Midterm 1

Question 1

Define Hypothesis and Null Hypothesis

Answer 1

Hypothesis: is an idea or explanation that you can test through your study or experiment based on the limited amount of evidence proposed (estimated guest)

Null Hypothesis: the claim we assume to be true until proven different

Question 2

Define Randomized Control Trials (RTC)

Answer 2

A study in which people are allocated at random (by chance) to receive one of several interventions

Question 3

Define Double Blind

Answer 3

Neither the subjects nor the researcher know which subjects are the control group and which is being tested

Question 4

Define Peer Review

Answer 4

The process used by publishers and editors of academic/scholarly journals to ensure that the articles they publish meet the accepted standard of their discipline

Question 5

Define Deductive and Inductive Reasoning

Answer 5

Deductive: used to test theories, uses a quantitative approach (a theory is applied to a specific case to test the theory)

Inductive: used to develop theories through observations, uses a qualitative approach (used a lot when theory doesn’t exist)

Question 6

Define Qualitative and Quantitative Research Design

Answer 6

Qualitative: numbers, measurements -> uses probability sampling where each membrane has an equal chance of being selective to the sample (=random sample), this eliminates bias in selecting the sample

Quantitative: characteristics -> uses non-probability sampling to study phenomena of interest (includes the characteristics of interest) ex: cluster sampling

Question 7

Define Basic and Applied Research

Answer 7

Basic (direct/type 1): used to discover knowledge ex: identifying pathogens that cause periodontitis disease

Applied (type 2): this is used to test out and apply know ex: research on developing the vaccine agains that pathogen

Question 8

Define Independent, Dependent, Control Extraneous Variables

Answer 8

Independent (X): a variable who’s variation does not depend on that of another

Dependent (Y): whose values depends on that of another

Control: a group or individuals used as a standard of comparison for checking the results of a survey or experiment (controlled completely so it has no effect)

Extraneous: are undesirable variations that influence the relationship between the variables that an experiment is examining

Controlled: independent variable because you can control it

Question 9

Define Cochrane Collaboration

Answer 9

Gather and summarize the best evidence from research to help you make informed choices about treatment

Question 10

Define N

Answer 10

sample size…number in a trial or a sample

Question 11

Define Mean, Mode and Median

Answer 11

Mean: the mathematical average

Mode: values that occur most frequently in a data set

Median: the ‘midpoint’ of an ordered data set

Question 12

Define P-value

Answer 12

Tells you if your results are significant or not (if it may have been chance)

Question 13

Define Artifacts

Answer 13

Any error in perception or representation of any visual or oral information introduced by the involved equipment or techniques

Question 14

Define Trustworthiness

Answer 14

Deserving of trust or confidence (dependable/reliable)

Question 15

PICO

Answer 15

• focuses clients questions
• helps selecting key terms for conducting computer searches
• determines the type of evidence of info that you need to answer the question (which type of studies will you use in your search)
• helps you to know what outcomes measures will be used to determine the effectiveness of the intervention

P: patient problem or population: chief complaint (For a patient with)
I: intervention: main intervention being considered, what you plan to do for the client?
C: comparison: main alternative are considering
O: outcomes: the results of what you plan to accomplish/improve (should be measurable)

Ex: For a client with tooth discolouration due to coffee and tobacco (P), will whitening strips (I), as compared to custom trays for use with an at home whitening bleach system (C), better whiten his teeth within 3 weeks (O)?

Question 16

Define Variance

Answer 16

A measure of how spread out a distribution is

Question 17

Define Standard Deviation

Answer 17

How much scores deviate from the mean (square root of the variance is the most commonly used measure of spread)

Question 18

Define Chi-Square

Answer 18

Compares observed frequencies to expected frequencies

Question 19

Define T-test

Answer 19

Looks at difference between two groups on some variables of interest (the IV must have only 2 groups ex: male/female or undergrad/grad)

Question 20

Define Systemic Review

Answer 20

a researcher that collects and looks at multiple studies

Question 21

Define Meta Analysis

Answer 21

A statistical technique for combining the finding from independent studies. Often used to asses the clinical effectiveness of healthcare interventions; it does this from comparing data from two or more randomized control trials

Question 22

Define Annotated Bibliography vs Literature Review

Answer 22

Annotated Bib: a list of citations to a book, article, journal and documents, each citation is followed by a brief description and evaluation paragraph

Question 23

What is scientific method and its steps? and researcher bias?

Answer 23

Scientific method is the systematic inquiry that increase the confidence outcome
Steps: 
1. Describe the problem 
2. Develop the testable hypothesis 
3. Review the literature 
4. Plan the study 
5. Collect data 
6. Analyze the data 
7. Interpret the data 
8. Present the new information to your peers 

Researcher bias is the source of error, which may be from:

• uncontrolled variables
• wrong statistical test/hypotheses
• poor sampling
• wrong design or method

Question 24

Understand components of a journal article.

Answer 24

Abstract: briefly summarizes the article, usually includes the purpose, participants, process and important findings
Introduction: purpose or the article and a review of literature
Methods: how ethical approval was received
-procedure
-participants: determines applicability of results
-materials
-variables: what researcher is collecting data about
Results:
-graphs, tables, etc
Discussion: Non-technical interpretation of results
-summarizes the results and states the outcome
-should answer research question
Conclusion:
-reinterprets significance and important finding
References: gives a broad knowledge of the research area

Question 25

Understand the different samples used in research: quota, convenience, random, cluster

Answer 25

Quota: the representative individuals are chosen out a specific subgroup Ex: 100 females

Cluster: the researcher separates the population into unique, non-overlapping groups and then one group is picked for the study

Random: where each member has an equal chance of being selected to the sample. 2 types: simple random sample: done by chance and stratified random sample: random sample of subgroups that are more homogenous
Connivence: the sample group is drawn from part of the population because it is readily available and convenient

Question 26

Understand the different types of research studies: descriptive, experimental, prospective, predictive, explanatory, cross-sectional, cohort, longitudinal, case-control

Answer 26

Descriptive: attempts to answer the questions (who, what, when) -uses surveys and case studies

Explanatory: looks for associations

Predictive: explained by examining and testing the associations

Cross-sectional: studies several people at one time

Longitudinal: study several people over a long period of time

Prospective: study people to find out what might happen in the future

Cohort Studies: studies groups of people over time

Case Control Study: analyze and interesting case sample

Question 27

Informal and Formal ways to conduct dental hygiene research.

Answer 27

Formal Research: uses the principles of scientific investigation, such as rules of random sampling in surveys, in order to replicate results. Result can be projected to large universe

Informal (non-specific): can looks at values or qualities, is subjective. It is good for pre-testing formal strategies. Results cannot be projected to represent an entire audience or population

Question 28

Understand the Evidence Based Decision-Making Process, including critiquing literature

Answer 28

Steps:

1. Convert our information into focused clinical questions so they can be answered using a process called PICO
2. EBDM helps to conduct a focused computerized search with the most efficiency and relevancy to answer your questions using the highest level of evidence
3. Critically appraising the evidence you do find for it validity (truthfulness) and applicability (usefulness)
4. Apply the results to our practice. Use your finding to support clinical decisions and present information to our clients in a clear and concise way
5. Evaluate our results as to the outcomes related to the health of the patient and patient satisfaction

Why do we need EBDM?

• differences in our practice patterns
• slows translation and assimilation of new research
• Helps us manage info overload
• Changing education requirements

Critiquing Literature:

• Identifies strengths and weaknesses
• Suggests questions yet to be raised
• Assesses soundness of information
• Not done to fine fault. Its a way to question the information and opinions and present your evaluation of judgement of the text
• Offers suggestions for improvements

Question 29

Understand Vancouver Style Citation Format

Answer 29

Vancouver Style is the citation used by most biochemical journals and many scientific journals. It came out of a meeting of medical journal editors in 1978, held in Vancouver BC and is maintained by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).