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O

Objectivity

(Last edited: Tuesday, 14 March 2017, 8:55 AM)
  • Data collection method which will always come to the same result
  • Example:

Interviewer A asks question to Patient X

Interviewer B asks question to Patient X

→ Both answers will be the same (answer should be independent from the interviewer)


Odds Ratio (OR)

(Last edited: Tuesday, 14 March 2017, 8:55 AM)
  • Chance of an event occurring; this is calculated by taking the number of individuals in the sample who experience the event divided by the number of individuals for whom the event did not occur
  • Mainly used in case-control studies
  • Small risk → Odds Ratio ~ Relative Risk
  • Ranges:
    1. OR> 1.0 – exposure may increase the odds of a disease
    2. OR> 1.0 – exposure does not affect the odds of outcome
    3. OR< 1.0 – exposure may decrease the odds of a disease
  • Example: OR= 3.7 for likelihood to die from a new antihypertensive drug as compared to an existing drug

→ Patients who received the new antihypertensive drug die 3.7 times more often than patients who received an existing drug.

→ The odds to die with the new antihypertensive drug is 3.7 times higher than with the existing drug.

Further information: Explaining Odds Ratios


Ordinal Scale

(Last edited: Tuesday, 14 March 2017, 8:55 AM)
  • Ranking scale; no known interval
  • Type of data: categorical, semi-quantitative (= quantitative but open to individual interpretation), discrete
  • Example: pain levels, joint laxity grades, Manual Muscle Testing grades, level of assistance