RSA Research Methods & Evidence-Based Practice 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which study design is considered the gold standard for evaluating the effectiveness of alcohol server training programs?
- Case study
- Randomized controlled trial (Correct answer)
- Cross-sectional survey
- Anecdotal report
Correct answer: Randomized controlled trial
Randomized controlled trials randomly assign participants to intervention and control groups, minimizing bias and providing the strongest causal evidence.
Question 2: When reviewing research on reducing alcohol-related harm, a 'systematic review' differs from a standard literature review because it:
- Focuses only on qualitative studies
- Uses a rigorous, pre-defined search strategy to minimize bias (Correct answer)
- Relies on expert opinion rather than data
- Excludes international studies
Correct answer: Uses a rigorous, pre-defined search strategy to minimize bias
Systematic reviews follow a structured, reproducible protocol to identify and synthesize all relevant evidence on a topic.
Question 3: A server notices that on nights with drink specials, incident reports spike. This observation is best described as:
- Experimental evidence
- A correlational finding (Correct answer)
- A causal conclusion
- A confounding variable
Correct answer: A correlational finding
Observing that two variables (drink specials and incidents) occur together describes a correlation, not necessarily a causal relationship.
Question 4: In alcohol policy research, 'effect size' measures:
- The number of participants in a study
- The practical magnitude of an intervention's impact (Correct answer)
- The cost of implementing a program
- The time required to see results
Correct answer: The practical magnitude of an intervention's impact
Effect size quantifies how large or meaningful the difference is between groups, beyond just statistical significance.
Question 5: Which data source provides the most reliable ongoing evidence about alcohol-impaired driving rates in the US?
- Social media posts
- NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) (Correct answer)
- Bar owner surveys
- Anecdotal customer feedback
Correct answer: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)
NHTSA's FARS is a comprehensive, standardized national database of traffic fatalities including alcohol involvement.
Question 6: If a training program shows 'statistical significance' (p < 0.05) but a very small effect size, servers and managers should understand that:
- The program is highly effective in real-world settings
- The result is likely a fluke
- The finding may not be practically meaningful (Correct answer)
- The study should be discarded
Correct answer: The finding may not be practically meaningful
Statistical significance only indicates the result is unlikely due to chance, not that the effect is large enough to matter in practice.
Question 7: Which of the following is an example of a 'confounding variable' in a study on server training and over-service incidents?
- The number of training hours
- The type of establishment (bar vs. restaurant) (Correct answer)
- The quiz score at training end
- The trainer's credentials
Correct answer: The type of establishment (bar vs. restaurant)
Establishment type may independently affect over-service rates, making it harder to isolate the effect of training alone.
RSA Research Methods & Evidence-Based Practice 2
Which study design is considered the gold standard for evaluating the effectiveness of alcohol server training programs?