Introduction And Study Design Flashcards
What is biostatistics?
Is the application of statistical principles in medicine, public health, or biology. Statistical principles are based in applied mathematics and include tools and techniques for collecting information or data and then summarizing, analyzing, and interpreting those results.
What is epidemiology?
Field of study focused on the study of health and illness in human populations, patterns of health or disease, and the factors that influence these patterns.
What is “study design”?
The Methodology that is used to collect the information to address the research question.
What is bias?
A systematic error that introduces uncertainty in estimates of effect or association
What is “blind/ double blind”?
The state whereby a participant is unaware of his or her treatment status.( experience,ents, drug or placebo). A study is said to be double blind when both the participant and the outcome assessor are unaware of the treatment status.
What is another term used to describe blind or double blind?
Masking
What is a clinical trial?
A specific type of study involving human participants and randomization to the comparison groups
What is a cohort?
A group of participants who usually share some common characteristics and who are monitored or followed over time
What is concurrent?
At the same time; optimally, comparison treatments are evaluated concurrently or in parallel
What is cross-sectional?
At a single point in time
What is incidence ( of disease)?
The number of new cases ( of disease) over a period of time.
What is prevalence (of disease)?
The proportion of individuals with the condition (disease) at a single point in time
What is a placebo?
An inert substance designed to look, feel and taste like the active or experimental treatment. (Saline solution would be a suitable placebo for a clear, tasteless liquid medication)
What is matching?
A process of organizing comparison groups by similar characteristics
What is protocol?
A step by step plan for a study that details every aspect of the study design and data collection plan
What is a quasi-experimental design?
A design in which subjects are not randomly assigned to treatments
What is “ prospective”?
A study in which information is collected looking forward in time
What is “randomization” ?
A process by which participants are assigned to receive different treatments ( this is usually based on a probability scheme)
What is prognostic fear?
A characteristic that is strongly associated with an outcome (Disease) such that it could be used to reasonably predict whether a person is likely to develop a disease or not
What is “per protocol “?
An analytic strategy whereby only participants who adhered to the study protocol ( the specific procedures or treatments given to them) are analyzed (in other words, an analysis of only those assigned to a particular group who followed all procedures for that group)
What is “intention to treat”?
An analytic strategy whereby participants are analyzed in the treatment group they were assigned regardless of whether they followed they study procedures completely ( regardless of whether they took all of the assigned medication)
What is “retrospective”?
A study in which information is collected looking backward in time
What is an observational design?
We generally observe a phenomenon
What is stratification?
A process whereby participants are partitioned or separated into mutually exclusive or non overlapping groups
What are examples of observation studies? (5)
The case report/ case series, the cohort study, cross-sectional survey, the case-control study, the nested case-control study
What does randomized studies show?
They are used to test specific hypothesis or to evaluate the effect of an intervention
What are examples of randomized studies? (2)
The crossover trial and the randomized controlled trial or clinical trial
A study is designed to evaluate the impact of a daily multivitamin on students academic performance. 160 students are randomly assigned to receive either the multivitamin or a placebo and are instructed to take the assigned drug daily for 20 days. On day 20 each student takes a standardized exam and the mean exam scores are compared between groups. This study is an example of?
Randomized controlled trial
What is a crossover trial?
A clinical trial where each participant is assigned to two or more treatments sequentially. When there are two treatments (experimental and control), each participant receives both treatments.
What is a wash out period?
Used in a cross over trial, when there is not treatment given. It is included so that that any therapeutic effects of the first treatment are removed prior to the administration of the second treatment.
What is the difference between random and fixed assignment in a cross over trial?
Random: participants are randomly assigned to the experimental treatment or the control treatment in period one. Participants are then assigned the other treatment in period two.
Fixed: all participants are assigned the same treatment SEQUENCE
