Glossary Vocabulary

Question 1

Primary hypothesis

Answer 1

The tested hypothesis for which an experiment is powered. It is the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

Question 2

Secondary hypotheses

Answer 2

(there could be several); Oftentimes other effects of an I are examined, but the hypothesis is not necessarily powered to state an effect statistically.

Question 3

One-sided hypothesis or one-tailed test

Answer 3

you assume the DV will move in one direction.

Question 4

Two-sided hypothesis or two-tailed test

Answer 4

You don’t know if DV will go up or down

Question 5

Null hypothesis (Ho)

Answer 5

A statistical concept which states there is no effect of the IV on the DV, it is often credited as the primary test and if structured properly ensures no pre-conceived bias and fulfills the notion of randomness

Question 6

Independent Variable (IV)

Answer 6

what the investigator controls/manipulates to produce a change in the DV

Question 7

Dependent Variable (DV)

Answer 7

What the IV effects; i.e. what you measure

Question 8

Confounding Variables

Answer 8

Known factors that disrupt or influence the effect of the IV on the DV that should be recognized prior to the initiation of an experiment

Question 9

random error

Answer 9

is an inherent aspect of measurement which increases variability and reduces the ability to detect differences among groups.

Question 10

Positive Control

Answer 10

is a group added to a design where you know what the outcome will be and the outcome is expected to move in the direction you think the independent variable should move it.

Question 11

Negative Control

Answer 11

is a group added to a design where you know the outcome, but unlike the positive control, you know what the IV will not affect the group

Question 12

epiphenomenon

Answer 12

a result that accompanies another, but has no causal influence itself or was not caused by the experimental paradigm

Question 13

Vehicle control

Answer 13

(injectate or pill without the test substance). This has everything you are administering except the level of the IV.

Question 14

Sham control

Answer 14

(generally associated with a surgical intervention where a mock surgery is performed). A form of procedural control

Question 15

Procedural control

Answer 15

(running the same procedure without the active intervention). This generalized control procedure would include sham controls, which is a special case of procedural control but is outside of the realm of surgery.

Question 16

Repeated measures

Answer 16

will use the subject as its own control of alternatively in a non-repeated measures design, using one side of the animal as a control for the other.

Question 17

Hypothesis Driven Research

Answer 17

in which a specific hypothesis is laid out upfront and then tested prospectively.

Question 18

Prospective studies

Answer 18

a study where a hypothesis is formulated and then tested after the design has been laid out

Question 19

Retrospective studies

Answer 19

that assess the effect of an IV on a DV after the fact; after the IV effect on the DV has occurred. These are commonly used in clinical studies

Question 20

discovery research

Answer 20

formulates the basis for hypothesis driven research. It generally involves mining data sets or output to determine if a relationship will emerge so that a hypothesis can be formulated

Question 21

clinical trial

Answer 21

a study on patients that is always prospective and tests a very specific hypothesis generally about a drug or specific type of intervention. it is the most rigorous (from a control perspective) type of clinical research.

Question 22

cohort study

Answer 22

is a study of a group of subjects that shae something in common, and are assessed as they move forward in time.

Question 23

cross-sectional study

Answer 23

is similar to a cohort study except that all the measures are taken at the same time (once) and these are always retrospective studies.

Question 24

case-control studies

Answer 24

are similar.ar to cross-sectional studies. Thus, the PI identifies a group of patients with the disease and another without the disease and looks back at their behaviors that may have contributed to the disease.

Question 25

Ethnographic research

Answer 25

Study of human behavior in its natural context, involving observation of behavior and physical setting. Can be both pro- and retrospective.

Question 26

Explanatory research

Answer 26

Where the experimenter attempts to identify cause and effect. Cause and effect assume that we identify the actual cause of something.

Question 27

Historical research

Answer 27

The systematic collection and evaluation of data related to past occurrences (retrospective) in order to describe causes, effects, and trends of those events that may help explain present events and anticipate future events.

Question 28

Quasi-experiment

Answer 28

is an empirical study used to estimate the causal impact of an intervention on its target population. Quasi-experimental research designs share many similarities with the traditional experimental design or randomized controlled trial, but the specifically lack the element of random assignment to treatment or control.

Question 29

Prevention Trials

Answer 29

Look for better ways to prevent disease in people who have never had the disease or to prevent a disease from returning.

Question 30

Screening Trials

Answer 30

Test the best way to detect certain diseases or health conditions.

Question 31

Diagnostic trials

Answer 31

conducted to find better tests or procedures for diagnosing a particular disease or condition.

Question 32

Treatment trials

Answer 32

test experimental treatments, new combinations of drugs, or new approaches to surgery or radiation therapy to determine which is better.

Question 33

quality of life trials (supportive care trials)

Answer 33

explore ways to improve discomfort and the quality of life for individuals with chronic illness.

Question 34

Compassionate use trials (expanded access trials)

Answer 34

provide partially tested, napproved therapeutics to a small number of patients who have no other realist options. Usually, this involves a disease for which no effective therapy exists or a patient who has already attempted and failed all other standard treatments and whose health is so poor, he does not qualify for participation in randomized clinical trials. Usually, case-by-case approval must be granted by both the FDA and the pharmaceutical company for such exceptions.

Question 35

Data

Answer 35

the quantitative expression of the dependent variable

Question 36

Nominal data

Answer 36

there is no inherent value in the number, it is simply associated with a group or outcome (i.e. in name only; eg., male or female, blood type)

Question 37

Ordinal data

Answer 37

there is a sense of a higher number reflecting something greater, but the difference from 1 to 2, may not be the same as from 3-4. If the scale is large enough, the discreetness of the differences become less different and begin to behave as continuous

Question 38

Continuous data

Answer 38

Clearly, the most informative since the intensity or measure increases in a linear fashion indicative of the magnitude of the difference.

Question 39

Observer bias (variability)

Answer 39

The person rating the subject has some preconceived notion of what should happen or is skewing data because of some type of interpretation

Question 40

Instrument bias

Answer 40

The instrument used to measure something is not calibrated correctly

Question 41

Population

Answer 41

All possible members of a group under study

Question 42

Sample

Answer 42

Is a portion of a population chosen to reflect characteristics of it.

Question 43

Sampling error

Answer 43

A sample that is not representative of a population

Question 44

Convenience sample

Answer 44

occurs when one selects those elements of the population that are most accessible.

Question 45

Judgment sample

Answer 45

occurs when subjects that form a sample are chosen by an individual familiar with the characteristics of the population

Question 46

Random sample

Answer 46

Each subject in the population has an equivalent chance or probability of being included in the sample.

Question 47

simple random sample

Answer 47

Equal chance for all -- generally generated from a computer list or drawing subjects like the lottery.

Question 48

systematic random sample

Answer 48

Is created by selecting one subject randomly and then choosing the other subjects at evenly spaced intervals until the desired sample size is obtained.

Question 49

Stratified Sample

Answer 49

Generated by grouping subjects into some type of inherent logical characteristic.

Question 50

Cluster Sample

Answer 50

A variation on a stratified sample although the characteristics may not necessarily be so obvious and could simply be arbitrary. Subjects are chosen because they fall into a cluster of some sort and then you measure the response from every member in the cluster.

Question 51

Purposeful Sampling

Answer 51

Occurs when subjects or cases are chosen because they exhibit particularly rich characteristics that will help in identifying results.

Question 52

Snowball or chain sampling

Answer 52

identifies cases of interest from people who know people who know what cases are information-rich, that is good examples for study, good interview subjects

Question 53

Criterion sampling

Answer 53

You set a criteria and pic all cases tht meet that criteria, for example, all ladies six feet tall, all white cars, all farmers that have planted onions.

Question 54

Theory

Answer 54

The conceptual structure used to explain existing facts and predict new ones.