Functions of research design

Question 1

process of answering a question that can be answered by approximately collected data.

Answer 1

research

Question 2

an interrogative statement that focuses on what variables or concepts are to be described and what relationships might exist between variables

Answer 2

research question

Question 3

The rules that govern the process of collecting and arranging the data for analysis.

Answer 3

research designs

Question 4

process of developing a list of possible candidates for the causes of the disease and obtaining initial evidence that supports one or more of these candidates.

Answer 4

hypothesis generation

Question 5

done when one or more hypotheses are generated and then tested by making predictions from the hypotheses and examining new data to determine if the predictions are correct.

Answer 5

hypothesis testing

Question 6

observe groups of study participants to learn about the possible effects of a treatment or risk factor.

Answer 6

Observational studies

Question 7

The investigator has more control over the assignment of participants, often placing them in treatment and control groups

Answer 7

experimental studies

Question 8

investigation of clinical issues by using anthropologic techniques such as ethnographic observation, open-ended semistructured interviews, focus groups, and key informant interviews.

Answer 8

qualitative studies

Question 9

providing rich narrative information that tells a story beyond what reductionist statistics alone might reveal.

Answer 9

qualitative research

Question 10

A survey of a population at a single point in time or over a very short time period.

Answer 10

cross-sectional surveys

Question 11

Also known as prevalence survey

Answer 11

cross-sectional survey

Question 12

may be used to determine changes in risk factors and disease frequency in populations over time

Answer 12

repeated cross-sectional studies

Question 13

Relate the frequency with which some characteristic (e.g., smoking) and some outcome of interest (e.g., lung cancer) occur in the same geographic area.

Answer 13

cross-sectional ecological studies

Question 14

may provide evidence about when and in whom an infection has occurred

Answer 14

seroepidemiologic studies

Question 15

use ongoing surveillance or frequent repeated cross-sectional survey data to measure trends in disease rates over many years in a defined population.

Answer 15

longitudinal ecologic studies

Question 16

No hypotheses are specified in advance, preexisting data are often used, and associations may or may not be causal.

Answer 16

descriptive observational

Question 17

Hypothesis are specified in advance, new data are often collected, and differences between groups are measured.

Answer 17

analytic observational

Question 18

Distribution of health-related states describes the disease as to person place and time; studies generate hypothesis

Answer 18

descriptive

Question 19

Determinants of health-related states examine associations between variables; studies test hypothesis

Answer 19

analytic