Week 3 — Research Articles & Quantitative Research Flashcards
Main sections of a research article include:
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- References
Abstract section should contain:
- Overview and purpose of the study
- General description and methods
- Highlights of results
- Statement of significance of results
- General conclusions
Introduction section should contain:
- Statement of the Problem
- Clinical Relevance
- Review of current literature
- Rationale and theoretical framework
- Specific purpose and hypotheses (guiding research
question)
often concludes with a research question… Although not
always present, specific research questions are often
delineated at the conclusion of the introduction section
Introduction section
Methods section should contain:
- Study design
- Criteria for and methods of subject selection
- Description and number of subjects
- Measurement methods and data collection techniques
- Data analysis procedures
Results section should contain:
- Narrative description of statistical outcomes
- Tables and figures that summarize findings
- Statements of support of the hypotheses or rejection of
the hypotheses
Discussion section should contain:
- Importance of the results
- Limitations of the study
- Suggestions for future research
- Applicability of the results to clinical practice
brief statement of the purpose of the study and it’s
findings
Conclusion section
Styled format of references?
APA
Research that is based around focus of study, research question, hypothesis, collected data, analyzed data, and interpreted data
Quantitative research
Measurement of outcomes using numerical data and
statistical data
Concerned with relationship between variables
Variables are the building blocks of the research
question
Quantitative research
3 general categories of quantitative research:
Experimental, descriptive, and mixed
This type of design is considered to be the most
rigorous. Includes the randomized control trial (RCT) which is considered to be the “gold standard”.
Experimental
What characteristics must be present to be considered as an experimental design?
- One sample
- One independent variable (IV)
- Participants must be randomly assigned to groups
- IV must be administered as planned
- Confounding variables are minimized & variables are
controlled by the researcher - One dependent variable (DV) on which all subjects
are measured - The hypothesis is attempting to show a cause & effect
relationship between the IV and the DV
The study sample consists of the people who are the
subjects in the research study and should be a “subset” of the population you are studying.
Representative sample
The primary traits of the target/representative population
Age, gender, sex, geographical location
Factors that would preclude someone from being a subject in a representative study:
Anyone considered confounding to the results
Types of variables
- Independent variables (active variables)- IV
- Dependent variables- DV
- Categorial variables
- Extraneous variables
predicts that the IV will have an effect on the DV and should attempt to show a cause & effect
relationship
Hypothesis
A variable that will predict or cause an outcome
independent variable
This variable is the response or outcome related to the effect of the IV.
dependent variable
variable that places individuals into categories
Categorical variable
When extraneous factors are recognized and kept constant so as to minimize their effects on the outcome
Control variable
Factors that can alter the dependent variable making it difficult to understand the relationship between the independent and the dependent variable
Extraneous variables