Research Methods & Evidence-Based Practice Flashcards

A survey instrument that gives consistent results on repeated use has high:

Answer: Reliability

Reliability refers to consistency of measurement across repeated trials.

Which statistic is commonly used to measure agreement between two image readers beyond chance?

Answer: Cohen's kappa

Cohen's kappa measures inter-rater agreement corrected for chance.

Why are anthropomorphic phantoms used in dose and image-quality research?

Answer: They allow repeatable exposures without irradiating human subjects

Phantoms simulate tissue so measurements can be repeated without exposing people.

A retrospective study differs from a prospective study in that it:

Answer: Uses existing records of events that have already occurred

Retrospective studies analyze outcomes and exposures that already happened using past data.

The primary role of an institutional review board (IRB) is to:

Answer: Protect the rights and welfare of human research subjects

IRBs review protocols to ensure ethical treatment of human participants.

Participants changing behavior because they know they are being observed is known as the:

Answer: Hawthorne effect

The Hawthorne effect is altered behavior due to awareness of being studied.

Journals being more likely to publish studies with positive findings produces:

Answer: Publication bias

Publication bias skews the literature toward significant or positive results.