Basic and Clinical Medical Research

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary focus of basic medical research?

Studying molecules, genes, and cells related to human health (correct)

Generating ideas for research questions

Creating clinical practice guidelines

Evaluating treatment methods for health issues

Which of the following best describes clinical research?

It evaluates the best ways to treat health issues in human subjects. (correct)

It is primarily concerned with animal studies.

It focuses on basic biochemical processes in laboratory settings.

It generates long lists of ideas for potential studies.

What does the concept map aim to achieve in research planning?

To generate hypotheses for experimentation

To determine the sample size needed for a study

To visualize the relationships among different ideas (correct)

To outline the budget for research expenses

Which term refers to the ability of research findings to be applied to a larger population?

Generalizability Signup and view all the answers

What does evidence-based medicine aim to integrate into clinical decision-making?

Results from rigorous research studies Signup and view all the answers

What is the main purpose of a conceptual framework in research?

To illustrate relationships among study variables Signup and view all the answers

How is exposure defined in the context of health research?

An environmental factor that could change health outcomes Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best characterizes a brainstorming session in research?

It generates a large number of spontaneous research questions. Signup and view all the answers

What type of data do interpretive approaches primarily rely on?

Non-numerical data Signup and view all the answers

What is the main purpose of repeated cross-sectional surveys?

To track population-level trends Signup and view all the answers

Which type of surveillance collects data from selected clinics to monitor health changes?

Sentinel surveillance Signup and view all the answers

What does temporal ambiguity refer to in research?

Difficulty in determining the timing of exposure and outcome Signup and view all the answers

What describes the process of recruiting controls in a case-control study?

Matching based on demographic and clinical factors Signup and view all the answers

What does secondary data refer to?

Data collected by other researchers not involved in the current study Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following options best captures the purpose of surveillance in public health?

To monitor health events and identify threats early Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes tertiary studies in research methodologies?

They review and synthesize existing literature Signup and view all the answers

What is the main purpose of a case report?

To serve as initial observations for potential new diseases Signup and view all the answers

How is cumulative incidence (CI) calculated?

By dividing the number of new cases during a specified time by the individuals at risk Signup and view all the answers

What type of study analyzes data from a population at a single point in time?

Cross-sectional study Signup and view all the answers

What is a common error associated with ecologic studies?

Assuming associations at the population level apply to individuals Signup and view all the answers

Which statement accurately describes incidence rate (IR)?

It measures the frequency of new cases over total time at risk Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes descriptive studies?

They describe the distribution of a disease across specific parameters Signup and view all the answers

What best defines interventional studies?

Clinical trials testing hypotheses about specific interventions Signup and view all the answers

What type of studies provide a collection of reports on individuals with similar characteristics?

Case series Signup and view all the answers

What does diagnostic accuracy measure in a test?

The percentage of individuals correctly classified as true positives or true negatives Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a hallmark of a drug trial?

It has strict requirements on the contents of the pill and participant criteria Signup and view all the answers

What is ethnography primarily concerned with?

Studying people and cultures in their natural environments Signup and view all the answers

What does empiricism assert in the context of quantitative studies?

The 5 senses provide the most reliable measures of reality Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes an equivalence trial?

It finds that an intervention is equal to a comparison treatment Signup and view all the answers

In a factorial approach to randomized controlled trials, what is the main focus?

Carrying out multiple intervention comparisons simultaneously Signup and view all the answers

What is the goal of grounded theory in qualitative research?

To develop general theories explaining human behavior through data collection Signup and view all the answers

What is information bias in epidemiological studies?

A systematic error that affects study results Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of a Letter of Inquiry in the research funding process?

To confirm alignment with the funder's priorities. Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes a solicited proposal from an unsolicited proposal?

Solicited proposals are initiated by funders' requests. Signup and view all the answers

What is NOT typically included in a research budget?

A detailed marketing plan for the research findings. Signup and view all the answers

What is a no-cost extension?

An extension allowing more time to spend allocated funds without extra funding. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes direct costs in a research project?

Expenses specifically tied to project activities. Signup and view all the answers

In research funding, what does a deliverable refer to?

A specific product required to fulfill contract terms. Signup and view all the answers

What generally occurs during the closeout process of a grant?

Verification that all administrative actions and required work are completed. Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes allowable costs in a funded research project?

They must be pre-approved for the specific project by the funding agency. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Basic Medical Research (Basic Science)

Explores molecules, genes, cells, and other biological components relevant to human function and health.
Focuses on mechanisms underlying the formation and function of living organisms.
Contributes to understanding how disease, trauma, or genetic defects alter normal physiological and behavioral processes.

Clinical Research

Evaluates the best ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat adverse health issues.
Uses humans as the unit of investigation.
Differs from laboratory research, which typically focuses on smaller biological units.

Brainstorming

A process for generating a long list of spontaneous ideas about possible research questions.

Concept Mapping

A visual method for listing ideas and grouping them together to reveal relationships.
A related process to brainstorming.

Conceptual Framework

A model that researchers sketch using boxes and arrows to illustrate the various relationships that will be evaluated during a study.

EDP

Stands for Exposure and Disease/Outcome in Population.
Many topics in public health research can be expressed using this formula.

Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM)

Uses the results of rigorous research studies to optimize clinical decision-making.
Starts with a comprehensive literature search and evaluates the most relevant, high-quality reports.
Key findings are summarized in practice guidelines.
Enables skilled clinicians to integrate the best research into their assessments.

Evidence-Based Practice

Used in various fields to encourage experienced professionals to integrate research into their decision-making processes.

Exposure

A personal characteristic, behaviour, environmental encounter, or intervention that might change the likelihood of developing a health condition.

Falsifiable

Able to be proven false.

Generalizability

Ensures that findings can be applied to a wider population, beyond the specific group studied.
Helps develop interventions, policies, and practices that can be implemented in diverse settings.

Case Report

A detailed and descriptive account of a single individual's health condition, disease, symptoms, or treatment.
Can be a comprehensive analysis of a unique or rare case.
Often serves as an initial observation for potential new diseases or adverse effects of treatments.

Case Series

A collection of case reports for a group of individuals who share similar characteristics or experiences.

Cross-Sectional Studies

Also known as "Prevalence Studies."
Observational studies that analyze data from a population at a single point in time.
Often used to measure the prevalence of health outcomes, understand determinants of health, and describe features of a population.
Can be analytical or descriptive in nature.

Cumulative Incidence (CI)

Also known as "Incidence Proportion."
The proportion of individuals who develop a particular disease within a specified time period.
Provides an estimate of the risk of developing the disease in a population.
Calculated by dividing the number of new cases of a disease occurring in the population during a specified period of time by the number of persons at risk of developing the disease during that period of time.

Descriptive Studies

A type of research method that describes the distribution of a disease in a population and observes the basic features of its distribution in terms of time, place, and person.
Example: descriptive or cross-sectional studies.

Ecologic Fallacy

Occurs when inferences are made about individual-level relationships based solely on group-level data.
Mistakenly assumes that an observed association at the population level applies to all individuals within that population.

Ecologic Studies

Also known as "Correlational Studies."
Measurements and analysis conducted on the population level.

Incidence Rate (IR)

Also known as "Incidence Density."
Calculated when different individuals are observed for different lengths of time.
Calculated by dividing the cumulative incidence by the person-time.

Incidence

The number of new cases (of disease) over a period of time.

Interventional Studies

A type of research method that tests a hypothesis about the impact of an intervention on a clinical or health outcome.
Example: clinical trials.

Qualitative Studies

Relies on non-numerical data such as interviews, focus groups, and observations.
Interpretive approaches and thematic analysis are commonly used.
Example: observational study

Quantitative Studies

A type of research method that involves data collection and analysis.
Focuses on measurable variables and statistical analysis.
Example: descriptive and analytical experiments.

Repeated Cross-Sectional Surveys

Sample different people from the same population at multiple time points.
Each round of data collection involves a new set of participants, not the same individuals.
Reveals population-level trends over time but does not track individual changes.

Representativeness

The degree to which the participants in a study are similar to the source population from which they were drawn.

Secondary Data

Refers to any dataset collected by any other person other than the one using it.

Secondary Studies

Analyze existing data.

Sentinel Surveillance

A type of surveillance that collects high-quality data from selected clinics/hospitals to monitor population-level health changes.

Surveillance

The process of continually monitoring health events in a population so that emerging public health threats can be detected, and appropriate control measures can be implemented quickly.
There are many different types of surveillance, such as: active, passive, syndromic, and sentinel surveillance.

Syndromic Surveillance

A type of surveillance that tracks potential outbreaks based on symptom reports rather than confirmed diagnoses.
Social media and other platforms can help detect population health trends.

Temporal Ambiguity

This means the study challenges in determining whether the exposure occurs before the outcome.
It limits the ability to infer a true causal relationship, leading to reverse causation.

Tentative Explanation

An explanation without testing.

Tertiary Studies

Review and synthesize literature.

Matching

In a case-control study, it describes the process of recruiting one or more controls who are similar to each case, keeping in mind important demographic and clinical factors.
There are three often-used options: no matching, frequency (group) matching, and matched-pairs (individual) matching.

No Matching

Where matching does not occur.

Diagnostic Accuracy

The percentage of individuals correctly classified by the test as true positives or true negatives, meaning the new test and the reference test give the same result.
An ideal test has 100% accuracy.

Drug Trial

An intervention with strict requirements on what is in the pill, with specific eligibility criteria for volunteers, as well as how often and for how long the pills are taken.

Embedded Qualitative Studies

A mixed methods project in which some qualitative studies are integrated within a quantitative study.

Empiricism

Guiding principle in quantitative studies which assumes the 5 senses (touch, smell, sight, hearing, and taste), are the best way to measure the truth about the world.

Epistemology

The study of knowledge, which explains how researchers know what is real and true.

Equivalence Trial

A trial in which the intervention is found to be equal to the comparison.

Ethnography

Qualitative methodology that encompasses the systematic study of people and cultures in their natural environments that seeks to develop an insider’s view of how members of a sociocultural group understand their world, accomplished via data collection and immersion.

Exercise Study

An intervention with clear steps for exercises, which increase in difficulty over time.
There are criteria for who can participate, how those participants are guided and monitored, where the exercises happen and for how many months.

Experimental Studies

Typically focus on testing the effectiveness of interventions.
Include medical studies and public health studies.

Factorial Approach to RCT

In which two or more intervention comparisons are carried out at the same time.

Grounded Theory

Qualitative methodology that utilizes an inductive reasoning process that develops general theories to explain human behaviour or other phenomena via simultaneous data collection, analysis and theoretical sampling, until data saturation is reached.

Information Bias

A type of bias in an epidemiological study that arises due to systematic error.

Intervention

A strategic action intended to improve individual/population health status.

Medical Studies

A type of experimental study that is designed to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent adverse health conditions.
Key elements include research areas specified to the interest of the funder, descriptions of types of projects the selection committee will consider, and submission instructions.

Preproposal

A brief research plan to confirm its alignment with the funder’s goals before inviting a full proposal.

Letter of Inquiry

A researcher sends this letter to a funding organization to ask if their research idea aligns with the funder’s priorities and if there is alignment, the researcher may be invited to submit a full proposal.

Letter of Intent (LOI)

A preliminary research plan expressing intent to submit a full proposal.
Required weeks or months before the full proposal deadline, and it helps funding agencies prepare for proposal reviews.

Deliverable

The product required to fulfill contract terms.

Unsolicited Proposal

Is open to diverse eligible candidates and is submitted in response to an RFP.

Solicited Proposal

Often leading to a contract rather than a grant, it is submitted by invitation of the funder.

Contract

Research funding that requires delivering a specific product (like a commissioned report) and which final payment may depend on the submission of a satisfactory deliverable.

Budget

Should be able to cover all essential costs without being excessive.
Each budget line item may require an explanation of its necessity and a description of how the cost was determined.
Types of costs include direct costs, allowable costs, and overhead/indirect costs.

Direct Costs

Are specific monetary expenses associated with a research project.
Examples include salaries and benefits, data collection expenses, dissemination activities, etc.

Allowable Costs

Are expenses approved for a funded grant or contract.

Nonmonetary Resources

These are beyond money and materials, such as individuals contributing their time, expertise, and connection.
Examples: participants, data access, facility use, equipment availability.

No-Cost Extension

This extends the grant closing date without providing additional funds and allows more time to spend allocated funds.

“Use It or Lose It” Policy

Unspent funds are returned to the agency at the end of the grant period.

Closeout

Verifies that all administrative actions and required work for the grant have been completed by the grantee.

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Description

This quiz dives into the essentials of basic and clinical medical research. It covers the biological components relevant to health, the process of brainstorming for research questions, and the importance of concept mapping in understanding relationships within research. Test your knowledge on how these scientific methods contribute to healthcare advancements.