Research definitions

Question 1

case series

Answer 1

written report on the details of a series of related cases

Question 2

case study

Answer 2

written report on the details of a single case

Question 3

clinical research

Answer 3

research that addresses issues directly related to patient care

Question 4

clinical trial

Answer 4

prospective longitudinal experiment designed to assess the comparative efficacy or effectiveness of a treatment, often labeled a randomized clinical trial if random assignment of subjects is made to each of the comparison treatment groups

Question 5

control group

Answer 5

comparison group assignment in a clinical trial that receives no treatment, a placebo treatment or an alternative treatment

Question 6

cross sectional studies

Answer 6

measurements taken at one moment in time

Question 7

double blind study

Answer 7

an experiment in which patients and wither doctors or outcome assessors are blinded

Question 8

frequency

Answer 8

general or statistical expression of how often a condition or disease occurs

Question 9

gold standard

Answer 9

measurement of agreed upon accuracy and validity

Question 10

incidence

Answer 10

the proportion of a clearly defined group, initially free of a condition, that develops it over a period of time

Question 11

inter observe reliability

Answer 11

consistency of measured results between different practitioners evaluating the same thing

Question 12

intra observer reliability

Answer 12

consistency in which one practitioner can consistently arrive at the same result

Question 13

observational study

Answer 13

a study in which the researcher observes events as they occur naturally or in the course of normal practice, without attempting to influence them

Question 14

prevalence

Answer 14

proportion of a population having a particular condition or outcome at a given moment

Question 15

prospective study

Answer 15

a study that follows over time a group of similar individuals (cohorts) who differ with respect to certain factors under study, to determine how these factors affect rates of a certain outcome

Question 16

randomized control

Answer 16

a prospective longitudinal study inn which patients are divided into two or more groups one a randomized basis

Question 17

reliability

Answer 17

consistency of a measurement when repeated (reproducibility)

Question 18

retrospective study

Answer 18

AKA historic cohort study

take a look back at events that already have taken place

Question 19

sensitivity

Answer 19

the proportion of times a diagnostic study is correct in patients with a specific diagnosis

Question 20

single blind study

Answer 20

patients are blinded as to whether they are in the experimental or comparison group

Question 21

specificity

Answer 21

the proportion of times a diagnostic procedure is correct in a patient without a specific diagnosis

Question 22

validity

Answer 22

degree to which an observation or measurement provides an indication of the true state of the phenomena being measured