research methods and design Flashcards
what are the three methods of research used in the study of population health?
qualitative studies, quantitative studies, and mixed methods
what are the two types of study designs?
descriptive studies. analytical studies
what does quantitative research refer to?
quantitative research refers to counts and measures of things
what are 4 data collection methods for quantitative research?
close-ended questions in the surveys; already available administrative databases; physical measurements; psychological tests
what are 3 strengths of quantitative research methodology?
- can gather large amount of information
- on a wide range of issues
- for a large and representative samples
what is the statistics canada national health and social surveys?
responsible for collecting stats and data for cnds and their life including their health. determinants of health and health status. can use the data to understand more about health of canadians as a whole
what is the manitoba population based registry? and who is it housed by?
- it is a collection of different data sets (see them in diagram) (e.g. can be used to understand health and access to services for cnds with developmental disabilities)
- it is housed by the MCHP
what are the limitations of quantitative research methodology?
- structured research questions
- not capturing individuals’ subjective experiences or perceptions
define qualitative research methodology?
“instead of trying to convert social life into variables or numbers, qualitative researchers borrow ideas from the people they study and place them within the context of a natural setting”
what are the 4 data collection methods for qualitative research?
- observations
- interviews
- documents
- audiovisual materials
in terms of data collection for qualitative research, what are the 3 methods for interviews?
- face to face
- telephone interview
- focus groups
in terms of data collection for qualitative research, what are the 3 types of documents that can be used?
- public documents
- journals
- email discussions
in terms of data collection for qualitative research, what are the 4 types of audiovisual materials?
photographs
video tapes
art objects
films
whta are the 2 strengths of qualitative research methodology?
- appreciate the complexity of social interactions and behaviors
- study subjective or percieved needs and priorities
what are the 2 limitations of qualitative research methodology?
- small sample sizes
- research findings can not be generalized to the population
what is mixed methods research and why is it done?
- using both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection (either simultaneously or sequentially)
- to better understand research problems
draw out the research design schema
or look at it whatever
what are the two main categories of epidemiological studies?
- descriptive studies (observational)
- analytic studies (either observational or experimental)
what are the 3 uses of descriptive observational studies?
- evaluation of trends in health and disease
- identify problems to be studied by analytic methods and suggest areas that might be informative for investigation
- provide a basis for planning, provision. and evaluation of services
what are the 3 main categories of descriptive observational studies?
- cross-sectional studies
- case reports
- ecological studies
what are cross-sectional studies?
studies carried out at one point in time or over a short period of time
- a “snapshot” of the outcome and the characteristics association with it, at a specific point in time
what is the purpose of cross sectional studies? (2)
- to estimate the prevalence of the outcome of interest for a given population
- to collect data on individual characteristics including exposure or risk factors, and outcomes
define case reports
- a single occurence of a noteworthy health-related incident or small collection of such events
define ecological reports
“… in which the units of analysis are populations or groups of people rather than individuals”
give an example of an ecological study
reporting avg income by province in canada
what are the two types of analytical studies?
observational studies
experimental studies
what type of design can an analytical observational study have? (3)
ecological studies
case-control
cohort
what are two examples/types of experimental analytical studies? (2)
community intervention
clinical trial
describe observational design
- ingestigator does not have control over exposure factor
- investigator is unable to assign subjects randomly to study conditions
describe experimental design
- investigator controls who is exposed to a factor of interest
- investigator can assign subjects randomly to study groups
what is the main difference between experimental and observational designs?
the ability to manipulate exposures and conditions
what type of studies are ecological studies? what are ecological studies?
- observational studies
- they are studies in which the units of analysis are populations or groups of people rather than individuals (states,regions, countries)
- use aggregate data (population level data)
- may be used when individual measurements are not available, but group-level data can be obtained
what are case-control studies? (general)
subjects are defined on the basis of the presence or absence of an outcome of interest (e.g. diabetes)
what are the steps in case-control studies?
- define study subjects (cases are those individuals who have the outcome of interest, controls do not have the outcome or disease of interest)
- obtain exposure information
- analyze data
what is a matched case-control study? what does matching aid in?
one in which the cases and controls have been matched according to one or more criteria such as sex, age, race, or other variables. (matching aids in controlling confounding)
what are 4 advantages of case control studies?
- can be used to study low prevalence conditions
- relatively quick and easy to complete
- usually inexpensive
- involve smaller number of subjects
what are the 3 disadvantages of case control stidues?
-measurement of exposure may be inaccurate
- representativeness of cases and controls may be unknown
the temporal relationship between exposure factor and outcome cannot always be determined
what is a cohort in a cohort study?
a cohort is defined as a population group, or subset (distinguished by a common characteristic), that is followed over a period of time)
what are two examples of a cohort?
birth cohort
school cohort
what are the two types of cohort studies?
- prospective cohort study
- retrospective cohort study
define a prospective cohort study and list the steps?
- subjects are classified according to their exposure to a factor of interest and then are ovserved over time to document the occurence of new cases (incidence) of disease or other health events
- steps: define cohort, invite subjects to participate, obtain baseline exposure measurement, follow cohort for disease (outcome of interest), analyze disease risk according to exposures
what are two types of study designs?
retrospective cohort designs
examples of cohort studies
what are two types of experumental designs?
randomized controlled trial (RTC)
quasi-experimental study
reveiw the reserach design schema
do it
what are the two types of cohort studies
prospective cohort study and retrospective cohort study
describe a retrospective cohort study
- makes use of historical data to determine exposure level at some baseline in the past
- follow-up for subsequent occurences of disease between baseline and present is performed
what is the main difference between cohort and case control studies?
- in cohort studies, we classify the study participants according to their exposure status (whether or not they have a particular risk factor)
- in case-control studies we classify the study participants according to the health outcome of interest
see the examples
see them in the 3rd part of this lecture series
what are the advantages of cohort studies? (4)
- permit direct observation of risk
- exposure factor is well defined
- can study exposures that are uncommon in the population
- the temporal relationship between exposure factor and outcome is known
what ate the three disadvantages to cohort studies?
- espensive and time consuming
- complicated and difficult to carry out
- subjects may be lost to follow-up during the course of.the study
in epi, experimental studies are implemented as _______ _______
intervention studies
what are two types of experimental studies?
- randomized controlled trial (RCT)
- quasi-experimental design
what is a randomized controlled trial? what are the groups? and what is compared?
- subjects in a population are randomly allocated into groups:
- study groups (members recieve the intervention)
- control groups - members do not receive the intervention
- we compare the outcomes of interest
what is a quasi-experimental study?
it is a type of research in which the investigator manipulates the study factor but does not assign individual subjects randomly to the exposed and non-exposed groups
what is a community intervention?
(community trial) is an intervention designed for the purpose of educational and behavioural changes at the population level (most community interventions use quasi-experimental designs
what is the importance of analytical studies? (3)
- lead to the prevention of disease, or adverse health outcomes
- assist with the quantitative evaluation of intervention programs
- aid in determining safety of new drugs and other products
what is program evaluation used to do?
it is used to determine whether the program meets stated goals
