Week 3 Research Design

Question 1

what is research

Answer 1

results from individual studies

Question 2

what is evidence

Answer 2

cumulative results across studies

Question 3

what does evidence based practice involve

Answer 3

tracking down the available evidence, assessing validity and using the best evidence to inform treatment decisions

Question 4

is a single study evidence

Answer 4

no

Question 5

what is validity

Answer 5

the degree to which the design and method provide for accurate investigation of event in question
-closeness to the truth

Question 6

what are examples of threats to internal validity

Answer 6

-selection bias
-maturation
-instrumentation

Question 7

what increases internal validity

Answer 7

when controls increase

Question 8

what happens as controls increase

Answer 8

external validity decreased due to decreased generalizability of findings

Question 9

how does external validity give the ability to generalize findings

Answer 9

-beyond the subjects in the study
- beyond the environmental constraints of the current study
- to other temporal periods

Question 10

what are the types of research bias

Answer 10

-systematic error that causes a preference for one outcome over another
- problematic or incomplete controls that result in skewed observations

Question 11

what are examples of pre-trial bias

Answer 11

selection bias and channeling bias

Question 12

what is selection bias

Answer 12

procedures for selection of participants is different across groups

Question 13

what is channeling bias

Answer 13

placing participants in study conditions according to prognosis, age, fragility

Question 14

what are forms of bias during the clinical trial

Answer 14

-interview bias
-chronology bias
-recall bias
-transfer bias
-misclassification bias
-performance bias

Question 15

what is interview bias

Answer 15

error by researcher collecting data

Question 16

what is chronology bias

Answer 16

histroic controls subject to changes in practice

Question 17

what is recall bias

Answer 17

skewed or faulty recollection of events/associations

Question 18

what is transfer bias

Answer 18

differential attrition across conditions

Question 19

what is misclassification bias

Answer 19

problems with operational definition of grouping variables

Question 20

what is performance bias

Answer 20

differences in clinical quality of intervention across providers

Question 21

what are forms of bias after the clinical trial

Answer 21

-citation bias
-publication bias
-confounding bias

Question 22

what is citation bias

Answer 22

comparative evidence limited by what is accessible

Question 23

what is publication bias

Answer 23

previous evidence not available due to publication preferences

Question 24

what is confounding bias

Answer 24

observed associated due to some unknown variable

Question 25

what is quantitative data

Answer 25

inquiry rooted in empiricism

Question 26

what is qualitative data

Answer 26

inquiry based in hermeneutics

Question 27

what is a systematic review

Answer 27

refers to the entire process of selecting, evaluating and synthesizing all available evidence

Question 28

what is a meta analysis

Answer 28

refers to the statstical approach to combining the data derived from a systematic review

Question 29

what is a randomized control trial

Answer 29

a trial in which subjects are randomly assigned to one of two groups -the experimental group or the control/comparison group

Question 30

what are cohort studies

Answer 30

a particular form of longitudinal study that samples a cohort

Question 31

what are case control studies

Answer 31

compares patients who have a disease or outcome of interest with patients who do not have the disease or outcome and looks back retrospectively to compare how frequently the exposure to a risk factor is present in each group

Question 32

what are cross sectional studies

Answer 32

the investigator measures the outcome and the exposure in they study participants at the same time

Question 33

what are case reports

Answer 33

a detailed report of the diagnosis, treatment, response to treatment, and follow up after treatment of an individual patient

Question 34

what is experimental research

Answer 34

-quantitative inquiry - investigates cause - those studies in which the researcher controls or maniupulates the variables under investigation

Question 35

what is observaitional research

Answer 35

-qualitative or quantitative - without experiemntal controls - "quasi experiment" - designs provide for the investigation of relationships but not cause

Question 36

what is a variable

Answer 36

any factor relevant to a particular study, known or unknown

Question 37

what is an independent variable

Answer 37

a factor or condition that changes naturally or is intentionally manipulated by the investigator

Question 38

what is a dependent variable

Answer 38

an observed variable in an experiment or study for which changes are determined by the level of one or more independent variables

Question 39

what is a confounding variable

Answer 39

an extraneous variable that correlates significantly with both the dependent variable and the independent variable - not considered or recognized by the researcher that has significant impact of the dependent variable or outcome of interest

Question 40

what is prospective research

Answer 40

looks at events that have not yet happened or constructs that have not yet been measured

Question 41

what is retrospective research

Answer 41

looks at data that already exists

Question 42

what study type is the strongest evidence for demonstrating cause and effect

Answer 42

randomized control trial

Question 43

what do you look for when appraising a study

Answer 43

-who were the participants? - how were they assigned to groups? - what were the study conditions? - hypotheses? - assessment of intervention? - how were the data analyzed?