Unit 06: Sampling Flashcards
What is a census in epidemiologic studies?
A method that systematically acquires and records relevant information about every member of a population.
Why is a census often impractical in epidemiology?
Time-consuming (contacting everyone in the population).
Costly (require large teams and resources).
Tedious (need a complete population listing).
Difficult if participation is voluntary.
Why is sampling often preferred over a census?
Sampling overcomes limitations of censuses by being:
Less time-consuming.
Less costly.
More practical for large populations.
The population to which it might be possible to extrapolate results is called the ____ population
target
A list of all study subjects in the source population, including their contact information, is called the _______.
sampling frame
What is the difference between the source population and the study/sampled population?
The source population is the group from which the sample is drawn, while the study/sampled population is the subset of sampling units that were actually selected for the study.
(True/False): The target population represents the group we actually study
False (the target population is the group we want our results to apply to, not necessarily the group we study).
(True/False): The sampling frame must include every member of the source population to ensure accurate results.
True
The ____ is the actual unit of measurement, such as a person, animal, household, or farm.
sampling unit
Sampling units are drawn from the ____to form the ____ population.
sampling frame, study/sampled
Why is it important to clearly define the population of interest?
A) To narrow down participants to save time and resources
B) To ensure results are representative of the population of interest
C) To identify the correct sampling frame and sampling units
D) All of the above
D
____ validity refers to the degree to which observed findings in a study lead to correct inferences about the source population.
Internal
____ validity refers to the degree to which study results can be generalized to the broader population.
external
What is the main question that internal validity addresses?
A) How well do the study results relate to the source population?
B) How well can the study results be generalized to the target population?
C) How accurately are sampling units defined?
D) How large should the sampling frame be?
A
What is the main question that external validity addresses?
A) How well do the study results relate to the source population?
B) How well can the study results be extrapolated to the target population?
C) How accurately were variables measured in the study?
D) How significant are the observed differences in the study?
B
A study has poor ____ validity if important confounding variables, such as smoking, are not accounted for when investigating the relationship between coffee drinking and cancer.
internal
External validity is more important than internal validity.
False (Internal validity is more important because results cannot be generalized if they are not valid in the first place).
A study with good external validity but poor internal validity is still reliable.
False
Confounding variables, such as smoking in a study about coffee drinking and cancer, can undermine ____ validity.
internal
What is the relationship between internal and external validity in epidemiologic research?
Internal validity is necessary for external validity. Without accurate results (internal validity), findings cannot be generalized to the broader population (external validity).