Biostatistics
Three types of measurement scales used in research
Categorical, ordinal and numerical
What are the two broad types of research?
Primary (qualitative/quantitative) and secondary research
What is evidence-based practice?
The integration of the best/High quality evidence, patient’s beliefs and values, clinician’s knowledge/skills/expertise
What does random allocation refer to in RCTs?
Random allocation is a technique that chooses individuals for treatment groups and control groups entirely by chance with no regard to the will of researchers or patients' condition and preference.
Explain the difference between a mode, median and mean
Mode = Most frequently occurring value in a dataset
Median = midpoint of a distribution
Mean = Arithmetic average of a dataset
Name two types of observational studies.
Analytical and descriptive
What does PICO stand for?
Population/patient, intervention, comparison/control and outcome
What does blinding refer to in RCTs?
An experimental technique in which individuals involved in the study are kept unaware of the treatment assignment.
Which measure of variance is typically used with a mean?
Standard Deviation
Name three types of analytical observational studies.
Case-control, cohort and cross-sectional
Why is EBP so important for Physiotherapy?
Stay up to date/current in practice, have patient’s best interest at heart, to be able to defend practice to stakeholders, ensure profession remain trusted by public
What is allocation concealment?
A technique used to prevent selection bias in Randomised Controlled Trials (RCT’s) by concealing the allocation sequence from those assigning participants to the intervention groups, until the moment of assignment
What is the difference between internal and external validity in a study?
Internal validity - refers to how well an experiment/study is done, extent to which biases/confounding was avoided, if the results can be trusted. External validity – the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people.
Do case-control studies start collecting data about the exposure or outcome?
Outcome
What are the five principles of EBP?
Assess, Ask, Acquire, Appraise, apply
Name two of the main ways in which allocation is concealed in a trial?
Sealed, Opaque envelopes
Central telephone line
What is the difference between prevalence and incidence?
Prevalence = The proportion of people who have a given disease or condition at a specified point in time. Incidence = The proportion of people who develop a given disease or condition within a specified period of time
A distortion in an association between an outside influence that changes the effect of a dependent variable and independent variable.
Explain intention to treat analysis
Intention to treat is the analysis of the results of an experiment is based on the initial treatment assignment and not on the treatment eventually received
What condition was the first ever clinical trial conducted on in 1747?
Scurvy