Thesis Exam 2

Case study

detailed observation and description of one or more cases; no manipulation of an independent variable

• an in-de[th investigation of one individual, group, or specific case

Systematic review

starts with a research question

systematically searches literature

applies inclusion/exclusion criteria

critically evaluates evidence

• a structured review that uses a defined process to identify and evaluate research on a question

Meta-analysis

combines results from previous studies to calculate an overall effect size

• a statistical method that combines results from multiple studies

Ethnographic research

examines cultural and behavioral patterns within a group

• research that studies the culture, practices, and experiences of a group

Content/discourse analysis

examines patterns in texts, images, audio, or video, particularly communication

Phenomenological research

explores the common lived experiences of a particular group

• research that explores individuals’ lived experiences of a particular phenomenon

Thematic analysis

codes collected data for themes and groups those themes to develop findings

• a method of identifying and organizing patterns or themes within qualitative data

What is an independent variable (IV)?

the variable that is manipulated by the researcher

what is a dependent variable (DV)?

the outcome or behavior being measured

what is an experimental research design

a design that manipulates an independent variable to examine its effect on a dependent variable

what is an RCT?

a randomized controlled trial; participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups

why is random assignment important

it helps reduce selection bias and creates comparable groups

what is a within-subjects design

the same participants experience multiple conditions or treatments

what is a between-subjects design

different groups of participants experience different conditions or treatments

what is a double-blind study

neither participants nor researchers know who receives the treatment or control condition

what is the difference between intention-to-treat and per-protocol

intention-to-treat analyzes participants as originally assigned;

per-protocol analyzes those who followed the study protocol

what is a single-subject experimental design

a design that repeatedly measures an individual’s behavior across different conditions

what does AB represent in a single-subject design

A = baseline; B = intervention

what is an ABAB design?

baseline, intervention, withdrawal of intervention, and reintroduction of intervention

what is experimental control in single-subject research

demonstrating that changes in behavior are related to the intervention

what is a multiple-baseline design

an intervention is introduced at different times across participants, behaviors, or settings

what are the three types of multiple-baseline designs

across participants

across behaviors

across settings

why might a researcher choose multiple baseline instead of ABAB

it avoids withdrawing an intervention that may be beneficial

what is a survey research design

a method of collecting information from participants through questions or questionnaires

what is a cross-sectional study

collects data from participants at one point in time

what is a longitudinal study

collects data from participants over an extended period of time

what is the difference between a trend study and a panel study

trend studies sample the same population over time; panel studies follow the same individuals

what is qualitative research

research that explores experiences, perspectives, and meanings using non-numerical data

what are the three principles of the Belmont report

respect for persons

beneficence

justice

what does repeat for persons mean

respecting autonomy and protecting individuals with limited autonomy

what does beneficence mean

maximizing benefits while minimizing potential harm

what does justice mean

fairly distributing the benefits and burdens of research

what is informed consent

providing participants with study information so they can voluntarily agree to participate

what is an IRB?

an Institutional Review Board that reviews research to protect human participants

what is the Common Rule

federal regulations that establish protections for human research participants

what is assent

a participant’s affirmative agreement to participate when they cannot legally provide consent

what is confidentiality

protecting participants’ information from being disclosed to unauthorized individuals

what is coercion in research

using threats or pressure that undermine a person’s voluntary decision to participate

what is reliability

the consistency of a measurement or research instrument

what is validity

the extent to which a tool measures what it is intended to measure

what is the difference between internal and external validity

internal validity concerns whether the results are due to the intervention;

external validity concerns whether findings generalize to other people or settings

what is selection bias

when differences between groups exist because participants were not selected or assigned fairly

what is attrition

when participants drop out of a study before it is completed

what is maturation

changes in participants over time that may affect study results

what is the Hawthorne effect

participants change their behavior because they know they are being observed

what is social desirability bias

participants answer questions in ways they believe will be viewed favorably

what is regression to the mean

extremely high or low scores tend to move closer to the average when measured again

what is counterbalancing

changing the order of conditions to reduce order effects

what is operationalization

defining how a variable will be measured or observed

what is experimenter bias

when a researcher’s expectations unintentionally influence the study or its results

what is sampling bias

when the sample does not accurately represent the population being studied

What are the 8 threats to internal validity

1. Testing: pretest changes participants’ attitudes/behaviors

2. Maturation: participants may change during the experiment or between repeated measures of the dependent variable due to the passage of time

3. Selection: non-random assignment (in between-subject designs) or participants self-select into the levels of the predictor variable

4. Attrition: during an experiment, some participants may drop out before it is completed, and those that drop out are somehow different _

5. Regression to the mean: participants with extreme scores at Time 1 tend to have scores closer to the average at Time 2

6. History: outside events (before/during the experiment) may influence participants in the experiment

7. Instrumentation: the reliability of an instrument/measure may change during an experiment due to human error or intervention

8. Experimenter bias: expectations of an outcome by experimenters may significantly influence that outcome

What is the difference between emic and etic perspectives

emic: the participant’s perspective

etic: the researcher’s perspective

Why are systematic reviews considered high in the evidence hierarchy

they synthesize findings from multiple studies, providing a broader and more comprehensive view of the evidence than an individual study

Why are systematic reviews valuable for evidence-based practice

they critically appraise existing research, identify consistent findings and gaps in knowledge, and help guide clinical recommendations