research methods and design Flashcards

1
Q

what are the three methods of research used in the study of population health?

A

qualitative studies, quantitative studies, and mixed methods

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2
Q

what are the two types of study designs?

A

descriptive studies. analytical studies

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3
Q

what does quantitative research refer to?

A

quantitative research refers to counts and measures of things

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4
Q

what are 4 data collection methods for quantitative research?

A

close-ended questions in the surveys; already available administrative databases; physical measurements; psychological tests

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5
Q

what are 3 strengths of quantitative research methodology?

A
  • can gather large amount of information
  • on a wide range of issues
  • for a large and representative samples
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6
Q

what is the statistics canada national health and social surveys?

A

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

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7
Q

what is the manitoba population based registry? and who is it housed by?

A
  • 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
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8
Q

what are the limitations of quantitative research methodology?

A
  • structured research questions

- not capturing individuals’ subjective experiences or perceptions

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9
Q

define qualitative research methodology?

A

“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”

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10
Q

what are the 4 data collection methods for qualitative research?

A
  1. observations
  2. interviews
  3. documents
  4. audiovisual materials
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11
Q

in terms of data collection for qualitative research, what are the 3 methods for interviews?

A
  • face to face
  • telephone interview
  • focus groups
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12
Q

in terms of data collection for qualitative research, what are the 3 types of documents that can be used?

A
  • public documents
  • journals
  • email discussions
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13
Q

in terms of data collection for qualitative research, what are the 4 types of audiovisual materials?

A

photographs
video tapes
art objects
films

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14
Q

whta are the 2 strengths of qualitative research methodology?

A
  • appreciate the complexity of social interactions and behaviors
  • study subjective or percieved needs and priorities
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15
Q

what are the 2 limitations of qualitative research methodology?

A
  • small sample sizes

- research findings can not be generalized to the population

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16
Q

what is mixed methods research and why is it done?

A
  • using both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection (either simultaneously or sequentially)
  • to better understand research problems
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17
Q

draw out the research design schema

A

or look at it whatever

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18
Q

what are the two main categories of epidemiological studies?

A
  • descriptive studies (observational)

- analytic studies (either observational or experimental)

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19
Q

what are the 3 uses of descriptive observational studies?

A
  1. evaluation of trends in health and disease
  2. identify problems to be studied by analytic methods and suggest areas that might be informative for investigation
  3. provide a basis for planning, provision. and evaluation of services
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20
Q

what are the 3 main categories of descriptive observational studies?

A
  • cross-sectional studies
  • case reports
  • ecological studies
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21
Q

what are cross-sectional studies?

A

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

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22
Q

what is the purpose of cross sectional studies? (2)

A
  • 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
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23
Q

define case reports

A
  • a single occurence of a noteworthy health-related incident or small collection of such events
24
Q

define ecological reports

A

“… in which the units of analysis are populations or groups of people rather than individuals”

25
Q

give an example of an ecological study

A

reporting avg income by province in canada

26
Q

what are the two types of analytical studies?

A

observational studies

experimental studies

27
Q

what type of design can an analytical observational study have? (3)

A

ecological studies
case-control
cohort

28
Q

what are two examples/types of experimental analytical studies? (2)

A

community intervention

clinical trial

29
Q

describe observational design

A
  • ingestigator does not have control over exposure factor

- investigator is unable to assign subjects randomly to study conditions

30
Q

describe experimental design

A
  • investigator controls who is exposed to a factor of interest
  • investigator can assign subjects randomly to study groups
31
Q

what is the main difference between experimental and observational designs?

A

the ability to manipulate exposures and conditions

32
Q

what type of studies are ecological studies? what are ecological studies?

A
  • 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
33
Q

what are case-control studies? (general)

A

subjects are defined on the basis of the presence or absence of an outcome of interest (e.g. diabetes)

34
Q

what are the steps in case-control studies?

A
  • 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
35
Q

what is a matched case-control study? what does matching aid in?

A

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)

36
Q

what are 4 advantages of case control studies?

A
  • can be used to study low prevalence conditions
  • relatively quick and easy to complete
  • usually inexpensive
  • involve smaller number of subjects
37
Q

what are the 3 disadvantages of case control stidues?

A

-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

38
Q

what is a cohort in a cohort study?

A

a cohort is defined as a population group, or subset (distinguished by a common characteristic), that is followed over a period of time)

39
Q

what are two examples of a cohort?

A

birth cohort

school cohort

40
Q

what are the two types of cohort studies?

A
  • prospective cohort study

- retrospective cohort study

41
Q

define a prospective cohort study and list the steps?

A
  • 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
42
Q

what are two types of study designs?

A

retrospective cohort designs

examples of cohort studies

43
Q

what are two types of experumental designs?

A

randomized controlled trial (RTC)

quasi-experimental study

44
Q

reveiw the reserach design schema

A

do it

45
Q

what are the two types of cohort studies

A

prospective cohort study and retrospective cohort study

46
Q

describe a retrospective cohort study

A
  • 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
47
Q

what is the main difference between cohort and case control studies?

A
  • 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
48
Q

see the examples

A

see them in the 3rd part of this lecture series

49
Q

what are the advantages of cohort studies? (4)

A
  • 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
50
Q

what ate the three disadvantages to cohort studies?

A
  • espensive and time consuming
  • complicated and difficult to carry out
  • subjects may be lost to follow-up during the course of.the study
51
Q

in epi, experimental studies are implemented as _______ _______

A

intervention studies

52
Q

what are two types of experimental studies?

A
  • randomized controlled trial (RCT)

- quasi-experimental design

53
Q

what is a randomized controlled trial? what are the groups? and what is compared?

A
  • 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
54
Q

what is a quasi-experimental study?

A

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

55
Q

what is a community intervention?

A

(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

56
Q

what is the importance of analytical studies? (3)

A
  • 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
57
Q

what is program evaluation used to do?

A

it is used to determine whether the program meets stated goals