Methods Section Flashcards
Main sections of a research article:
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- References
Abstract section should contain
- Overview and purpose of the study
- General description and methods
- Highlights of results
- Statement of significance of results
- General conclusions
Introduction section should include
- Statement of the Problem
- Clinical Relevance
- Review of current literature
- Rationale and theoretical framework
- Specific purpose and hypotheses (guiding research question)
Introduction section of research article often concludes with
A research question
Methods section should contain
- Study design
- Criteria for and methods of subject selection
- Description and number of subjects
- Measurement methods and data collection techniques
- Data analysis procedures
Results section should contain
- Narrative description of statistical outcomes
- Tables and figures that summarize findings
- Statements of support of the hypotheses or rejection of the hypotheses
Discussion section should contain
- Importance of the results
- Limitations of the study
- Suggestions for future research
- Applicability of the results to clinical practice
Just a brief statement of the purpose of the study and it’s findings. It is usually phrased “the results of this study indicate…” or ”this study demonstrates….”
Conclusion
Reference section must include
All references used, in APA format
• Enough details are included in this section so the study can be replicated
• A clear description of the subjects/participants
• Including exclusion and inclusion criteria
• Subject sample size should be sufficient for the purposes of the study
• Sample size is affected by the study design
Methods section
• Each individual in a population of interest has an equal chance of being
selected for the study
• The generalizability of the study is enhanced when the subject sample is large and randomly selected from the population of interest.
Random sampling
• Should be adequate to measure the variables being studied
The IV can be described as “what changes the behavior”
The DV can be described as “the behavior that may change”
Materials
These are other factors (confounding factors) that may alter the dependent variable (the behavior that may change) making it difficult to know what actually affected the behavior
Extraneous Variables
Characteristics of levels of measurement
- Identity- (nominal)
- Identity and magnitude – (ordinal level)
- Identity, magnitude, & equality of an interval- (interval level)
- Identity, magnitude, equality of an interval and a true zero – (ratio level)
refers to how much we can depend on a measure
Reliability
Reliability of a measurement can be evaluated in the following ways
• Test-retest method
• Equivalence of measurement
• Internal consistency – split-half method
A measurement can be evaluated for its precision and also for its accuracy
• A measurement that is precise remains relatively stable if it is repeated
with the same research subjects under similar conditions
• A measurement that is precise may not always be accurate
• The accuracy of a measurement reflects the level of error that is present
Precision and accuracy
Potential sources of error
Systematic and unsystematic errors
equipment needing to be calibrated
Systematic errors
equipment malfunction
Unsystematic errors
indicates the expected variability of the
subject’s scores if the measurement were repeated several times. A small standard of error suggests higher reliability. A large standard of error suggest lower reliability.
Standard error
how consistent 2 or more researchers are in making a particular measurement
Interobserver (inter-rater) agreement
how consistent one researcher is when making the same measurement more than once
Intraobserver (intra-rater) agreemen
Agreement coefficients can be calculated to determine
the level of interobserver or intraobserver agreement
Types of validity
Content
Criterion
Construct
How did the researchers address possible threats to internal validity?
• Subject selection
• History
• Reactive pretest
• Statistical regression
• Researcher bias
• Test environment (noise level)
• Hawthorne effect
How did the researchers address possible threats to external validity?
• Subjects
• Experimental arrangements (setting)
• Multiple sequences or numbers of treatment
• In quantitative research, data are obtained using numerical measures
• Quantitative research can be experimental, descriptive or mixed experimental-descriptive
Research Design
Descriptive research
It is not possible for the researcher to manipulate the IV because it is a subject characteristic (type of speech disorder, age or history)
This is the type that is most often used in speech-language pathology
Mixed Experimental-descriptive research
Example: In a study measuring the DV of oral reading accuracy, the descriptive component may be the comparison of 2 groups based on subject attributes (dyslexic vs nondyslexic) and the experimental component may be the manipulation of an independent variable (rapid vs slow presentation of written words)
Is an example of
Mixed Experimental-descriptive research
Can involve between-subject or within-subject group comparison, or both
Group Research – Between subject design
comparisons of 2 or more groups of subjects
Between-subject design
2 ways to match subjects across groups
• Overall matching of averages across the groups (average age)
• Pairwise matching of each subject to another subject
the behavior of the same subjects is studied under
different conditions
Within-subject design
In within-subjects experimental research, possible sequence effects must be controlled
Order effect
Carryover effect
Ways to attempt to control sequence effects in within-subject designs
Randomizing
Counterbalancing
Focused on the individual and may involve only one subject or may involve a few subjects whose performance is reported individually
Single-subject design
In single-subject research you can have:
Withdrawal designs
Multi-baseline designs
Research that is based on the performance of one subject or a small group
Single-subject research
The notation system used for single-subject research designs is as follows
A=Baseline
B = Intervention
C and Other Letters = Additional interventions
An A-B design would consist of the investigator taking measurements at
baseline and then providing the intervention and taking measurements
following the intervention.
Single-subject
Qualitative research involves 4 exploration of factors that may underline behavior
- Hypotheses emerge from observation and interpretation
- Researcher’s experiences and biases are expected
- Data collection in real-world context
- Multiple and varied methods for data collection
occurs when both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used in the same study
Mixed-method research
• Methods section of a research study should include a description of the
methods to be used
• In qualitative research, descriptive ways to focus the data are used
• In quantitative research, numerical analyses allow for objective descriptions
that can be analyzed statistically
Data analysis
Used to characterize the shape, central tendency, and variability
Descriptive statistics
Descriptive statistics shows data in forms of
Graphs and distributions
