Questions and answers Flashcards
Critically discuss the data: do what and consider what?
Write what the data shows then consider:
- Have they presented data that supports the conclusions of the Figure?
- Have they included statistical tests and are they appropriate?
- Have they included all appropriate controls (often at fault)?
- Extrapolate to in vivo
- Could they have included anything else to further support their conclusion?
- Are there the correct number of replicates?
- Did they verify a KO/KD?
Identify aim
What were the authors aiming to do?
Usually this is at the end of the introduction.
Write word for word, and mention the method that they used.
Identify aimS
Similar to identify aim.
Give one overall aim (central) then 3 mini aims.
Give some context - why are they aiming for this, what is the importance?
Key figure: do what and consider what?
Select the Figure that best supports the conclusions of the paper and is related to the overall aim. Consider:
- Does it show causality c.f. correlation?
- Is it clinically relevant?
- Which Figure best matches a possible answer to the aims?
- If this Figure wasn’t here, would the paper be any good?
- Will the Figure be useful to a wider audience, or application in other areas?
- Discuss limitations of other Figures
Design an experiment (considerations)
Consider:
- Look at the end to see if they suggested next steps
- Show causation if only correlation has been shown
- Use a better technique
- Provide some insight into the mechanism
- Think clinically
Design an experiment (structure)
State aims and the hypothesis from the start.
Explain the methodology and why you are doing what you are doing.
Suggest the expected results.
Suggest next steps and how it fits into the wider puzzle.
If clinical, outline the treatment regimen.
Comment on
Explain, discuss appropriateness and relate to how it was specifically used in the study.
Assessing statistics (5 considerations)
Have they included error bars?
How many repeats/ data points/ samples per experiment?
Is the data normally distributed?
Have they stated the test, and is it appropriate?
Have they stated what comparisons they are making?
Strengths and weakness (8)
Model (appropriate, multiple in agreement)
Techniques (appropriate, multiple in agreement)
Validity (construct, face, predictive)
Statistical analysis
Ethics
Generalisability possible
Answer question?
Clinical value?
Why may a model be inappropriate?
Lacks the 3 types of validity:
- In vitro
- Genetically modified
- Lab-adapted
- Only shows correlation
- Only shows a modest effect
What can make a model more appropriate?
In vivo
Has all three types of validity
Validated by human data
Uses multiple correlates of pathology
Shows dose dependency
