Week 1

Question 1

What is Epistemology

Answer 1

It is the theory of knowledge-how do we know things ?

Question 2

Paradigms

Answer 2

is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including
theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitutes
legitimate contributions to a field

Question 3

Methodology

Answer 3

Your theory and how you are going to approach the research

Question 4

Positivism

Answer 4

a philosophical system that holds that every rationally justifiable assertion
can be scientifically verified or is capable of logical or mathematical proof

• assumes that there is one truth and asserts that all authentic knowledge
  allows verification;
• phenomena have independent existence which can be discovered via
  research
• positivists attempt to identify causes, associations and correlations which
  influence outcomes
• deductive approach
• assumes research is value free

Question 5

What was wrong with the Wakefield study?

Answer 5

Small sample size (no statistical significance!)
* No randomization (what bias does this introduce?)
* Association through temporal link, not causation
* Undeclared financial conflict
* Fraud (Data selection)

Question 6

Impact of Wakefield study

Answer 6

• Published in 1998 in the Lancet
• WHO: 90% immunisation coverage for herd immunity
• Fell to 73% worldwide between 2000-2018 (now back up to 86%)
• Outbreaks of Measles particularly in UK, US and Canada (eg Canada 2011: nearly 700 cases in
  Quebec)
• More than 140,000 people (mostly children < 5 years) died from Measles in 2018
• The Lancet retract the study completely in 201 the authors were found guilty of ethical violations
  and fraud, Wakefield was removed from the GMC
• But we continue to see the damage caused

Question 7

Why communicating results properly matters

Answer 7

Risk of eating 2 rashers of bacon a day results in same cancer risk as smoking
- Eating one rasher of bacon a day will increase your risk of bowel cancer by a
fifth (so 20% but compared to what?)
What does the science say?
- Meat intake is associated with bowel cancer (meaning it is a hypothesis NOT
proof)
- red meat eaters had a 20% increased risk of bowel cancer compared to low
meat eaters
- for every 10,000 people on the study who ate 21 grams of red and processed
meat a day (low meat eaters), 40 were diagnosed with bowel cancer. Eating
76 grams of processed or red meat a day caused 8 extra cases of bowel
cancer per 10,000 people.

Question 8

What are the main differences between positivist and constructivist
research?

Answer 8

The main distinction between constructivism philosophy and positivism relates to the fact that while positivism argues that knowledge is generated in a scientific method, constructivism maintains that knowledge is constructed by scientists and it opposes the idea that there is a single methodology to generate knowledge. (open ended questions, understanding context)

Question 9

What is bias?

Answer 9

a systematic distortion of a statistical result due to a factor not allowed for in its derivation.

Question 10

Why is bias important to consider in positivist research and less so
(or in a different way) in constructivist research?

Answer 10

(double check)

Because Constructivist is supposed to have some bias because the researchers are working directly with the participants and brings personal values into study

Question 11

Control

Answer 11

the measures that the researcher uses to hold the conditions of the study uniform and avoid possible impingement of bias

Question 12

objectivity

Answer 12

the use of facts without distortion by personal feelings or bias

Question 13

literature review should reflect the following

Answer 13

• When the problem was studied
• The aspects of the problem that were studied
• Where the problem was investigated
• By whom the problem was investigated
• The gaps or inconsistencies in the literature

Question 14

pilot study

Answer 14

a small, simple study conducted as a prelude to a larger study. The key is the accuracy, validity, and objectivity used by the researcher in attempting to answer the question.

Question 15

Feasibility

Answer 15

the capability of the study to be successfully carried out. Sometimes, the reality of feasibility does not truly sink in until the researcher begins the study.

Question 16

CONSIDERATIONS IN DETERMINING THE FEASIBILITY OF A RESEARCH PROBLEM

Answer 16

Time, participant availability, money, Researcher experience, Ethics

Question 17

extraneous variable

Answer 17

Interferes with the operations of the phenomena being studied (e.g., age and gender).

Question 18

Means of controlling extraneous variables include

Answer 18

• Use of a homogeneous sample
• Use of consistent data-collection procedures
• Manipulation of the independent variable
• Randomization

Question 19

homogeneity

Answer 19

Participants are similar with regard to the extraneous variables relevant to the particular study

Question 20

experimental group

Answer 20

group where the depend variable is being manipulated

Question 21

control group

Answer 21

the variables under study are held at a constant

Question 22

Randomization

Answer 22

A sampling selection procedure in which each participant in a population has an equal chance of being assigned to either the experimental group or the control group

Question 23

Internal validity

Answer 23

is the degree to which the experimental treatment, not an uncontrolled condition, resulted in the observed effects. To establish internal validity, the researcher rules out other factors or threats as rival explanations of the relationship between the variables

Question 24

Threats to internal validity

Answer 24

history threats, maturation effects, testing effects, instrumentation threats, mortality (attrition), and selection bias

Question 25

History threats

Answer 25

example, in a study on the effects of a breastfeeding education program on the length of time of breastfeeding, government-sponsored breastfeeding promotions on television and in newspapers could affect the length of time of breastfeeding and would be considered a threat of history

Question 26

Maturation effects

Answer 26

example, suppose that a researcher wished to evaluate the effect of a specific teaching method on the achievements of baccalaureate students on a skills test. The investigator would record the students’ abilities before and after the teaching method. Between the pretest and the posttest, the students would have grown older and wiser. The growth or change is unrelated to the investigation, and the differences between the two testing periods may be explained by such maturation rather than by the experimental treatment.

Question 27

Testing effects

Answer 27

Taking the same test repeatedly could influence participants’ responses the next time the test is completed

Question 28

Instrumentation threats

Answer 28

changes in the variables or observational techniques that may account for changes in the obtained measurement. For example, a researcher may wish to study various types of thermometers (e.g., tympanic, digital, electronic, chemical indicator, plastic strip, and mercury) to compare the accuracy of the mercury thermometer with the other temperature-taking methods. To prevent instrumentation threats, the researcher must check the calibration of the thermometers according to the manufacturer’s specifications before and after data collection.

Question 29

Mortality/attrition

Answer 29

the loss of study participants from the first data-collection point (pretest) to the second data-collection point (posttest). If the participants who remain in the study are not similar to those who dropped out, the results could be affected

Question 30

Selection bias

Answer 30

pretreatment differences exist between the experimental group and the control group

Question 31

External validity

Answer 31

concerns the generalizability of an investigation’s findings to additional populations and to other environmental conditions

Question 32

Selection effects

Answer 32

Selection concerns the generalizability of the results to other populations. An example of selection effects is when the researcher cannot attain the ideal sample population. At times, the number of available participants may be low, or they may not be accessible to the researcher. The researcher may then need to choose a nonprobability method of sampling, not a probability method

Question 33

Reactive effects

Answer 33

the participants’ responses to being studied. Participants may behave in a certain way with the investigator not because of the study procedures but merely as an independent response to being studied. This response is also known as the Hawthorne effect

Question 34

Measurement effects

Answer 34

Administration of a pretest in a study affects the generalizability of the findings to other populations; To test whether the education program changes attitudes toward AIDS, tests are given before and after the teaching intervention. The pretest on attitudes allows the participants to examine their attitudes regarding AIDS. The participants’ responses on follow-up testing may differ from those of individuals who were given the education program and did not see the pretest. Therefore, when a study is conducted and a pretest is given, it may prime the participants and affect their subsequent answers, which in turn can affect the generalizability of the findings.