Research Flashcards
The basic objective of research is to acquire _______
new knowledge and justification for decision making in
medical practice
______ refers to the ‘true’ answer, which must
be relevant, complete and accurate
Validity
Three significant questions that evaluate validity are:
• Is the study useful or is the result inconclusive?
• Do you accept the results of this study as applied
to the source population?
• Do the results apply to the population in which
you would be interested?
________ refers to the adequacy of the
study methods in reference to the study population
Internal validity
_________refers to the generalisability of
the results to the general population
external validity
______ refers to the stability of question-andanswer
response and is most successfully measured
by testing and then retesting (repeatedly).
Reliability
The most frequently used method of testing for __________is to repeat application of the test.
repeatability
_______ and _______, which are integral to
validity, are important considerations in decision
making in medicine, particularly in choosing
appropriate investigations for disease diagnoses
Sensitivity and specificity
The_______ of a test depends on the proportion
of people with the characteristic (disease) in whom
the test is positive
sensitivity
_____ is (i.e. percentage positive with disease).
Sn
The________of a test depends on the proportion
of people without the characteristic (disease) in
whom the test is negative (i.e. percentage negative
of healthy people).
specificity
The ultimate specific test is one
that detects all the_____
truly negative (disease-free) cases
A _____test is one that is as close to 100%
specificity and 100% sensitivity as possible.
gold standard
Predictive values that are useful indices of validity
can be expressed as ______ and _____
positive and negative values
______ refers to the number of new cases of a disease (or factor of interest) occurring in a defined population within a specified period of time.
Incidence
______ refers to the total number of
individuals who have the disease (or factor of
interest) at a particular time in a population. Thenumber is divided by the number of people in the population at that time
Prevalence
This is any effect occurring during the investigation that tends to produce results that depart systematically from the true values
Bias
types of bias
1.
2.
3.
- measurement bias (
- confounding bias
- selection bias
This is a situation in which a measure of the effect of exposure on risk is distorted by the association of exposure with other (known or unknown) factors that influence the outcome
Confounding
A ______ is a factor that distorts the apparent magnitude of the effect of
a study on risk.
confounder
The reasoning process of the researcher is based on the ________that is, an experimental group does not differ from a control ‘normal’ group in outcome.
null hypothesis
Two basic components of subject selection are ______ and _______ The latter should
be selected in a well-controlled manner
sample size and sample representativeness.
A useful rule is to aim to approach
_______patients if you wish to work with a sample size of n .
3n
The two broad categories of research in general practice are _______research, which is based on observation and talking with people, and ____ research, which is based on measurement and analysis
of data collection
qualitative
quantitative
Research can also be classified as _____ research, which includes both qualitative and quantitative methods, and _____research, which involves
systematic reviews and meta-analysis.
primary
secondary
This research is basically concerned with evaluating human behaviour from the subject’s perspective.
It is based on close observation and is expressed in a descriptive way.
Qualitative research
Qualitative approaches to research 1 2 3 4
- Phenomenology
- Ethnography
- Grounded theory
- Biography (life story, narrative enquiry)
- Case study
Methods used in qualitative research
- interviews (open-ended, semi-structured)
- focus groups
- participation observation
- document analysis
What type of research
The central focus of philosophy/method is the lived experience of the world of everyday life
Phenomenology
What type of research
• effects of Viagra (and other agents) on marital/
sexual relationships
• experience of carers in Alzheimer disease
• effects of workplace bullying on absenteeism
Phenomenology
This examines cultures, peoples and societies
including subgroups, e.g. adolescents. It is the basis of anthropology.
The investigator usually identifies one
or more key witnesses (informants) and interviews them to clarify observations.
Ethnography
This is the development of new theory through the collection and analysis of data. It seeks to identify the core social processes within a given context in order
to build theory that is grounded in the reality of those being studied
Grounded theory