Week 6

Question 1

Why is quantitative research done?

Answer 1

• to describe the world beyond an individual person’s experiences
• to test ideas
• to reveal scientific laws or principles

Question 2

Why is qualitative research done?

Answer 2

• reveal individual truths based on people’s unique interpretations, feelings, values and beliefs
• attempt to understand individual’s perspectives
• more concerned with developing explanatory theories rather than rigorously testing theories

Question 3

What are quantitative research methods?

Answer 3

• large sample sizes
• small amount of information
• probability sampling
• inflexible study designs
• accuracy and consistency
• numerical data is statistically analysed
• answering a specific research question

Question 4

What are qualitative research methods?

Answer 4

-small sample sizes
-large amount of information
non-probability sampling
-not necessarily consistent data collection methods
-little or no statistical analysis

Question 5

What is an intervention study?

Answer 5

researchers do something to bring about a change and measure the amount of change after the intervention compared with before the study

Question 6

What experimental designs of intervention studies?

Answer 6

RCTs and non-randomised controlled trials

Question 7

What does PICO stand for?

Answer 7

population, intervention, comparison, outcome

Question 8

What is an observational study?

Answer 8

no deliberate treatment, but researchers allow events to happen naturally, researcher observes what happens passively rather than attempting to instigate changes

Question 9

What is descriptive research?

Answer 9

describes a sample and compares groups within a sample on their characteristics or opinions

Question 10

What are diagnostic accuracy studies?

Answer 10

evaluate how well a diagnostic assessment procedure:

• correctly identifies people who have the health condition the procedure is designed to detect
• correctly identifies people who do not have the health condition

Question 11

What is epidemiological research?

Answer 11

looks at how diseases and health conditions arise among various groups, defined by genetic characterisics, location and lifestyles with the aim of identifying hazards that make people sick

Question 12

What are the two study designs for epidemiological research?

Answer 12

• cohort studies - comparing the rate at which a health condition occurs among people exposed to a hazard and the rate for other people not exposed
• case-control: comparing rates of prior exposure to a hazard among people with a health condition

Question 13

Prospective study

Answer 13

using earlier events to treat later events, working fowards

Question 14

Retrospective study

Answer 14

work backwards in time, starts with effects and measures what happens earlier that might have increased risk

Question 15

Longitudinal study

Answer 15

tracks people over time to ssee what happens

Question 16

Cross-sectional

Answer 16

works at a single point in time

Question 17

What is nominal measurement?

Answer 17

classifies people, places, objects or events into named groups

Question 18

What is ordinal measurement?

Answer 18

records rank order of items eg gold, silver, bronze

Question 19

What is interval measurement?

Answer 19

every point on the scale is separated by the same amount

Question 20

What is ratio measurement?

Answer 20

similar to interval, but zero is defined as nothing

Question 21

What is the independent variable?

Answer 21

the treatment and control or placebo conditions

Question 22

What is the dependent variable?

Answer 22

what is measured

Question 23

What is reliability?

Answer 23

consistency over repeated measurement and getting the same result from multiple measurements

Question 24

What are the 4 types of reliability?

Answer 24

intra-rater, inter-rater, test-retest and alternate or parallel forms

Question 25

Intra-rater reliability

Answer 25

Measurements by the same person measuring the same thing at the same time are consistent.

Question 26

Inter-rater

Answer 26

Measurements by two different people measuring the same thing at the same time are consistent.

Question 27

Test-retest

Answer 27

Measurements of the same unchanging thing using the same methods remain consistent over time.

Question 28

Alternate or parallel forms

Answer 28

Different methods or equipment for measuring the same unchanging thing give consistent results.

Question 29

What is validity?

Answer 29

accuracy of measurements

Question 30

What are the four types of validity?

Answer 30

construct, content, face and internal

Question 31

Construct validity

Answer 31

Whether a test or measurement system measures only the concept or idea that its developers claim or intend it to measure in the relevant population.

Question 32

content validity

Answer 32

Whether a measurement system measures all or only part of what it’s supposed to measure

Question 33

face validity

Answer 33

Whether a measurement or test appears to measure what it’s expected or intended to measure, important if a test and its results are taken seriously by people using the test.

Question 34

internal consistency

Answer 34

Whether questions on a test or scale measure the same concept.