26 Jun RESEARCH DESIGN EXERCISE
Question
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HOMEWORK ACTIVITY: RESEARCH DESIGN EXERCISE
(revised 7/03)
Directions: Read each scenario and research problem, formulate a research design, and identify possible threats to
both internal and external validity.
Scenario
Scenario 1. In health sciences education,
evaluation of clinical performance is an
important and time consuming aspect of
becoming a competent healthcare
practitioner.
Too frequently students express that the
clinical evaluation experience is anxiety
provoking and effects their self-concepts.
Ideally, health science students should
master their clinical skills, unaffected
emotionally by the clinical grades they
receive. If students believe that they are
competent in most clinical situations, but
find themselves with frequent
unsatisfactory evaluations, they may
experience a lowering of their selfconcepts.
Design a study to determine if there is a
significant relationship between students’
self-concepts and their final clinical
grades.
Research Problem
Is there a statistically significant
relationship between
students’ self concepts and their final
clinical grades?
What is the self-concept of students with
the highest clinical grades?
What is the self-concept of students with
the lowest clinical grades?
Research Design
Threats to Internal/
External Validity
Scenario 2. The oral infections in longterm, hospitalized patients have been a
concern of hospital staff because oral
infection can lead to infection in other
body systems. Dental care is not easily
obtainable for these patients due to the
lack of dental facilities in hospitals. The
oral healthcare that the long-term
hospitalized patient receives is limited to
daily oral hygiene, either performed by
the patient, a significant other, or by a
member of the hospital staff.
Can a daily 0.12% chlorhexidine
mouthrinse program reduce the oral
infections and other body system
infections of long term hospitalized
patients?
A daily 0.12% chlorhexidine mouthrinsing
program could be implemented as a
preventive measure to control oral
pathogens and protect the hospitalized
patient from more serious dental
problems and possible medical
complications. Design a study to test the
effectiveness of a daily chlorhexidine
mouthrinse program for long term
hospital patients. A hospital facility has
agreed to allow the research team to
evaluate two wards of 30 hospitalized
patients.
Scenario 3. Healthcare professions have
begun to recognized that babies endure
severe and lasting pain during and after
circumcision. A recent study by
researchers at Rochester General Hospital
in New York demonstrated that the pain
of circumcision is so severe that an overthe-counter pain reliever for infants failed
to relieve their pain during and after the
procedure.
Design a study that would test several
pain management strategies for helping
infants cope with the pain during and
after circumcision.
What pain management strategies are
most effective in controlling pain in
infants both during and after
circumcision?
Scenario 4. In the typical educational
setting, a number of different faculty
evaluate student clinical performance.
These instructors frequently have been
taught, or have acquired, different
evaluation procedures and criteria. In
addition, many faculty teach on a parttime basis and therefore, have limited
opportunity to become standardized on
the specific procedures and criteria used
in evaluating students’ clinical
performance. These conditions can result
in inconsistent evaluation of students’
clinical performance. Research to date
demonstrates that inter-instructor
consistency is low in clinical evaluation of
students’ performance. However, there
has been little research that has dealt
with a possible solution to this problem.
One approach suggested in the literature
is the establishment of instructor training
programs. The research on in-service
training programs for clinical instructors
has yielded both positive and negative
results.
What is the level of inter-instructor
consistency in clinical evaluation of
health science students?
Does in-service training of clinical
instructors improve inter-instructor
consistency in clinical evaluation of
health science students?
Design a study to measure the level of
inter-instructor consistency and
determine if the level of inter-instructor
consistency is improved after completion
of an in-service program by the
instructors.
Scenario 5. Health educators are
interested in testing the effectiveness of
a new self-breast examination videotape
on increasing monthly self-examination
behaviors in women. The researchers are
interested in establishing a baseline on
the self-examination behaviors of women
prior to the study, yet they are concerned
about sensitizing the subjects and the
effects that pre-testing may have on the
study’s outcomes.
Design a study to determine the effects of
the videotape on women’s selfexamination behavior.
Does a new self-breast examination
videotape affect the monthly self
examination behaviors of women?
Scenario 6. Avon’s Skin-So-Soft has been
reported to serve as an effective insect
repellant for individuals who use it. SkinSo-Soft comes in three forms, a lotion, an
oil, and a spray. Some people report that
the oil is more effective on males than on
females.
Design a study to evaluate the
effectiveness of Avon’s Skin-So-Soft as an
insect repellant for both male and female
users.
Scenario 7. Researchers from the
University of Oklahoma conducted a study
to measure pathogenic organisms on both
new and used toothbrushes to assess the
potential for acquiring oral infections
from toothbrushes. Besides the
microorganisms of oral infection, the
researchers found organisms responsible
for respiratory, gastrointestinal,
cardiovascular, and kidney disease. They
also found that 80% of new brushes from
one manufacturer contaminated by
bacteria, despite packaging and sealing.
Design a study to determine if the
microorganisms on toothbrushes used by
clients in the hospital are linked with
their medical conditions.
Is there a statistically significant
difference in the numbers of insect bites
received by individuals wearing Skin-SoSoft lotion, oil and spray?
Is there a statistically significant
difference in the number of insect bites
received by males and females who are
wearing Skin-So-Soft?
Is there a statistically significant
interaction between the type of Skin-SoSoft used (lotion, oil or spray) and the
genders of the user (male or female) as
measured by the number of insect bites
received?
Is there a relationship between the types
of pathogenic microorganisms found on
toothbrushes and the disease states of
the users.
Scenario 8. Ginkgo biloba extract, used
for thousands of years by the Chinese,
has been shown to slow the progression
of Alzheimer’s disease slightly in some
people. The effects of ginkgo on the
brain are not understood but may be
related to antioxidants, a compound that
neutralizes and destructive form of
oxygen. The Ginkgo extract, called
Egb761, has been approved for medical
use in Germany, but not in the USA.
Design a study to determine if Egb761
affects Alzheimer’s disease progression.
What short-term effect does Egb761 have
on Alzheimer’s disease?
What long-term effect does Egb761 have
on Alzheimer’s disease?
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