BBH 310 FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE
Co-Vary - Answers :When two variables "move together"; that is, when a person scores
higher on one variable, he or she tends to score higher (or lower) on the other variable.
Cross-Sectional study - Answers :Study that takes measurements on one group of
research participants at one time only (with no manipulation). Retrospective → looking
backwards into time to get an idea of what lead to a point
Cross-Sectional Strengths - Answers :Easy (don't have to follow people over time or
deliver intervention)
- cheaper/faster
- large probability samples (external validity) → representing populations
Cross-Sectional Weakness - Answers :- Not good for cause and effect
- hard to say if hypothesized cause came before hypothesized effect
- confounders
Cohort Study - Answers :Observational longitudinal study; multiple observation time
points for each participant. ** Prospective cohort study: looking forward; when you start
collecting data on your predictor variable at the beginning of the study and measure
your outcome variable at later time points
Cohort Strength - Answers :- Establish if hypothesized cause came before hypothesized
effect
- change over time (data collected at one point can predict outcome later)
- Evaluating if "person variables" are risk factors predicting health outcomes
Cohort Weakness - Answers :- Expensive/time consuming
- Confounders
Case Study - Answers :Aren't really a design → allows to bring observations from all
aspect of patient's life and how they are relevant to the case; rare .
Observational or involve some testing. No representative sample
Case Study Strength - Answers :- Insight about extremely rare phenomena
- Synthesize clues and come up with new hypothesizes based on investigation of all the
factors relevant to one specific person
Case Study Weakness - Answers :- Tiny sample size, unknown external validty
Case-Control Study - Answers :Selects 2 groups to compare the differences between
them (totally different samples)
Case group → has disease or characteristic
Control group → do not; compare.
, * retrospective → what aspect of their history tends to be different from the controls
(cause)
Case Control Strength - Answers :- Focuses attention on rare cases
- Works for objective, stable risk factors that can be reliably measured retrospectively
- Can infer possible risk factors of disease
Case-Control Weakness - Answers :- Selection biases between case and control
groups
- Retrospective → biased (have to remember)
- Confounders
Narrative Review - Answers :Summary of empirical research findings on a particular
subject in a very flexible format; non-systematic
Narrative Review Defining Feature - Answers :*** common, Do not require authors to
explicitly disclose how they searched for and found information
Narrative Review importance - Answers :effects in a single study can be small and
subtle so many sources need to be put together for a pool of evidence considered when
coming to an overall conclusion.
Narrative Review Strengths/Weaknesses - Answers :Strength
-choice of most appropriate format.
-comprehensive
-appropriate for broad and hard to narrow topics
Weakness
Bias
-Publication Bias: not every primary research study is published and a lot of the time it is
only the flashy, dramatic one that are.
-Bias towards reporting investigations of NEW topics instead of doing further work to
confirm previously studied topics.
-Reviewer Bias: reviewers have opinion on subject writing an article on.
- Confounders and other problems in original studies.
Systemic Literature Reviews - Answers :Requires reviewer to state the rules they
followed when they decided what to include and what to leave out.
Fair
Systemic Literature Reviews Defining feature - Answers :***must include:
1. set objectives
2. clear set of rules for how the team will search literature to find relevant info.
3. Evaluate quality
4. Organization
Co-Vary - Answers :When two variables "move together"; that is, when a person scores
higher on one variable, he or she tends to score higher (or lower) on the other variable.
Cross-Sectional study - Answers :Study that takes measurements on one group of
research participants at one time only (with no manipulation). Retrospective → looking
backwards into time to get an idea of what lead to a point
Cross-Sectional Strengths - Answers :Easy (don't have to follow people over time or
deliver intervention)
- cheaper/faster
- large probability samples (external validity) → representing populations
Cross-Sectional Weakness - Answers :- Not good for cause and effect
- hard to say if hypothesized cause came before hypothesized effect
- confounders
Cohort Study - Answers :Observational longitudinal study; multiple observation time
points for each participant. ** Prospective cohort study: looking forward; when you start
collecting data on your predictor variable at the beginning of the study and measure
your outcome variable at later time points
Cohort Strength - Answers :- Establish if hypothesized cause came before hypothesized
effect
- change over time (data collected at one point can predict outcome later)
- Evaluating if "person variables" are risk factors predicting health outcomes
Cohort Weakness - Answers :- Expensive/time consuming
- Confounders
Case Study - Answers :Aren't really a design → allows to bring observations from all
aspect of patient's life and how they are relevant to the case; rare .
Observational or involve some testing. No representative sample
Case Study Strength - Answers :- Insight about extremely rare phenomena
- Synthesize clues and come up with new hypothesizes based on investigation of all the
factors relevant to one specific person
Case Study Weakness - Answers :- Tiny sample size, unknown external validty
Case-Control Study - Answers :Selects 2 groups to compare the differences between
them (totally different samples)
Case group → has disease or characteristic
Control group → do not; compare.
, * retrospective → what aspect of their history tends to be different from the controls
(cause)
Case Control Strength - Answers :- Focuses attention on rare cases
- Works for objective, stable risk factors that can be reliably measured retrospectively
- Can infer possible risk factors of disease
Case-Control Weakness - Answers :- Selection biases between case and control
groups
- Retrospective → biased (have to remember)
- Confounders
Narrative Review - Answers :Summary of empirical research findings on a particular
subject in a very flexible format; non-systematic
Narrative Review Defining Feature - Answers :*** common, Do not require authors to
explicitly disclose how they searched for and found information
Narrative Review importance - Answers :effects in a single study can be small and
subtle so many sources need to be put together for a pool of evidence considered when
coming to an overall conclusion.
Narrative Review Strengths/Weaknesses - Answers :Strength
-choice of most appropriate format.
-comprehensive
-appropriate for broad and hard to narrow topics
Weakness
Bias
-Publication Bias: not every primary research study is published and a lot of the time it is
only the flashy, dramatic one that are.
-Bias towards reporting investigations of NEW topics instead of doing further work to
confirm previously studied topics.
-Reviewer Bias: reviewers have opinion on subject writing an article on.
- Confounders and other problems in original studies.
Systemic Literature Reviews - Answers :Requires reviewer to state the rules they
followed when they decided what to include and what to leave out.
Fair
Systemic Literature Reviews Defining feature - Answers :***must include:
1. set objectives
2. clear set of rules for how the team will search literature to find relevant info.
3. Evaluate quality
4. Organization
