Term
| 2 classifications of studies |
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Definition
descriptive: provide a record or description of events or activities
explanatory: seek to explain a record or description of events or variables (observational / experimental studies) |
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Term
| observational vs experimental studies |
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Definition
O: the researcher attempts to explain a connection between naturally occurring events
I: the researcher directs events |
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Term
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Definition
descriptive: used to form hypothesis
explanatory: used to test hypothesis |
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Term
| types of descriptive studies (weaker evidence) |
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Definition
-case studies: describes the event related to the care of a single patient
-case series: combining individual studies of similar patients
-correlational studies: uses existing aggregated group data from large populations
-qualitative studies: preferred when investigating topics about which little is known |
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Term
| 8 guidelines for evaluating case reports and case series |
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Definition
- is the research objective or question clearly stated?
-is the subject interesting or relevant to your practice?
-is there a clear statement of the clinical importance of the case? are references provided?
- is all relevant patient data or history reported in sufficient detail?
- is any assessment done or treatment provided described adequately? could you replicate it?
- are other plausible explanations for the results considered?
- are the strengths and weaknesses, implications and relevance to other similar cases or studies discussed?
are directions for future studies in this area or the management of similar cases discussed? |
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Term
| explanatory studies meaning |
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Definition
| seek to test hypotheses, clarify or establish cause and effect relationships |
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Term
| observational explanatory studies (3 types) |
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Definition
cross sectional: used to identify predictive or casual factors or to determine the *prevalence* of a problem or a specific occurrence
case control: both cause and effect have already occurred and selection is made based on whether individuals do or do not have the effect of interest
cohort: outcome hasn't occurred based on presence or absence of their exposure to a risk factor and the members of the group are followed over a span of time to see which ones develop the effect |
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Term
| experimental explanatory studies (2 types) |
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Definition
before and after treatment studies: considered as a type of case series; the practitioner defines a hypothesis, specifies eligibility criteria and methods to be used, collects pertinent baseline data, provides the treatment and measures the after treatment outcomes for a series of patients
clinical trials: also known as an intervention study, a randomized trial or a randomized controlled trial... provides the most direct evidence of a cause and effect relationship considered to be the gold standard of health care research design... random assignment makes it powerful |
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Term
| characterizations of clinical trials |
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Definition
-study population
-sampling
-eligibility criteria
-allocation of participants
-random assignment
-adherence to protocols
-attrition |
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Term
| how is the study population defined |
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Definition
-reference population: larger group to which a study findings can hopefully be generalized
- experimental population: the group of possible study participants including those who decide not to participate
study population: the actual group of participants who are eligible willing and able to take part in the study |
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