Applicability of Study Findings:
Whether or not the effects of the study are appropriate for a particular patient situation.
Care Delivery Outcomes:
The outcomes that are influenced by the delivery of clinical care.
Case-Control Study:
A type of research that retrospectively compares characteristics of an individual who has a certain condition (e.g., hypertension) with one who does not (i.e., a matched control or similar person without hypertension.
Case Reports:
Reports that describe the history of a single patient, or a small group of patients, usually in the form of a story.
Case Study:
An intensive investigation of a case involving a person or small group of persons, an issue, or an event.
Citation:
The pertinent information needed to find the full text of a publication. Citation of a book generally includes: author(s), title, publisher, date. Citation of an article in a periodical generally includes: author(s), article title, source journal title, volume, pages, and date.
Clinical Decision-Making:
Drawing conclusions based on clinical expertise, patient preferences, and factors such as cost-benefit analysis, availability of alternatives, etc.
The current state of knowledge and uncertainty about the prevention and treatment of clinical conditions, based on the best available evidence from systematic reviews, RCTs and observational studies where appropriate, and appraisal of the literature.
Systematically developed statements to assist in making decisions about care; ideally guidelines consist of a systematic review of the literature by consensus of a group of expert decision makers.
Clinical Significance:
Study findings that will directly influence clinical practice, whether they are statistically significant or not.
An international non-profit and independent organization, dedicated to making up-to-date, accurate information about the effects of healthcare readily available worldwide. It produces and disseminates systematic reviews of healthcare interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions.
Cohort Study:
A longitudinal study that begins with the gathering of two groups of patients (the cohorts), one that receives exposure, and one that does not. These groups are followed over time (prospective) to measure the development of different outcomes.
Clinical recommendations based on a wide survey of expert opinion of both research and clinical expertise.
Control Group:
A group of subjects who do not receive the experimental intervention or treatment.
Correlational Descriptive Study:
A study that is conducted for the purpose of describing relationships between two or more variables.
An appraisal based on careful analytical evaluation of the evidence.
Data and Safety Monitoring Plan:
A detailed plan for how adverse effects will be assessed and managed.
Dependent or Outcome Variable:
The variable or outcome that is influenced or caused by the independent variable.
Descriptive Studies:
Studies are conducted for the purpose of describing characteristics of certain phenomena or selected variables.
Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines:
Specific practice recommendations that are based on a methodologically rigorous review of the best evidence on a specific topic.
Evidence-Based Decision Making:
The integration of best research evidence in making decisions about patient care, which should also include the clinician’s expertise as well as patient preferences and values.
Evidence Based Practice (EBP):
A problem solving approach to practice that involves the conscientious use of current best evidence in making decisions about patient care.
Evidence Summaries:
Syntheses of studies; systematic literature review.
Generalizability:
The extent to which the findings from a study can be generalized or applied to the larger population.
Gold Standard:
An accepted and established reference standard or diagnostic test for a particular illness.
Integrative Literature Review:
Integration of a body of research findings, including theory and statistics.
Literature Review:
Scholarly analysis of a body of research about a specific issue or topic.
Merged statistical results from a number of related studies.
Nonexperimental Study Design:
A study design in which data are collected but whose purpose is not to test the effects of an intervention or treatment on selected outcomes.
Opinion Leaders:
Individuals who are highly knowledgeable and well respected, and as such, they are often able to influence change.
Search engine which provides access to bibliographic information to MEDLINE, a bibliographic database covering the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences.
Research that involves the collection of data in nonnumeric form, such as personal interviews, usually with the intention of describing a phenomenon.
Research that collects data in numeric form and emphasizes precise measurement of variables; often conducted in the form of rigorously controlled studies.
Quasi-Experiments:
A type of experimental design that tests the effects of an intervention or treatment but lacks one or more characteristics of a true experiment (e.g., random assignment; a control or comparison group).
Randomized Controlled Trial:
An experiment that delivers an intervention or treatment; a RCT is the strongest design to support cause and effect relationships because subjects are randomly assigned to control and experimental groups.
The extent to which an experiment, test, or measuring procedure yields the same results on repeated trials under identical conditions.
Statistical Significance:
That the results of statistical analysis of data are unlikely to have been caused by chance, at a predetermined level of probability.
A review of the evidence that summarizes existing knowledge and identifies gaps in evidence and future research directions.
Comprehensive, unbiased analysis of research findings on a specific topic which uses a strict scientific design to assess related scientific studies.
The extent to which a variable or intervention measures what it is supposed to measure or accomplishes what it is supposed to accomplish. The internal validity of a study refers to the integrity of the experimental design. The external validity of a study refers to the appropriateness by which its results can be applied to non-study patients or populations.
