How to search lit

Question 1

PICO method

Answer 1

Population/problem
Intervention
Comparison
Outcome

Question 2

Questions in critical appraisal

Answer 2

what is the clinical question? 
why was the question asked? 
what did they do? 
what was the answer? 
what did they say about the answer? 
what do I do with this info?

Question 3

Diagnostic test

Answer 3

evaluates a test for diagnosing a disease

Question 4

differential diagnosis

Answer 4

weighing the probability that one disease rather than another accounts for a pts illness
tries to sort out what proportion of the pts with a single sign or symptom has various diseases

Question 5

economic analysis

Answer 5

provides accurate values to assess the cost of disease and the cost-benefit of interventions

Question 6

harm/etiology

Answer 6

addresses how to identify causes for disease including those caused by the healthcare system

Question 7

prognostic

Answer 7

how to estimate the pts likely clinical course over time and anticipate likely complications of disease

Question 8

practice guideline

Answer 8

a systematically developed statement on medical practice for specific medical conditions

Question 9

Qualitative study

Answer 9

no stats

ie. beliefs, attributes, meanings, symbols

Question 10

systematic review

Answer 10

focused on a single question and gather all research in relation to the question

Question 11

meta analysis

Answer 11

the results of studies are similar enough that they are combined and analysed as one

Question 12

therapy

Answer 12

how to select treatments to offer pts that do more good than harm and are worth the efforts and costs

Question 13

qualitative research

Answer 13

study things in their natural setting
holistic view
inductive reasoning: bottom up approach, make obs and recognise patterns
deductive reasoning: top down approach, start with a theory and develop a hypothesis based on that theory

Question 14

Methods of qualitative research

Answer 14

case studies
behavioural studies
ethnopgraphy 
action research 
personal

Question 15

quantitative research

Answer 15

uses numbers and data
strength of research lies in reliability of study
uses deductive reasoning
types: observational - patterns of injury and illness in population
experimental - compare to baseline or placebo

Question 16

Observational research: case series

Answer 16

cases selected on a single topic for defined period

comparison includes opinion of reviewer

Question 17

observational research: cross-sectional

Answer 17

collects data from a sample population at one point in time

Question 18

Observational researchL case control

Answer 18

series of cases and a control or comparison group

Question 19

Observational research: cohort studies

Answer 19

participants are defined on basis of exposure or non exposure to a suspected risk factor
exposure measured before outcome occurs

Question 20

Experiement research: controlled clinical trials (CCT)

Answer 20

experimenter manipulates the situation

comparison of groups

Question 21

experiemental research: randomised controlled trials (RCT

Answer 21

subjects randomly allocated to groups

study and control groups

Question 22

power calculations

Answer 22

sample size calcs are about making an educated guess to help ensure the study has a sufficiently high change of finding and effect and is not overpowered and wasteful

Question 23

type 1 error

Answer 23

probability of finding a statistically significant effect when the truth is that there is no effect

Question 24

Type II error

Answer 24

probability of not finding a statistically significant effect when one really does exist

Question 25

Mechanics of hypothesis testing

Answer 25

null hypothesis
alternative hypothesis
decision rule 
p value
apply decision rule

Question 26

null hypothesis (Ho)

Answer 26

Ho = no effect or association

assume its true (Straw man)

Question 27

alternative hypothesis (Ha)

Answer 27

finding of some effect

one or 2 sided

Question 28

decision rule

Answer 28

virtually always: reject Ho if p less than .05

this cutpoint = alpha level

Question 29

calculate p value

Answer 29

assume Ho is true
do study/gather data
calculate probability that we’d see something as extreme as what we observed IF Ho were true

Question 30

applying decision rule

Answer 30

if P less than cutpoint reject Ho ie. there is an effect

if P greater than cutpoint do not reject Ho i.e there is not an effect

Question 31

to calculate sample size

Answer 31

effect size, SD(d), cutpoint for decision rule, power we want for study, what statistical test we will use