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Quantitative Research Flashcards

1
Q

What is a paradigm?

A

patterns of beliefs and general assumptions

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2
Q

Name some alternative terms for a paradigm

A

research traditions
world views
methodologies

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3
Q

name some quantitative methodologies used in nursing research

A

quantitative - positivism / post positivism

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4
Q

name 4 strengths of quantitative research

A

generalizability
description and prediction
objective
verifiable

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5
Q

name 4 limitations of quantitative research

A

context stripping
explanation needed too
value free observation not possible
absolute truth rarely established

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6
Q

what are the key features of quantitative research?

A

measurable
aims, objectives and hypotheses pre-stated
aim - broad statement
procedures standardised
outcome measures must be reliable and valid
results should be presented statistically

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7
Q

In quantitative research what is an objective?

A

specific detail (eg. research question)

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8
Q

In quantitative research what is a hypothesis?

A

predictions of what is expected to happen with a certain intervention

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9
Q

In quantitative research what is a variable?

A

factors that are being investigated

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10
Q

In quantitative research what is does validity mean?

A

research must measure what it intends to measure

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11
Q

What should the results in quantitative research aim to be?

A

falsifiable (hypothesis testing)
establishing causal relationships
establishing association between variables

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12
Q

what is at the top of the hierarchy of evidence in quantitative research?

A

systems reviews

metanalysis

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13
Q

what is at the bottom of the hierarchy of evidence in quantitative research?

A

ideas
opinions
editorials
anecdotal

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14
Q

Name the types of studies in order, from lowest to highest, on the hierarchy of evidence

A 
expert opinion
case series - case report 1
case series - case report 2
case control studies
cohort study 1 
cohort study 2
randomised control trial
metanylasis / systems review
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15
Q

describe the limitations of an expert opinion

A

high subjectivity
high bias / errors
little objective research
multiple opinions

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16
Q

describe the features of a case series (case report 1) study

A

descriptive study
less than 10 participants
performed due to rarity of condition

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17
Q

describe the features of a case series (case report 2) study

A

more than 10 participants
can’t compare with control group
good for pilot data collection

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18
Q

describe the features of a case control study

A 
observational study
conducted in retrospect
matched with a control
unable to attribute causation
control group doesn't have starting condition
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19
Q

describe the features of a cohort study 1

A

looks at associations between one entity and another - eg. smokers and non-smokers

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20
Q

describe the features of a cohort study 2

A

data collected prospectively

collect data you want

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21
Q

describe the features of a randomised controlled trial (RCT)

A 
prospective
intervention given
groups randomly allocated
outcome measured and compared
very powerful
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22
Q

In a RCT what is an intervention?

A

something we are doing to the participant

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23
Q

what happens in a RCT when the participants are randomised?

A

allocated to intervention or control group

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24
Q

In an RCT was is the attention arm?

A

similar to intervention arm but without active ingredient

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25
what is a null hypothesis?
hypothesises that there will be no difference between the intervention and control arm - study must disprove this assumption
26
what is a dependent variable?
the outcome of interest (eg. wound healing time) - effect
27
what is the independent variable?
the intervention factor (eg. wound dressing used) - cause
28
During RCT recruitment what is the population?
target group we are interested in
29
What must the target group in RCT be?
clearly defined - gives criteria for inclusion in trial
30
What is inclusion and exclusion criteria?
included in trial | excluded from trial
31
what should a sample in a RCT represent?
The population as a whole
32
why must a sample in a RCT represent the population as a whole?
means data is reliable and generalizable to whole population
33
what is probability sampling and why is it used?
sampling designed to give unbiased sample | everyone has a chance of selection
34
name 4 types of probability sampling
simple random stratified random cluster systematic random
35
what is simple random sampling?
random selection of everyone in population list
36
what is stratified random sampling?
populations put into groups according to characteristics (gender) and then randomly selected
37
what is cluster sampling?
random selection of larger units (hospitals) which participants are randomly selected from
38
what is systematic random sampling?
random selection at predetermined intervals
39
name 4 factors which affect sample size in RCT
population - similarity of population, expected 'event ' rate, expected attrition rate (drop out rate) design - higher number variables=larger sample measure - how sensitive the measure is practical - cost and convenience
40
What is a power calculation in RCT?
calculation performed to assess resources needed to power trial
41
with regard to randomly allocating trial groups in RCT what is simple randomisation?
'tossing a coin' usually done with random number tables
42
with regard to randomly allocating trial groups in RCT why is block randomisation used?
to keep the numbers in each group close
43
with regard to randomly allocating trial groups in RCT why is stratified randomisation used?
to balance chosen characteristics across the arms of the trial
44
In RCT what is blinding?
concealing who is in which group (intervention or control)
45
In RCT what is single blinding?
one person (usually participant) knows which groups they are in, but researcher does not
46
In RCT what is double blinding?
neither participant or person assessing knows which group they are in
47
In a RCT what is the primary outcome?
the main outcome of the study
48
In a RCT what is the secondary outcome?
other outcomes that the study wish to assess, such as cost
49
What 3 features must outcomes in RCT have to be appropriate?
Meaningful - crediable, meaningful and related to issue of interest Measurable - amenable to dependable measurement Responsive - change that occurs is demonstrated in outcome measure
50
What should measurements used in RCT's be?
valid and reliable
51
why is reliability important in RCT's?
addresses consistency of which an instrument measures attribute it is designed to measure
52
what does validity in RCT's do?
proves that the study measurement or assessment does what it intends to do
53
what is internal validity in a RCT?
degree to which it can be inferred that the independent variable is responsible for the observed outcome
54
what is external validity in a RCT?
generalizability - shows that results are transferable to other groups
55
can you achieve external validity without internal validity?
no
56
name 6 threats to internal validity
history - events happening outside study maturation - change that happens over time testing - change due to experience of test mortality - differences in study drop out selection bias - participants different to non-participants
57
name 3 threats to external validity
selection effect - generalizability is affected due to ideal sample population being unavailable reactive effects - response to just being in study measurement effects - measurement and testing affects the generalizability
58
what type of data is primarily collected in quantitative research?
numerical
59
what are descriptive statistics?
ways of displaying and summarising quantitative data
60
name 3 ways that numbers are used in data displays
numerical result - eg. BP, age, weight coded category - eg. 1 =male, 2 =female ordered categories - eg. 0 =no pain 10 = most pain
61
name 4 levels of measurement and rank them in order of precision, most to least
ratio interval ordinal norminal
62
name 4 properties used to define the precision of measurement levels
different categories - all categories ranked - ordinal, interval, ratio equal distances between categories - interval, ratio fixed zero - ratio
63
what is a strength of displaying data in tables?
data from different variables can be viewed together
64
what is a strength of displaying data in charts?
immediate visual impact
65
name the measures of central tendency
mean, median and mode
66
name the measures of dispersion
range interquartile range standard deviation varience
67
which levels of measurement be used for measures of dispersion?
interval and ratio
68
which levels of measurement be used mode?
norminal, ordinal, interval, ratio
69
which levels of measurement be used median?
ordinal, interval, ratio
70
which levels of measurement be used mean?
interval, ratio
71
why do we perform statistical analysis?
to draw inferences from the sample studied about population of interest
72
name 2 approaches to statistical analysis
hypothesis testing - P values | estimation - using confidence intervals
73
name the steps involved in hypothesis testing
``` set null hypothesis set study (alternative) hypothesis carry out significance test obtain test stats compare test stats to hypothesised critical value obtain P value make decision ```
74
what is a P value?
probability of obtaining study results if the null hypothesis is TRUE
75
which numbers does the P value fall within?
0 and 1
76
which number should the P value be closest to in order to reject the null hypothesis?
0
77
at what % is statistical significance often set?
5%
78
what should the P value be to show that there is evidence is present to reject null hypothesis?
less than 0.05
79
what should the P value be to show that there is insufficient evidence to reject null hypothesis?
more than 0.05
80
name the 2 types of errors that can occur in hypothesis testing
type 1 - false positive | type 2 - false negative
81
what is the power of the study?
probability of being able to detect differences in the study groups should one exist
82
what is the power of the study usually expressed as?
%
83
what does the % given for the power of the study mean?
if study has 80% power, then there is an 80% chance of detecting a difference between study groups
84
what are the limitations of using P values?
the only tells us how likely the results are if null hypothesis is true
85
what are the advantages of using a confidence interval?
give information about effect size and clinical significance of results
86
what is estimation?
a measure of precision with which the quantity of interest is estimated
87
what are confidence intervals calculated for?
any estimated quantity from the sample data (eg. mean)
88
what would a 95% confidence interval indicate?
the range of values within which the true population quantity would fall 95% of the time if study was repeated
89
in quantitative research which terms refer to internal and external validity?
internal - validity | external - generalisablity
90
describe a case control study
observational study conducted in retrospect and matched with a control

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