Research and Media

Question 1

• Most of the knowledge that you have, has been gained through….
• This occurs in:

when is testimony valid

Answer 1

attestation or testimony.

• This occurs in:
• Classes
• Lectures
• Videos
• Books – reading
• Tutorials
• Testimony is a valid form of knowledge translation
  when the speaker is speaking from verifiable field of
  expertise

Question 2

Vertical Stacking of Studies:

Normalization and Standardization:
0 and 1

If a studies confidence interval crosses zero (or 1 as case maybe) realize that a…

Critical Analysis of Author Claims:

dont accept what authors says, look at their…

Answer 2

Vertical Stacking of Studies:
Represent each study as a separate horizontal line with the confidence interval displayed. This format allows easy comparison of results across multiple studies.

Normalized Data: A zero on the graph indicates no difference was seen

Standardized Data: if they are standardized 1, is counts as normal results

Confidence Interval Interpretation:
“no results” group of data is in their analysis

DATA

Question 3

Key Measurements during COVID:

what did they and did they not measure?

The first focuses on individual protection, while the second examines broader public health effects. This distinction is crucial in…

Before the pandemic there was no clear political affiliation
between belief in vaccination and political party…

This immerged about ½ way through the pandemic… People with strong “right winged” views died at a higher percentage….

Answer 3

Key Measurements:

They did not measure the effectiveness of masks in preventing illness on an individual level.
They did measure the effectiveness of masks as a community intervention and found minimal to no impact on the spread of respiratory viruses.

in interpreting the study’s scope and conclusions.
Interpretation and Discussion:

Question 4

COVID
Challenges:
Research Limit: .
Masks:

Answer 4

Challenges: Hard to control all variables; full compliance with masks is rare.
Research Limit: It guides better questions, not definitive answers.
Masks: Work individually (if used correctly) but fail as a community measure due to improper use and poor adherence.

Question 5

How to analyze research

Participants:

Independent Variable:

Real-Life Relevance:

Sample Size:

Mechanism:

Bias:

Speculation vs. Science:

Answer 5

Participants: Who are they? Are they representative of the target population?

Independent Variable: Was it well-controlled, and could the researchers truly control it?

Real-Life Relevance: Does the experimental setup mimic real-world conditions?

Sample Size: Was it large enough to provide strong evidence?

Mechanism: Is the proposed explanation logical and supported by evidence?

Bias: Watch for conflicts of interest (e.g., funding sources like the dairy foundation or politically motivated organizations).

Speculation vs. Science: Separate solid evidence from assumptions or unsupported claims

Question 6

Research Quality:
Measurement Influence:
Observer Effect:
Quote:

Answer 6

Research Quality: Not all studies are equal; CONTEXT matters (who, what, where, when, how, and why).

Measurement Influence: Observing or measuring can alter outcomes (seen in quantum mechanics and atomic physics).

Observer Effect: Always account for the researcher’s influence on results.

Quote: Wise leaders and scientists remain cautious and thoughtful.

Question 7

What is a confounding variable

why do you want a low Confidence Interval

Answer 7

when there are too many variables to control and can therefore dilute the data. Like mask compliance

because if the CI is low it means the data is more precise and consistent.

with those long confidence intervals, some of the data shows no change with mask wearing,

although the mean is still positive.