KIN 232 Module 3

Question 1

Basic research

Answer 1

conducted to increase knowledge and fundamental understanding of the physical, chemical and functional mechanisms of life processes and disease.

Not directed to solving any particular problem in humans or animals

Question 2

Applied research

Answer 2

involved the application of existing knowledge, much of which is obtained through basic research, to solve a practical problem

Question 3

Clinical research

Answer 3

is patient or end user oriented research with human subjects. Patient-oriented research includes:
- Mechanisms of human disease
- Therapeutic interventions
- Clinical trials
- Development of new technologies

Question 4

Translational research

Answer 4

part of a unidirectional continuum in which research findings are moved from the researcher’s bench to the patient’s bedside and to the community

Question 5

Research design definitions: Descriptive

Answer 5

describes an outcome in a population

Characterizes who, where, or when in relation to the what (the outcome of interest)

Question 6

Research design definitions: Analytical

Answer 6

Examines the relationship b/w intervention and outcome (independent/dependent variable, test hypothesis) the “how” and “why”

Question 7

Research design definitions: Qualitative

Answer 7

• Subjective/interpretive observations
• Identifies themes in observations - forms narrative/story/essay
• Does not test a hypothesis, but may lead to hypothesis development

ex. surveys, questionnaires, intervies

Question 8

Research design definitions: Quantitative

Answer 8

Objects/ measurable / units
Test hypothesis

ex. physiological variables, frequencies, instances, numerical simulations

Question 9

Strengths of qualitative

Answer 9

Generates new ideas or hypothesis

Question 10

Strengths of quantitative

Answer 10

Test hypotheses and examines cause and effect relationships

Question 11

Quantitative research designs

Answer 11

1. Observational
2. Experimental
3. Quasi experimental

Question 12

Observational design

Answer 12

is non manipulated studies/research

Researchers do not attempt to influence/manipulate participants or the surroundings

Question 13

Experimental design

Answer 13

Is a manipulated study

Participants are randomized to receive intervention or control

Question 14

Quasi-experimental design

Answer 14

lacking 1 or more element of experiemental research

Question 15

The utility of observational research

Answer 15

• Studying the otherwise un-studyable
• Priortizing external validity
• Generating research questions

Question 16

Cross sectional observational research

Answer 16

• participants are observed at one point in time
• data/measurements are collected once
• Outcomes: single measure, prevalence of disease/events

Question 17

advantages of observational cross sectional design

Answer 17

• less expensive
• less likely to drop out bc of short time
• controls for ‘period effects’
• data on ALL variables are collected at one time

Question 18

disadvantages of observational cross sectional design

Answer 18

• Do not know whether exposure happen before or after outcome
• Associations identified between variables may be difficult to interpret
• snapshot timing not guaranteed to be reflective of ‘ real world’ setting

Question 19

longitudinal observational research

Answer 19

• participants observed over time
• data/measurements are collected multiple times
• outcome: change over times provides indication of INCIDENCE of disease

Question 20

advantages of longitudinal observational research

Answer 20

• you may observe patterns in the outcome over time
• establish an order of events
• reduces call bias of participants
• may provide insight into casual mechanisms

Question 21

disadvantages of longitudinal observational research

Answer 21

• Time consuming and expensive
• Usually requires a large sample size
• Affected by ‘cohort effects’
• Cannot be used to suggest causation - only associations
• Despite temporal aspects - may not know if exposure precedes outcome

Question 22

Prevalence

Answer 22

refers to the total number of individuals in a population who have a disease or health condition at a specific period of time, usually expressed as a percentage of the population
Who has the disease now?

Question 23

Incidence

Answer 23

Incidence refers to the number of individuals who develop a specific diease or experience a specific heath-related event during a particular time period (such as a month or year)
Who will develop the disease over time?

Question 24

What are the two observational study designs

Answer 24

case-control study: participants are selected based on an outcome of interest (e.g hypertension)

cohort study: participants selected based on a population of interest, a longitudinal study

Question 25

Cohort

Answer 25

A collection or sampling of individuals who share common experiences and/or characteristics, such as age, sex, activity level, location, education

Question 26

Types of cohort studies

Answer 26

Prospective: (forward in time) - recruit participants + track them forward in time - Outcome is evaluated in the future Retrospective: - Recruit participant and identify past/historical exposures - Outcome is evaluated at time of recruitment (present day)

Question 27

Advantages of cohort studies

Answer 27

Longitudinal : can determine temporal sequence of risk factors versus outcome Best external validity: More likely to be representative of "real-life" scenario/environment Representative : if the population is approrpiatley sampled, the risk estimates may be generalizable to the population Multiple Exposures outcomes: Often multiple exposures and outcomes are evaluated wihtin one study

Question 28

Disadvantages of cohort studies

Answer 28

- Large sample is required - Expensive (participant compensation, researchers/staff) - Attribution bias (over time people will drop out, tends to be people who are most sick) - Measurement bias: if measurement methods cange over time, this may alter rate/risk estimates. Hard to measure certain variables consistently over time - Poor internal validity

Question 29

Population based recruitment strengths

Answer 29

cases are representative of population results are generalizable to population

Question 30

Population based population weaknesses

Answer 30

more difficult to recruit, how do we find the cases?

Question 31

Hospital based recruitment strengths

Answer 31

easy to identify cases because they are already there access to medical records

Question 32

Hospital based recruitment weaknesses

Answer 32

Typically are more sick as they seek out more treatment May be different in other ways compared to general population

Question 33

Control group recruitment: How do we identify appropriate controls?

Answer 33

Want to match the controls as closely to the cases as possible

Question 34

Challenges in case-control studies : Selection bias

Answer 34

selection bias occurs when the subjects studied are not representative of the target population about which conclusions are to be drawn

Question 35

Challenges in case-control studies: Recall bias

Answer 35

a type of information bias common in case-control studies where the cases (or their families) are more likely to recall a prior exposure than the controls

Question 36

Challenges in Case-control studies: Misclassification

Answer 36

Non- differential misclassification: cases and controls are misclassified equally , will make detection of a true effect less likely Differential misclassification: only one group (cases or control) are misclassified, can alter the magnitude and/or direction of the effect

Question 37

Case control studies

Answer 37

can be cross sectional, or longitudinal (always retrospective)

Question 38

Absolute risk

Answer 38

the actual risk of some event happening given the current exposure. There is no comparison between groups.

Question 39

Relative risk

Question 40

Odds ratios

Answer 40

a measure of how strongly an event is associated with exposure. The odds ratio is a ratio of two sets of odds: the odds of the event occuring in an exposed group versus the odds of the event occurring in a non-exposed group The larger the odds ratio, the higher odds that the event will occur following exposure. A ration equal to 1 means there's no association between exposure and event ( a # greater than 1 will increase odds)