Prerana Reichard
1 posts
Re: Topic 4 DQ 1
Variable is a term frequently used in research projects. It is pertinent to define and identify the variables while designing quantitative research projects. A variable, to put it in layman terms, is something that can change and/or can have more than one value. A variable, as the name implies, is something that varies. It may be weight, height, anxiety levels, income, body temperature and so on. The independent variable is the antecedent while the dependent variable is the consequent. If the independent variable is an active variable, its’ value is manipulated to study its affect on the dependent variable. Extraneous variables are those variables that may affect research outcomes but have not been adequately considered in the initial design of the study. Extraneous variables exist in all studies and can affect the measurement of study variables and the relationship among these variables. Some extraneous variables are not recognized until the study has started, or they are recognized but cannot be controlled. These are called confounding extraneous variables. Some external variables may affect the relationship between the research variables even though researcher cannot see it. These variables are called intervening variables (Kaur, 2013).
Two ways that researchers attempt to control extraneous variables are elimination and blocking-off. For example, an experiment is set up where subjects have to learn nonsense syllables. During a preliminary experiment, one of the researchers observed that some of the subjects are irritated by an annoying sound coming from equipment in the laboratory. This annoying sound would be an extraneous variable. By eliminating the sound, the researcher is controlling that extraneous variable. Using the same example, it is noticed that some of the subjects are distracted by the scenes outside the windows in the lab. By closing the blinds on the windows, the researchers are controlling this extraneous variable by blocking-off the cause (Krauth, 2000).
Reference
Kaur, S.P., (2013). Variables in research. Indian Journal of Research and Reports in Medical Sciences, 3(4), 36-38. http://www.hu.usp.br/wp-content/uploads/sites/598/2019/09/complemento-aula-1.pdf
Krauth, J., (2000). Ch 4 – Control of Extraneous Variables. In Elsevier (Eds.), Techniques in the Behavioral and Neural Sciences (pp. 37-44). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-0709(00)80005-X
Carmela Jean
1 posts
Re: Topic 4 DQ 1
Research is essential in healthcare as it provides evidence used in making healthcare decisions. More often, research requires the healthcare workers to collect and analyze data in the form of variables. A variable is a data item that one is trying to measure or determine. The main types of variables used in research are independent, dependent, and extraneous variables. The independent variables do not change depending on other variables and are mostly used in an experimental study (Mize, 2019). In the experimental research, the independent variables form the cause. Examples of independent variables are age, time, and gender. The dependent variables are variables that change depending on the values of the independent variables (Schmidt, 2018).When determining the relationship between the independent and dependent variables, a change in the independent variables will make the value of the dependent variable also change. For example, when a researcher seeks to determine the impact of different drug doses on the
severity of symptoms, the research will be looking at the intensity of the symptoms when different drug doses are taken. Therefore, the dependent variable is intensity and frequency of the symptoms while the drug dose is the independent variable. Extraneous variables do not form part of the research or experiment but significantly affect the research results (Kaku et al., 2020). The
extraneous variables result in the study having undesirable results, and therefore they need to be controlled for the research to have desirables outcomes.
Extraneous variables contribute to undesirable results during research, so there is a need to control these variables. The main method of controlling these variables is through randomization and matching (Schmidt, 2018). Randomization involves selecting the variables with an equal probability. The method of randomization assumes that the extraneous variables are uniformly and equally distributed in all the experiments. Matching involves matching the different groups of confounding variables. The matching techniques may sometimes be complex as the matched characteristics may remain irrelevant or not suit the dependent variables. Controlling the extraneous variables in research produces more reliable and accurate results, which is essential in making changes in healthcare. According to Schmidt (2018), controlling these variables improves the validity of the research.
References
Kaku, A., Mohan, S., Parnandi, A., Schambra, H., & Fernandez-Granda, C. (2020). Be like water: Robustness to extraneous variables via adaptive feature normalization. ArXiv Preprint ArXiv:2002.04019. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2002.04019
Mize, T. D. (2019). Best practices for estimating, interpreting, and presenting nonlinear interaction effects. Sociological Science, 6, 81-117.
https://sociologicalscience.com/download/vol-6/february/SocSci_v6_81to117.pdf Schmidt, M. (2018). Nursing research: Understanding methods for best practice. https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs433v/nursing-research-understanding-methods-for–
best-practice/v1.1/#/chapter/
Carmela Jean
1 posts
Re: Topic 4 DQ 2
Evidence-based practices are essential in improving healthcare quality and reducing the costs of treatment. These practices require individuals to identify evidence used in making healthcare decisions and influencing the healthcare practices. Levels of evidence are used to determine the strength of evidence used in EBP (Desai et al., 2019).
The levels of evidence are used in evaluating evidence to determine its strengths or weakness. The strengths of evidence decrease as the levels of evidence increase (Wagner et al., 2017). Level 1 evidence consist of evidence obtained from three randomized controlled trials (RCT) with similar results. This level of evidence is considered to have a higher strength and is essential in making healthcare decisions. Level 2 evidence is obtained from one well-designed RCT (Winona State University, 2021). Level 3 evidence is all obtained from a controlled trial that is not randomized (Winona State University, 2021). The level 3 evidence is majorly obtained from the quasi-experiments since they are not randomized. The level 4 evidence is evidence obtained from cohort studies. The level 5 evidence is evidence obtained from the reviews of qualitative and descriptive studies. This level of evidence involves meta-synthesis. Level 6 evidence is all the evidence from qualitative studies. Qualitative studies are studies used in determining the experience or opinion of individuals about a given phenomenon using descriptive data. Level 7 is the last level of evidence and involves all evidence obtained from the expert committees.
In healthcare, different levels of evidence can be used in different practices changes. Level 1 evidence is used in formulating all clinical questions (North Virginia Community College, 2021). Level 2 evidence is used in the diagnosis while level 3 evidence is used in quality improvement initiatives. Level 4 evidence which is mainly from case studies and cohort studies is used in prognosis. Level 5 evidence is another evidence level critical in improving healthcare quality (Winona State University, 2021). Level 6 evidence is used in determining the meaning in healthcare and quality improvements. Finally, the level 7 evidence can be used in economic evaluation. Researchers in healthcare should consider the lower levels of evidence in decision-making.
References
Desai, V. S., Camp, C. L., & Krych, A. J. (2019). What Is the Hierarchy of clinical evidence? In Basic methods handbook for clinical orthopaedic research (pp. 11-22). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-58254-1_2
North Virginia Community College. (2021). Evidence-based practice for health professionals: Levels of evidence. NOVA/ Northern Virginia Community College. https://libguides.nvcc.edu/c.php?g=361218&p=2439383
Wagner, J. L., Modi, A. C., Johnson, E. K., Shegog, R., Escoffery, C., Bamps, Y., … & Smith, G. (2017). Self‐management interventions in pediatric epilepsy: What is the level of evidence? Epilepsia, 58(5), 743-754. https://doi.org/10.1111/epi.13711
Winona State University. (2021). Evidence-based practice toolkit: Levels of evidence. https://libguides.winona.edu/ebptoolkit/Levels-Evidence
Karyn Mirante
1 posts
Re: Topic 4 DQ 1
According to Schmidt (2018), independent variables are those that are changed in the research project in order to examine their effect on the dependent variable. It is also known as the experimental or predictor variable. The dependent variable on the other hand is the variable that responds to the independent variable, also known as the outcome variable. Extraneous variables refer to those that can impact outcomes but are not independent variables. These variables must be controlled in order to ensure that it is the manipulation of the independent variable effecting change on the dependent variable (Schmidt, 2018). One way to control extraneous variables is to pull them out and study them separately. One study conducted in Indonesia that sought to identify key indicators for maternal mortality collected and analyzed referral status, hypertension comorbidity, asthma comorbidity, cesarean section, and vaginal delivery as these were identified as extraneous variables (Mawarti et al., 2017). By studying these effects on maternal deaths separately, the researchers were able to identify what extraneous variables had effects versus the independent variables (Mawarti et al., 2017). In another study looking at the effects of COVID-19 on physical activity, linear regression models were used to control extraneous variables. This allowed for a more accurate assessment of the impact of the Stay Home orders on physical activity (Doubleday et al., 2021).
Reference:
Doubleday, A., Choe, Y., Isaksen, B.T., Miles, S., & Errett, A.N. (2021). How did outdoor biking and walking change during COVID-19?: a case study of three U.S. cities. Plos One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0245514
Mawarti, Y., Utarini, A., & Hakimi, M. (2017). Maternal care quality in near miss and maternal mortality in academic public tertiary hospital in Yogyakarta, Indonesia: a retrospective cohort study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 17(149). https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-017-1326-4#Tab4
Schmidt, M. (2018). (2018). Measurement, statistics, and appraisal. In Grand Canyon University (Ed.), Nursing research: Understanding methods for best practice. https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs433v/nursing-research-understanding-methods-for-best-practice/v1.1
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