Definitions Flashcards
Who is Archie Cochrane?
A pioneer and advocate of evidence-based practice
What are Clinical Guidelines?
Recommendations for practice based on the best available evidence
What is Evidence-Based Practice?
A process that requires the practitioner to identify knowledge gaps, find research evidence to address knowledge gaps, and determine the relevance of the evidence to a particular clients situation
What is an Inductive Approach?
The method of moving from the specific to the general; from imperial data to theory generation
What is a Model?
A structure or framework designed to symbolise a concept or phenomenon
What is Naturalist Paradigm ?
The exploration of phenomena as they occur in their natural setting
What is Paradigm?
In the research context, the commitments, beliefs and values, methods and outlooks shared across a research discipline
What is a Peductive Approach?
A method of moving from general to the specific; from the macro to the micro
What is a Phenomenon?
Any observable thing or occurrence that is worth noting
What is a Positivist?
Someone who believes in the concepts of an objective reality and the notion of determinism
What is Quantitive Research?
A systematic investigation with a rigorous and controlled design, using precise measurements and obtaining quantifiable information to answer a research questions
What is a Theory?
A set of interrelated assumptions put forward to describe or explain a given phenomenon
What is a Critique?
To read and examine the strengths and limitations of a published study
What is Grey Literature?
Unpublished literature in the form of theses, government reports or conference proceedings
What is a Peer-Reviewed Journal?
A journal that publishes a paper that has been submitted to an editorial committee and passed by a process of blinded peer review before it is accepted for publication
What is an Impact Factor?
Calculated for each journal based on citation of articles across a year. The higher the impact factor, the more widely read the journal is.
What are Quantitive Research Methods?
Deductive research methods.These methods test for cause and effect, explore relationships between variables and control variables
What are Qualitative Research Methods?
Inductive methods which explore human experience.
What is a Systematic Review?
A method used to review the existing literature on a particular question by identifying, appraising, selecting and synthesising all high-quality research evidence relevant to that question
Define Quantitative Data
These can be either categorical or numerical; statistical methods are directly linked to the type of data investigated.
Define Extraneous variables.
Any variable apart from the independent variable that may plausibly also affect the dependant variable
What is Causality?
A relationship of cause and effect. it has a minimum of three conditions: A strong relationship between the proposed cause and effect; The proposed cause must precede the effect in time; And, The proposed cause must be present whenever the effect occurs
Define Bias.
Any influence that produces distortion in the results of the study
What is Validity?
The degree to which a measurement instrument measures what it is intended to measure
What is an Experimental Research Design?
A research design used to test cause-and-effect relationship between variables. Research participants are randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group
What is a Randomised Controlled Trial?
A study in which similar people are randomly allocated to two (or more) groups to test a specific treatment. The experimental group receives the treatment to be tested. Another group, the comparison or control group, receives an alternative treatment, a dummy treatment (placebo) or no treatment at all.
What is a Quasi-experimantal Research Design?
Research in which the researchers manipulate and independent variable in order to evaluate the change of a dependant variable
What is a Non-experiemntal Research Design?
Research in which researches collect data without introducing any manipulation or change
What is Internal Validity of Research Design?
A property of research design that reflects the extent to which a casual conclusion based on a study is warranted, or that can exclude other factors as alternative explanations of the observed association between the variables under investigation
What is External Validity of Research Design?
The extent to which the results of a study can be generalised to other situations and to other people
What is a Placebo Effect?
The reported response or change in the dependant variable by the individual who does not receive an intervention or receives and insert intervention
What is a Double-Blind Strategy?
A method of studying a drug or procedure in which both the participant and researchers are unaware of who is getting which specific procedure
Define Crossover Study.
A study that administers more than one treatment sequentially to each participant to that comparison can be made of the effects of different treatments on a dependant variable for the same participant
Define Descriptive Study.
This aims to accurately describe characteristics of persons, places, situations or groups, and the frequency with which certain phenomena occur
Define Epidemiology.
The study of the frequency, distribution and determinants of health states and events in the community, and the interventions aimed at improving health throughout the community
What is a Cohort Study?
A study in which a group free of illness is observed for exposure to risk factors that are hypothesised to increase or decrease the chance of getting the illness. The study group will be followed up through time in order to compare the frequency of the illness of groups who have different levels of exposure.
What is a Case Control Study?
A study that compares a group of well individuals with a group of individuals who have the illness or health condition of interest. The 2 groups are compared with respect to past exposure to rise factors.
What is a Cross-Sectional Study?
A study based on observation of a phenomenon at a single time for the purpose of interfering trends over time
