Principles of Research

Question 1

Research ethics.

Reasonable uncertainty in context of clinical trials about whether the experimental treatment is better than standard treatment

Answer 1

Equipoise

Question 2

Research ethics.

Tenet that benefits of treatment must outweigh harms

Answer 2

Beneficence

Question 3

Research ethics.

Process of obtaining agreement to participate in research, while ensuring they are fully informed about consequences and implications of a study

Answer 3

Informed consent

Question 4

Research ethics.

A committee that reviews research proposals to ensure their ethicality

Answer 4

Institutional review board

Question 5

Information gathered subjectively to determine if patterns or themes are present
Best used for complex processes, like human social behavior
Examples: Ethnography, focus group

Answer 5

Qualitative

Question 6

Data collected objectively and analyzed statistically
Best used for determining relationships between variables
Examples: Randomized controlled trial, correlation studies

Answer 6

Quantitative

Question 7

Observational

Data is gathered from the same subjects repeatedly over time

Measure how body composition changes as we age

Answer 7

Longitudinal

Question 8

Observational

Measures both outcome and exposure at the same point in time

Finding the prevalence of breast cancer in a population at a single point in time

Answer 8

Cross-sectional

Question 9

Observational

Measures outcome status and then relates it to history of exposure

Studying whether lung cancer patients have greater smoking history than healthy controls

Answer 9

Case control

Question 10

Observational

Detailed information about a small group of individuals

Detailed report of a unique and very rare medical case

Answer 10

Case series

Question 11

Observational

Longitudinal study that correlates exposure with rate of an outcome in a cohort over time

Studying whether smokers have higher rates of lung cancer by following them over time

Answer 11

Cohort study

Question 12

Experimental

Random allocation of subjects to different treatments and comparing them based on a measured outcome. Gold standard for clinical trials

Clinical trial randomizing between a new drug and placebo

Answer 12

Randomized control

Question 13

Review

Data from multiple studies are statistically analyzed and combined into a single review

Review of multiple clinical trials demonstrating that aspirin reduces stroke risk

Answer 13

Meta-analysis

Question 14

Research principles:

Internal and external validity

Answer 14

Internal validity: The degree to which a study demonstrates causality and controls for confounders

External validity: The degree to which results of a study can be generalized to other populations

Question 15

Research principles:

Construct and criterion validity

Answer 15

Construct validity: Ability of a study to measure what it intends to measure

Criterion validity: Ability of a study to correlate with another test, usually an accepted standard

Question 16

Research principles:
Causality

Answer 16

Most studies are observational and it is difficult to prove causality

Randomized control trial design is used to demonstrate causality

Question 17

Research principles:
Describes whether causality is supported in an observational study
A necessary criterion is temporality, meaning that the independent variable effect occurs before the dependent variable

Answer 17

Hill’s criteria

Question 18

Research principles:
Reliability vs validity

Answer 18

Validity: accuracy of a measure (measuring what it was designed to measure)

Reliability: consistency of the measurement (producing similar results from multiple readings)

Question 19

Research principles:

Used to control for potential effects that the order of intervention administration may have on results

One group receives intervention A first (and will later receive B), the other group receives intervention B first (and will later receive A)

Answer 19

Counterbalancing