research integrity and experiments

Question 1

what is research integrity?

Answer 1

involves conducting research in ways that allow others to have trust and confidence in methods and findings; researchers meet professional standards

Question 2

what are the five principles? (h,r,t,i,r)

Answer 2

• honesty
• rigour
• transparent
• independence
• responsibility

Question 3

what is honesty?

Answer 3

being accurate, open and refrain from fabricating

Question 4

what is rigour?

Answer 4

using scientific methods, exercising best possible care in designing, undertaking and reporting research

Question 5

what is transparency?

Answer 5

be clear on how research was based on, data obtained and results achieved

Question 6

what is independence?

Answer 6

not allowing research to be guided by non- scientific considerations, impartiality

Question 7

what is responsibility?

Answer 7

researcher does not operate in isolation; conduct a research scientifically that is socially relevant

Question 8

what is a research ethics committee?

Answer 8

• group of people appointed to review research proposals to assess formally if research is ethical

Question 9

what must the ethics committee conform to? Give examples

Answer 9

• recognised ethical standards i.e., dignity, rights, safety and well being of participants

Question 10

what is voluntary participation?

Answer 10

• pts are free to opt in or out of the study at any point in time

Question 11

what is informed consent?

Answer 11

participants know the purpose, benefits, risks and funding behind study before they agree or decline

Question 12

what is anonymity?

Answer 12

you don’t know the identities of pts as personal data not collected

Question 13

what is confidentiality?

Answer 13

you know who pts are but keep info hidden from everyone else so results can’t be linked

Question 14

what is the potential for harm?

Answer 14

physical, social, psychological and all other types of harm are kept to an absulote minimum

Question 15

what is results communication?

Answer 15

ensure your work is free of plagiarism or research misconduct ; accurately represent your results

Question 16

list the scientific process

Answer 16

• think of interesting questions
• formulate hypotheses
• develop testable predictions
• gather data to test predictions
• develop general theories
• make observations

Question 17

why is research design important?

Answer 17

well planned design helps ensure that methods can effectively test your research questions, that you collect high quality data and use appropriate analysis to answer questions

Question 18

what conclusions does a well planned design allow?

Answer 18

valid and trustworthy conclusions

Question 19

what questions should you ask when thinking of design?

Answer 19

• what was the aim of the study?
• if analytic, was the intervention randomly allocated?
• when were outcomes determined?

Question 20

what are cross sectional designs?

Answer 20

assess a phenomenon at one time to provide a snapshot
- examines trends and changes in societal level by measuring different samples

Question 21

what is a longitudinal study?

Answer 21

assess a phenomenon at several points in time to provide info on change at individual level
- examines change in same people over time

Question 22

what is an observational design?

Answer 22

• no intervention is made so it provides info on associations between an exposure an event

Question 23

what is an experimental design?

Answer 23

• involves an intervention so allows determination of cause and effect

Question 24

what is the difference between single cross- sectional design and different cross sectional design?

Answer 24

• single only uses one sample of pts recruited from target population once whereas different compares two or more groups at one time

Question 25

what are case- control designs?

Answer 25

• usually retrospective
• cases have outcome
• controls do not have outcome

Question 26

what are retrospective cohort designs?

Answer 26

• involves looking back
• examine data that already exists
• try to identify risk factors for particular conditions

Question 27

what are prospective cohort designs?

Answer 27

• involves forward looking
• watches for outcomes and relates this to suspected risk factors or protective factors

Question 28

what is the randomised control trial design?

Answer 28

• prospective so forward looking
• involves intervention or treatment
• pts randomised into either a ‘control’ group of ‘ intervention’ group
• follows groups over time to determine any differences in outcomes

Question 29

what is a quasi- experimental design?

Answer 29

an intervention study that does not;
- randomise pts and/ or have a control group

Question 30

what is feasibility studies?

Answer 30

• research done before a main study to determine whether the methods are feasible and acceptable
• can the study be done?

Question 31

what is a pilot study?

Answer 31

• small scale study conducted prior to large scale experiment to test and refine procedures