Applied Methods and Techniques Flashcards

Two research assistants independently code the same set of video recordings. Which statistic is commonly used to assess their agreement beyond chance for categorical codes?

Answer: Cohen's kappa

Cohen's kappa measures agreement between two raters on categorical data while correcting for chance agreement.

What is the primary purpose of random assignment in an experiment?

Answer: To ensure groups are comparable on known and unknown confounders

Random assignment balances confounding variables across groups, supporting causal inference.

Participants change their behavior simply because they know they are being observed. This is known as the:

Answer: Hawthorne effect

The Hawthorne effect describes behavior change caused by awareness of being studied.

Which qualitative data collection technique involves a moderator guiding a discussion among 6-10 participants?

Answer: Focus group

Focus groups use a moderator to facilitate group discussion and capture shared and divergent views.

A research assistant notices a participant's blood pressure reading is recorded as 1200/80. What is the most appropriate first action?

Answer: Verify the value against the source document and flag it as a query

Implausible values should be checked against source documents and corrected through a documented query process.

In a crossover design, what is the purpose of a washout period?

Answer: To allow effects of the first treatment to dissipate before the next

A washout period minimizes carryover effects from one treatment to the next.

Which type of variable is "blood type (A, B, AB, O)"?

Answer: Nominal

Blood type categories have no inherent order, making it a nominal variable.