APPLY

Question 1

what is critical appraisal?

Answer 1

assessing and interpreting evidence by systematically considering its validity, results, and relevance

Question 2

what is an abstract?

Answer 2

a condensed version of the full test, useful for getting the gist of the full test, but not for truly assessing the study quality

Question 3

what is found in the background and rationale?

Answer 3

what is known and not known about the topic and the context and rationale for doing the study

poses questions and hypothesis

Question 4

what is found in the methods section?

Answer 4

• study design
• should answer each PICO component
• statistical methods used to analyze the data and randomization and masking procedures
• should contain IRB and ethical approval
• should address informed consent

Question 5

what is found in the results?

Answer 5

• actual data tables
• averages/means/medials
• percentages
• estimates of association between intervention and outcome (risk difference)

Question 6

what is a confidence interval?

Answer 6

measure of the precision of an estimate

Question 7

what is the p-value?

Answer 7

probability that we could have obtained the observed results if there was no association between the intervention and outcome

P=0.05 means that there is only a 5% chance of the effect happening due to chance

Question 8

what is the null hypothesis?

Answer 8

no association between the intervention and outcome

Question 9

results are statistically significant when ___

Answer 9

P <0.05

Question 10

what is a confounding variable?

Answer 10

factors related to both the intervention and an outcome

“healthy woman effect” - SES and better access to health care probably made them healthier

Question 11

what is seen in the Discussion section?

Answer 11

• context of study
• implications of results
• study limitations
• references

Question 12

strong associations are more likely to indicate ___

Answer 12

causation

Question 13

what is the consistency of an observed association?

Answer 13

there must be a repeated observation of association in various populations

Question 14

what is the specificity of an association?

Answer 14

linking one cause to one effect is not always true

smoking can cause several negative effects

Question 15

what is temporal sequence of events?

Answer 15

causality must precede effect

Question 16

what is dose-response relationship?

Answer 16

as dose increases, risk of disease increases

Question 17

what is biologic plausibility?

Answer 17

not understood at the time a relationship is identified

Question 18

what is experimental evidence?

Answer 18

removal of a factor should lead to a decrease in condition

Question 19

what is an analogy?

Answer 19

are there other examples of similar causal associations that can lend validity to ours

Question 20

what is an alpha level?

Answer 20

the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when the null hypothesis is true

Question 21

what is a power?

Answer 21

the probability that it will reject the null hypothesis when the null is in fact false

Question 22

what is internal validity?

Answer 22

the extent to which the design and conduct of a study are likely to have prevented bias

Question 23

what is external validity?

Answer 23

inferences drawn from the study population are unbiased when applied to target populations

Question 24

what is a Type 1 error?

Answer 24

saying the treatment works, when it DOES NOT.

rejecting the null when it is actually true

Question 25

What is a Type 2 error?

Answer 25

saying the treatment doesnt work when IT DOES

not rejecting the null when you should

Question 26

what is the primary outcome?

Answer 26

the one the authors intended to find - the most important

Question 27

what is the secondary outcome?

Answer 27

outcome used to evaluate additional effects of the intervention deemed as a priority but as less important that the primary

Question 28

what is a surrogate endpoint?

Answer 28

In clinical trials, an indicator or sign used in place of another to tell if a treatment works. Surrogate endpoints include a shrinking tumor or lower biomarker levels.

Question 29

what is the purpose of a CONSORT?

Answer 29

a method for reporting uniform consent and standards in research studies