Test 1 Lecture & Chapter Material Flashcards
What is research?
Research is a carefully planned, systematic, and structured process for solving problems or answering questions (typically to develop new knoweledge)
What is the scientific method?
A structured, orderly process for conducting a research study
What are the steps of the scientific method?
- Understand the problem area
- Identify the research problem or question
- Formulate one or more hypotheses
- Plan the methods to test the hypotheses
- Collect the data
- Analyze the data with statistical tools
- Interpret and discuss the results
- Derive conclusions from the results (practical info, application)
What are good sources for research problems and questions?
- Current research in the field
- Clinical situations observed in shadowing
- Discussions with healthcare professionals
- Professional trends (on websites or conference topics)
What does a carefully formulated, well-structured question do?
- Helps build your literature search strategy
- Improves your literature search results
- Guides development of your research design, procedures, and analysis
What are the criteria for a good research problem or question?
Feasible (have instruments needed, ethical, get enough participants, time restraint, enough literature)
Interesting
Novel (unique spin)
Ethical
Relevant (contribute to field, worth answering)
How could you determine if your research question is novel and relevant?
Be familiar with research literature
What is a strategy for structuring clinical research questions?
PICO
Patient/population/problem
Intervention
Comparison
Outcome
(T: time frame)
What is a key point in research writing?
Write succinctly: as clearly and with as few words as possible
What are tips for writing clearly and avoiding common writing errors?
- Do not personify objects
- Do not say a variable was “higher” without saying than what
- Do not use “this” without saying what it is
- Write sentences that can stand alone
- Be careful with “prove” consider suggest, demonstrates, and indicate
- Use parallelism when writing lists
- Use active voice
- Use strong verb instead of turning it into a noun (beware “of”)
What are additional tips for research writing?
- Avoid using significant instead of important
- Data is plural (data were)
- Avoid bias in language
- Write person before disability (person with a mental illness)
- Do not label person by disability (person with an amputation/amputee)
- Use emotionally neutral words (not victim, afflicted, suffering)
- Emphasize abilities rather than limitations (confined to/uses a wheelchair)
What are three characteristics of good research writing?
correct grammar/spelling rules, clear, and tells an interesting story
What are some reasons to avoid wordiness in research writing?
Improved clarity allowing the reader to follow the story. The extra words do not add meaning.
What is parallelism and why is it helpful?
Parallelism is wording listed phrases/clauses in the same way. It is helpful because it aids clarity and is easier to read and understand.
Explain the difference between active and passive voices.
Passive: the subject is acted upon (vague)
Active: the subject is acting (direct and clear)
What are the reasons to avoid using direct quotations in research writing?
Your own words decreases wordiness, is more straightforward, and does not break the flow of your writing therefore distracting the reader less.
What are the two first steps in preparing to write a literature review?
First, identify the purpose of your literature review. Second, get a good grasp of the current research literature and understand your topic.
Using your own words, define plagiarism
Plagiarism is when you use someone else’s work as if it were your own without giving due credit via citation.
Why is paraphrasing preferable to always quoting directly from the source?
Paraphrasing is preferable because it prevents the reading becoming a disjointed series of other’s statements.
Under what circumstance is it not necessary to cite the research literature in your own writing?
When the information is considered common knowledge.
Should all outliers be discarded? Explain why or why not.
No, not all outliers should be discarded. This would be falsification and fabrication of data
They should be discarded when there has been a mistake in the data collection this is faulty data.
They should not be discarded when there is no mistake they simply do not follow your hypothesis.
Explain the risk/benefit ratio.
The potential risks that the participants are exposed to by engaging in the study cannot outweigh the benefits they receive from the study.
List at least five elements of informed consent.
- statement- research, purpose, duration, procedures & experimental procedures
- reasonable risks/discomfort
- reasonable benefits
- confidentiality of identifying records
- if more than minimal risk: explain compensation & treatment
- contact for questions, rights, & injuries
- voluntary - no penalty not participate/withdraw
- circumstances researcher discontinue participation w/o participant consent
- approx. number participants in study
What is the difference between informed consent and informed assent?
Informed consent is for adults while informed assent is for children and therefore will need to be written in language that a child can understand and must be accompanied by an informed consent form for the child’s guardian
Why is it unethical to submit a research manuscript to more than one journal at the same time?
Because it disrespects the journal and the people putting time and effort into reviewing the submission.
Unacceptable publication practices. Academic disintegrity.
What is ethics?
The systematic study of what is morally good and evil and morally right and wrong in human conduct.
- Provides a set of standards for how to act in complex situations
- For Christians it goes beyond regulation to what is right to do
What are the three core ethical principles of the Belmont report?
1) Respect for Persons
2) Beneficence
3) Justice
Each should have equal moral force
What are the research applications and Biblical foundation for Respect for Persons?
- Emphasis on respect and autonomy
- Require obtain informed consent
- Respect participant’s privacy
- 1 Peter 2:17 - show proper respect to everyone
What are the research applications and Biblical foundation for Beneficence?
- Requirement to maximize possible benefits and minimize possible harm
- Prohibit research with not a favorable risk-benefit ratio
- Galatians 6:9-10 do not grow weary of doing good, do good to everyone
What are the research applications and Biblical foundation for Justice?
- Require selection of participants equitably
- Require avoidance of exploitation of vulnerable populations
- Micah 6:8 do justly, love mercy & walk humbly with your God
What is an IRB?
Institutional Review Board
governing committee of an institution which evaluates the quality and safety of studies for approval before they can be conducted.
What established IRBs and why are they important?
Established under 45 CFR 46 (Code Federal Regulations)
Important means of protecting the rights of participants and ensuring sound, ethical research practices.
What are the levels of IRB review?
Exempt review
Expedited Review
Full Board Review
What is the risk level and examples of Exempt review? How long does it take? How many reviews it?
Low risk (less than minimal risk)
Examples: anonymous survey, educational research, research involving existing data that is publicly available
Time: 24-48 hours, 1 IRB board member
What is the risk level of expedited review? What are some examples? How long to review and how many board members are needed?
Risk level: Minimal risk to participants (those risks ordinarily encountered in daily life or a routine exam)
Examples: involving blood tests, MRIs, EKGs,
Time: 1-2 weeks, a few board members
What is the risk level of full board review? How long does this take?
More than minimal risk (physical/psychological/emotional)
or vulnerable (protected) populations
Time: 1-2 months
What are considered vulnerable populations?
Children, incarcerated, disabled, elderly, hierarchal organizations (military), pregnant, fetus, disadvantaged (socially, educationally, financially)
What should happen if an injury or adverse event occurs?
All adverse events must be submitted to the IRB even minor things
What is the DSMB and what does it do?
Data and Safety Monitoring Board
- carefully investigates and monitors participant safety and ethics of treatment
- it is independent of study and weighs in on decision making
What kind of review does this warrant?
A survey of athletic trainers regarding concussion management
Exempt review
What kind of review does this warrant?
A survey of high school athletes participating on soccer teams
A Full Board Review
(vulnerable populations)
What kind of review does this warrant?
A study involving the intentional deception of participants
Full Board Review
What kind of review does this warrant?
A study involving the collection of blood samples by finger stick
Expedited Review