Research Exam 1

Why is it important for clinicians to become informed consumers of research?

To critically evaluate research quality and apply evidence to practice

What is a major limitation of expert opinion as a source of evidence?

It is the least credible form of evidence

What is the primary purpose of descriptive research?

To describe phenomena or events as they naturally occur

In the hierarchy of evidence, what type of study provides the strongest evidence for clinical practice?

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses

What must be controlled to establish that X causes Y in experimental research?

Other factors that may account for changes in Y must be ruled out

What are the three essential characteristics of experimental research?

manipulation, control, randomization

What is treatment fidelity in the context of evidence-based practice?

the degree to which a treatment is implemented as intended

What type of research examines relationships between events without manipulating variables?

exploratory research

What does a journal’s impact factor measure?

the ratio of current year citations to source articles from previous years

what distinguishes predatory journals from legitimate academic journals?

They typically have no impact factor or very low impact factors

What is the primary purpose of evidence-based practice in communication disorders?

to integrate research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values

What is the main difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal developmental research?

Longitudinal studies follow the same subjects over time while cross-sectional studies compare different age groups at one time point

What does temporal precedence mean in establishing cause-and-effect relationships?

the cause must occur before the effect

Which type of research is considered the gold standard for establishing cause-and-effect relationships in clinical efficacy studies?

randomized control trials

What is the main challenge SLPs face when applying evidence-based practice clinically?

evaluating evidence quality and applying it appropriately to individual clients

Which research approach is most effective for evaluating developmental trends over time?

descriptive research

What is ASHA’s Level Ia of evidence based research?

well-designed meta-analysis of >1 randomized controlled trial

What is ASHA’s level Ib of evidence base research?

well-designed randomized controlled study

What is ASHA’s level IIa of evidence based research?

well-designed controlled study without randomization

What is ASHA’s level IIb of evidence based research?

well-designed quasi-experimental study survey

What is ASHA’s level III of evidence based research?

well-designed nonexperimental studies, i.e., correlational and case studies

What is ASHA’s level IV of evidence based research?

expert committee report, consensus conference, clinical experience of respected authorities

What level of evidence based research allows for cause and effect relationships between a medical condition and a treatment in large groups?

randomized control trials

What kind of research is best for discovering cause and effect?

experimental

What kind of research is best for finding relationships?

exploratory

What kind of research is best for describing populations?

descriptive

What kind of research is designed to describe phenomena or events as they naturally occur?

descriptive

In what kind of research are distributions of selected dependent variables observed and recorded?

descriptive

What kind of research is effective for evaluating group differences, developmental trends, and relationships among variables?

descriptive

Developmental research focuses on changes over time and may fall into what 3 categories?

cross-sectional, longitudinal, semilongitudinal

What kind of research examines how one event or events relate to other factors/is used to determine possible relationships among factors?

exploratory

What kind of research has independent variables that are controlled to measure the effect on dependent variables?

experimental

What kind of research is also referred to as the cause-and-effect method, the pretest-posttest control group design, and the laboratory method?

experimental

What are the 2 distinguishing features of experimental research in reference to the main variables?

experiment and control

What type of research is considered by many to be the best or most powerful research design, but is not the only acceptable type of research?

experimental

Which essential factor of experimental research is when the experimenter does something to at least some of the subjects in the study?

manipulation

Which essential factor of experimental research is when the experimenter introduces one or more control over the experimental situation, including the use of a control group?

control

Which essential factor of experimental research is when the experimenter assigns subjects to a control or experimental group on a random basis?

randomization

What does semi-longitudinal research combine?

cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches

What distinguishes descriptive research from experimental research?

Descriptive research describes situations as they naturally occur

What is the primary goal of the seven-step evidence-based practice process?

to systematically integrate research into clinical decision-making

What makes historical research potentially problematic?

questions about document authenticity and data accuracy

What distinguishes correlational research from experimental research?

correlational research examines relationships without establishing causation

What type of research design would be most appropriate for studying a rare disorder?

case study

In case-control studies, how are participants categorized?

into cases with the disorder and controls without it

What is a major weakness of case study research?

it has limits to generalizability

In cohort studies, what characterizes the initial participant selection?

participants do not have the condition and are followed over time

In single subject designs, what does the ABAB pattern represent?

alternating treatment and non-treatment phases

What is a key advantage of sequential clinical trials?

they allow analysis when each participant completes the trial

What is the main purpose of evaluation research?

to analyze the effects of programs, policies, or procedures

According to the research utilization findings, what do speech-language pathologists more often rely on?

traditional sources and clinical experience over research

What is the key difference between meta-analysis and secondary analysis?

meta-analysis uses statistics to re-analyze compiled data

What is the main advantage of longitudinal research over cross-sectional research?

it tracks the same group over time to observe actual development

What distinguishes quasi-experimental research from true experimental research?

it lacks control groups or randomization

What type of research are randomized controlled trials?

experimental

What type of research are quasi-experimental trials?

experimental

What type of research are sequential clinical trials?

experimental

What type of research are single subject designs?

experimental

What type of research are meta-analyses?

experimental

What type of research are cross sectional studies?

descriptive

What type of research are longitudinal studies?

descriptive

What type of research are semi longitudinal studies?

descriptive

What type of research are historical studies?

descriptive

What type of research are case studies?

descriptive

What type of research are secondary analyses?

descriptive

What type of research are evaluations?

descriptive