

Answer 14

The dependent variable is the variable that we measure to see what’s the effect of the independent variable.

Question 15

Types of research designs

Answer 15

• experiments (experimental)
• surveys; cross-sectional, longitudinal (observational) 
• field research (observational)
      - participant
      - non-participant
• available data (observational)

Question 16

Typical designs in medicine

Answer 16

• randomised controlled trials
• cohort studies
• case control studies
• case series and single case studies

Question 17

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs)

Answer 17

Two or more groups are created. These will be treated differently. Participants are randomly assigned to these groups. The investigator has control over the treatment and the assignment.

Experimental.

Question 18

Cohort studies

Answer 18

This follows naturally occurring groups of people over time. It’s best for incidences or natural history of the condition.

Observational.

Question 19

Case-control studies

Answer 19

A group of interest (cases) is compare to a group without the characteristics of interest (controls). It’s retrospective.

Question 20

Single case studies/case series

Answer 20

Documentations of single cases. Can we either experimental or observational.