BECOMING A RESEARCHER Flashcards
Define research integrity
conducting research in ways allowing others to trust/ have confidence in methods and final result
when researching what 2 things do u have to get a balance between
ethics and integrity
Where can ethical issues arrive
research questions research designs number of participants researcher experience risk to participants recruitment respecting confidentiality publication of results informed consent
What does research have to pass in order to be published
Do research HaSS (human and social science) STEM (science, tech, engineering, maths) Research integrity comittee Research comittee Council
What are the 4 values in research
honesty
accuracy
efficiency
objectivity
define honesty
convey info truthfully
define accuracy
report findings precisely, take care to avoid errors
define efficiency
use resources wisely, avoid waste
define objectivity
let facts speak for themselves, avoiding bias
What is the scientific process
Make observations Think of interesting questions Formula/ hypothesis Develop testable predictions Gather data to test predictions Refine/ alter/ reject hypothesis Develop general theory
Hierachy of evidence highest to lowest
Randomised control trials Cohort studies Case control studies Cross sectional studies/ surveys Case reports, case studies Mechanistic studies Editorials/ expert opinion
Which one in hierarchy of evidence has highest quality of evidence
Randomised control trials
Which one in hierarchy of evidence has lowest quality of evidence
Editorials/ expert opinion
Which one in hierarchy of evidence has highest risk of bias
editorials/ expert opinion
Which one in hierarchy of evidence has lowest risk of bias
randomised control trials
What is the format of a peer reviewed research paper
Abstract Introduction Methods Results Discussion
What is an abstract
Structured with strict word limit
200-300
What is included in an introduction
why was it done?
what’s it adressing?
What is included in method
how was study conducted
what is included in results
what was found
What is included in discussion
Includes comparison of study conducted to existing studies/ literature
Strengths/ limitations
Implications for further research
why are research designs important
provide a frame work of methods and techniques, therefore conduct the study in a logical manor
What is descriptive research
what’s going on
What is explanatory/ mechanistic research
why is it going on
What are observational studies
No intervention made
Provides info on occasions/ relationships between exposure and event
What are experimental studies
Involves an intervention
Allows determination for cause and effect
What is a cross sectional design
Asseses phenomenon at ONE point in time
Measures sample ONCE
Provides a snapshot at a given point in time
Examines trends at societal level
What is a longitudinal design
Asseses phenomenon at several points in time
Measures same sample over time
Provides info on change in same people over time
What is a retrospective cohort design
Backward looking
Examine data that already exists
Tries to identify risk factors for particular conditions
What is a prospective cohort design
Forward looking
Watches for outcomes
What is a case control design
Usually retrospective
Outcome measures before exposure
People WITH OUTCOME are CASES
People WITHOUT are CONTROLS
What is a randomised control design
Forward looking/ prospective
Includes an intervention/ treatment
Participants randomised into a control group or an intervention group
Follow groups over time to determine any difference in outcomes
What is a quasi-experimental design
An intervention study that DOES NOT randomise participants
DOES NOT have control group
Therefore without control group you can’t say with confidence that the intervention is what caused the results
What are feasibility studies
Research done before a main study to determine whether the methods are feasible and acceptable
What are pilot studies
A small scale study conducted prior to a large scale experiment to test and refine procedures
What are anthropometry questionnaires
QUANTITATIVE measurements
important as representative diagnostic figures for obesity
Height, weight, BMI, body circumference (was it, hip & limbs), skin fold thickness
What are demographic questionnaires
Any questions that aim to better understand the characteristics of am individual and how fit they are within a population
eg- age, ethnicity, gender, occupation, income, education
What does PAR-Q stand for and what is it used for
Physical activity readiness questionnaire
A self screening tool used to assess safety to undertake exercise
What do you measure height with
Portable stadiometer
How do you measure height
Place portable stadiometer on floor Back against wall Remove shoes Heels against vertical bit Move bar to crown of head Measure height x3 Get off in-between measurements Take results that are concordant (within 0.2cm)
How do you measure body weight
Portable scales Remove shoes Turn scale on, press tear Make sure its at 0 Step on Wait for measurement to stabilise Take 3 measurements Have to be concordant (within 0.1kg) Take average
How to measure waist and hip circumference
Use flexible tape measure
Put it 1cm above belly button
Do against bare skin
Mark dot 1cm above belly button so it stays consistent
Make sure tape is flat
Turn foot out to side - where femur rotates that’s where to measure around
How to do the handgrip strength test
Use hand grip dynamometer
Wrap fingers around in grooves
Arm at 90 degrees
Squeeze to get the reading
What is a study aim
A statement that describes the purpose of the study
What is a research question
A specific question that outlines the aim of the research study
What is a research hypothesis
A specific clear and testable statement about the possible outcome of the research study
Null/ directional
Give an example of a large scale RCT
ProACT65+
What are the 3 parts in the SPPB
Balance
Gait speed test
Stand from chair
Whats the highest score you can achieve in the SPPB
12
What does the SPPB asses
Asseses patients ability for physical function and asses future risks for falls
what score in SPPB indicates high risk for mobility disability
4-9
Describe how to do the balance test in SPPB
Feet side by side hold for 10s
Semi tandem stand- feet together, one slightly in front of other, hold for 10s
Tandem stand- one foot in front of other, hold for 10s
Describe how to do the gait speed test in SPPB
Walk at normal speed 4m (start timing when patient crosses first line and stop when patients foot touches next line)
Describe how to do the chair stand test in SPPB
Check if safe to stand without help, and if they could stand without using arms
If they can do this do it repeated (x5) whilst being timed
Stop timing upon 5th chair stand
define health inequalities
The preventable, unfair and unjust differences in health status between groups, populations or individuals that arise from the unequal distribution of social, environmental and economic conditions within societies which determine the risk of people getting ill, their ability to prevent sickness, or opportunities to take action and access treatment when ill health occurs.
What makes a good infographic
Context sensitive Contains visual elements that are clear and relevant Makes key data easy to understand Tells a story to audience Guides conclusions Can be easily shared
Data should be…
Inriguing Informative Easy to understand Helpful Accurate
what is the slogan for the 2010 marmot review
fair society, healthy lives
what is the marmot review
proposes an evidence based strategy to address social determinants of health
Includes working conditions in which people are born, grow up, live and work which can lead to health inequalities
Emphasises the role of local government along with national government, voluntary & private sectors
What did the marmot review find
the lower a persons social and economic status the poorer their health and lower their life expectancy
What do health inequalities arise from
Housing Income Education Employment Social isolation Disability Gender Ethnicity
Define deprivation
The damaging lack of material benefits considered to be basic necessities in a society
What are the 7 domains of deprivation
Income Employment Education Health Crime Barriers to housing and services Living environment
What effects does deprivation have
Negative impact on healthy life expectancy
Increased risk for chronic diseases
More difficult to access healthy options/ behaviours
CVD is more common in…
Men
Older adults
South asian/ Caribbean
Deprived areas
How to prevent/ delay chronic diseases via lifestyle
Maintain a healthy body weight
Eating a wide variety of healthy foods & limited/ no alcohol
Meeting physical activity guidelines
why aren’t study samples always reflective of population diversity
Cost
Practicality/ convenience (language, availability, willingness to participate)
Lack of diversity in areas where research is conducted
Research questions are purposively targeted to a limited demographic
Desire to protect vulnerable groups (elderly people could have dementia)
Optimise positive or beneficial findings eg- testing medications on the young instead of older adults
What are implications of conducting research with samples that do not reflect population diversity??
Research findings may not be applicable to those who are underrepresented
Those who are not represented may be deprived of benefits resulting from research
Messages generated from research can lead to lack of awareness of disease risks
Findings do not reflect complex ‘lived experiences’ of diverse populations
Policies created from research could be harmful to those not represented
Do you always need diverse samples
not always necessary as it depends on the research question and whether representation matters
Define conflict of interest
a situation in which a person is in a position to derive personal benefit and unfair advantage from actions or decisions made in their official capacity
Define researcher bias
any factor, such as investment in the product being studied or gifts from the product manufacturer that may influence the researcher to favour certain results
Define selection bias
occurs when the individuals or groups recruited to participate in a study, or the data used in analysis’s are selected in a way that is not random
Define self report bias
Occurs due to the error introduced when using self report tools
Define recall bias
Bias resulting from differences in the ability of participants to accurately and completely recall the variable being measured
Define reporting bias
Bias due to differences between reported and unreported results
Define publication bias
Bias resulting from the tendency for medical and scientific journals to predominantly publish studies with POSITIVE results
Define confounding
Error or inaccuracy in the estimated effect of an exposure
on the outcome of interest
due to the influence of another factor
that is associated with both the exposure and the outcome
Define residual confounding
The error or inaccuracy that remains after controlling for confounding in the design or analysis of the study
How to minimise researcher bias
Journals strengthening enforcement of disclosure requirements for authors and penalising authors who fail to disclose potential conflicts
Prohibit industry sponsors from participating in research design, data analysis and interpretation findings
Develop more accurate markers of various outcomes to reduce self-report and recall bias
Increase public funding to support well designed large scale, long term randomised control trials that examine cause and effect and reduce bias and confounding
Require journalists to publish studies with negative findings
Avoid language that implies causation when the results are indicative of associations
Convey to public that a perfect research study is impossible have to keep testing
Define reliability
indicates the consistency of a given tool over a set period of time (typically 1-2 weeks)
Define validity
indicates the ability of a given tool to measure what it is INTENDED to measure
If something is valid is it reliable
Yes
To be valid it has to be reliable
If something is reliable is it valid
not necessarily
Something can be reliable but not valid
Describe Normative standards for height
Strongly influenced by genetics
Large variation globally
Challenging environments and poor nutritional conditions during early years can cause short adult height
We lose height as we age due to poor posture, arthritis, and compression of spine (hunch)
Describe Normative standards for height
Varies widely
Genetics, nutrition & level/ type of physical activity major contributors
Normative standards are typically defined using body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2)
how does IPAQ work
Asseses types and intensity of physical activities and sitting time (hours, minutes, number of days)
Estimates time spent sitting and total physical activity done at low, moderate, high intensity over the previous 7 days
Also gives a score in MET – min/week
Excellent reliability & good validity
Compare results to UK physical activity guidelines
What are IPAQ guidelines
- Weekly recommendation
- For good physical & mental health adults should aim to be physically active every day
- Should do activities to develop or maintain major muscle groups – eg carrying heavy shopping, heavy gardening. Strengthening of muscle should be done 2 days a week
- Accumulate 2.5 hours of moderate intensity per week
- Or 75 mins of vigorous intensity such as running
- Or shorter durations of very vigorous intensity such as sprints or stair climbing
- Minimise time spent being sedentary – break up long periods with light activity
What is the UKDDQ
UK diabetes & diet questionnaire
Conducted systematic review of brief dietary tools judged suitable for clinical practice by health professionals with non-specialist training in nutrition
Focused on CVD, obesity & type 2 diabetes
Focused exclusively on fat & fibre intake
How do you collect the data for the UKDDQ
4 day food diaries
What do the outcome letters represent in the UKDDQ
range from A to F
More A’s and B’s = healthier dietary scores
Linked with lower risk for type 2 diabetes & better blood glucose control if a person has diabetes
More C’s and D’s = less healthy dietary choices
More E’s and F’s = unhealthy dietary choices linked with higher risk for type 2 diabetes & poor blood glucose control if a person has diabetes
What is the PAR-Q
A self-screening tool designed to assess whether or not it is safe for you to undertake exercise
What activities are in the PAR-Q
Bleep test
Toe touch test
Back scratch test
Two hop jump
what is the bleep test
(cardiorespiratory fitness)
Based on gender, age group & level/ number of shuttles completed
what’s the toe touch test
flexibility of lower back & hamstrings
No normative standards
Touching ground with fingers/ hands indicates high level of flexibility
The further away the fingers are from the ground the lower your flexibility
what does the back scratch test asses
shoulder range of motion
Based on age & gender
The higher the score the better range of motion at the shoulder
Two hop jump
horizontal and vertical power of the legs combined with balance co ordination
No normative standards
The further one can jump the higher the leg power
Also involves balance & coordination which are not directly measured but implied within the test
what are national surveys & stats
National health & behaviour surveys – large national surveys that are developed to gather info on health and disease and behaviours associated with health and disease
What are national surveys used for
- Identify priorities for future research
- used to inform the media, general public and create national guidelines
- inform decisions about governmental budget setting and commissioning services
Give examples of national surveys in UK
National diet and nutrition survey Health survey for England Sport England active lives survey National child measurement programme Scottish health survey
WHAT DOES
STATS ON OBESITY, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY & DIET REPORT- NHS digital include
Stats from multiple sources
6 parts that report on latest stats on obesity, physical activity and diet
Appendices…
Has full links to all sources of data
Technical notes (data collection/ reporting procedures)
Government policy, targets and outcome indicators
How the stats are used
Key highlights:
Obesity related hospital admissions
Prescription items for treatment of obesity
Prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults and children
Physical activity levels in adults and children
Walking and cycling activity
Fruit and veg consumption in adults and children
Food and nutrition intake
What are some obesity trends
Obesity prevalence was higher for boys than girls in both age groups
Obesity prevalence was more than double for children living in deprived areas compared to those living in least deprived areas
What are the lowest and most active age groups
most active 19-24
least active 85+
what are the UK diet and nutrition recommendations
At least 5 portions of fruit and veg per day for those 11+
19+ average intake of red and processed meat should NOT exceed 70 g per day
At least 1 portion of oily fish (140g) per week for all ages
Limit free sugars to no more than 5% of daily calorie intake
which gender is most likely to eat the 5 fruit and veg
women
Define structurally missing
data missing for a logical reason (doesn’t exist)
Define missing completely at random (MCAR)
Whether a person has missing data on a test is completely unrelated to other info in the data
Define missing at random (MAR)
Persons missing data on a certain test can be predicted based on other info about the person & patterns in the data
Define missing not at random (non ignorable)
Cannot make confident predictions about missing data
