Research Methods Final Exam NURS 3500 witolh Complete Solutions Relative timing - Correct Answer when will info on independent and dependent variables be collected - looking forward or backward in time? (retrospective, prospective) features of quantitative design - Correct Answer 1. masking/blinding
- time frames
- relative timing
- location
within-subjects design - Correct Answer same people compared at different time or under different conditions (pre and post) between-subjects design - Correct Answer different people are compared (ex. men and women) RCT - Correct Answer randomized controlled trials, experimental designs, tests cause & effect eflationships quasi-experimental - Correct Answer controlled trial, no randomization non-experimental - Correct Answer observational study causality - Correct Answer relationship of cause and effect, criteria for making causal inferences - cause must precede the effect in time, must be a demonstrated empiral relationship between the cause and effect, relationship between the presumed cause and effect cannot be explained by a third variable, another factor related to the presumed cause and effect cannot be the "real" cause manipulation - Correct Answer something is done to some subjects, introducing an intervention / treatment, manipulation of the independent variable control - Correct Answer introducing controls, use of control or comparison group 1 / 3
randomization - Correct Answer random assignment, assigning subjects to groups at random to an experimental group or control group; purpose - to make the groups equal with regard to all other factors except receipt of the intervention Hawthorne Effect - Correct Answer participants' knowledge of being in the study effects outcome of study Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial (RCT) - Correct Answer conducted to test effectiveness of interventions, treatments, procedures; involves subjects being randomized into two or more groups; often involves having a medical advisory board that tracks findings and can stop the trial if there are issues with patient safety FDA phases to develop drugs or devices - Phase I - Correct Answer initial testing, focuses on best dose and safety FDA phases to develop drugs or devices - Phase 2 - Correct Answer seeks preliminary evidence of effectiveness FDA phases to develop drugs or devices - Phase 3 - Correct Answer fully test intervention, comparing efficacy to standard/alternative FDA phases to develop drugs or devices - Phase 4 - Correct Answer monitoring of long term consequences, use in actual practice Post-test only (or after-only) design - Correct Answer outcome data collected only after the intervention, group 1 is experimental, group 2 is control R X O R O R - Correct Answer randomization to treatment groups X - Correct Answer Receipt of intervention O - Correct Answer observation/measurement of dependent variable (outcome) 2 / 3
Pretest-posttest (before-after) design - Correct Answer outcome data collected both at baseline and after the intervention
R O1 X O2
R O1 O2
Crossover design - Correct Answer subjects exposed to 2+ conditions in random order, subjects serve as their own control
Symbolic representation:
R O XA O XB O
R O XB O XA O
Quasi-Experiments - Correct Answer involve an intervention but lack either randomization or a control group, used to examine cause and effect, less control than with true exp. design; practical, easy to implement, feasible (resources, subjects, time, setting) Categories of Quasi Experiments - Correct Answer involve an intervention but lack either randomization or a control group, used to examine cause and effect *Non-equivalent control group designs *Within-subjects designs Non-equivalent control group designs - Correct Answer those getting the intervention are compared with a non randomized comparison group; quasi-experiment Within-subjects designs - Correct Answer one group is studied before and after the intervention; quasi-experiment Nonequavalent Control Group Design - Correct Answer If preintervention data are gathered, then the comparability of experimental and comparison groups at the start of the study can be examined, NO RANDOMIZATION, can't assume the two groups are equivalent Without preintervention (baseline) data, it is risky to assume the groups were similar at the outset Nonequivalent control group after-only design is MUCH weaker Nonequivalent Control Group Design - symbolic representation - Correct Answer O1 X O2 O1 O2
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