Math Flashcards
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Three aspects of the scientific method
- Testable hypothesis
- Peer review
- Verification
Experimental/Basic Research
Very controlled laboratory research, no human subjects, most reliable way to indicate causation
Human subject research
research performed on humans outside of lab
What are the two types of human subject research?
Experimental and observational
Experimental human subject research
Involves a specific intervention controlled by the investigator, has a control and treatment group
Observational Human subject research
Investigator observes without direct control over the variables. Ex. identifying risk factors from use of case studies
Beneficence
DO GOOD, ending a study when there is a clear result of the drug providing benefit
Nonmalificence
Ending a study because drug/intervention harms the subject
Cohort study
longitudinal study observing characteristics (risk factors) of members of a cohort across time
uses correlations to demonstrate a relationship
no manipulations of an independent variable
Scientists are simply observing over a long period of time
Cross-sectional Study
Analysis of data collected from a population/ sample at one specific time
Case Control Study
an observational study of individuals within a population with a condition present. Then comparison of that group to a control group without the condition but in the same population
Independent Variable
Variable manipulated or directly changed by investigator
“Cause”
Always on the X-axis
Dependent Variable
Variable measured as a response to changes in the independent variable
“outcome variable”, “effect”
Always on the Y-axis
Positive control
Group given a treatment with a known/expected outcome so that it can be compared to the unknown outcome of a treatment being studied
Negative Control
Receives no treatment or expected outcome
No response is expected
Selection Bias
Method used to select participants is not random. Results are not a representation of the population as a whole
Types of selection bias
Specific real area bias Self-selection Bias Pre-screening/ advertising bias Exclusion bias Healthy User Bias Berkson's Fallacy Overmatching
Specific Real Area Bias
Conducting a study in a specific area that does not accurately represent the whole population studied
Self-selection Bias
Participants choose whether they want to participate or not and determine their own involvement
Surveys show significant selection bias
Pre-Screening/ Advertising Bias
When the screening or advertising process results in a under-representative sample
(Wording a study a different way which may elicit a different type of response from people)
Exclusion Bias
Exclusion of an entire group from a population
Healthy User Bias
Participants in study are likely to be healthier than the general population
Berkson’s Fallacy
Participants from hospitals which makes the pool likely to be less healthy than general population
Overmatching
Negative outcome resulting from a good practice. Matching for confounding variables. (Occurs when matching is done incorrectly or unnecessarily leading to lower efficiency and biased results.
Affects case control studies
Observer Bias
When the researchers/observers know the goal of the study which influences their observations
Demand Characteristics
Participants form their own conception of the experiments purpose and unconsciously change their behavior to fit that conception
Information Bias
Wrong or inexact recording of variables or data
Confounding variables
Unexpected variables that influence the variances being studied
Detection Bias
Systematic differences between groups caused by inconsistency with detection/ diagnoses
Performance Bias
Difference in groups due to the type of care provided t each (Favoritism)
Experimenter Bias
Errors introduced into a study due to the expectations of the investigators
Confirmation Bias
The tendency to favor information that confirms one’s hypothesis/predictions and dismiss info that discredits them
Reporting Bias
When some findings are reported and some are not. (PI withholding data that does not support hypothesis)
