Glossary - Research Basics and Terminology
This glossary explains common terminology used in research articles. It helps you to understand the articles which are included in the following chapters of this course.
If you are looking for more terminology, the glossary of 'The Cochrane Collaboration' is a useful resource which you can find here.
Special | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ALL
A |
---|
Alpha-Level (α-level) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Alternative Hypothesis (H1 or Ha) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
B |
---|
Blinding | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
C |
---|
Confidence Interval (CI) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Continuous Data | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
D |
---|
Dependent or Outcome Variable | |||
---|---|---|---|
Clinical trial Dependent variable= Outcome (ill or healthy) Independent variable= Treatment arm (new drug)
| |||
Discrete Data | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
F |
---|
False Negative | |||
---|---|---|---|
= Negative test when individual actually has the disease | |||
False Positive | |||
---|---|---|---|
= Positive test when individual does not actually have the disease | |||
H |
---|
Hypothesis | |||
---|---|---|---|
= statement being tested | |||
I |
---|
Incidence | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Independent Variable | |||
---|---|---|---|
Clinical trial Dependent variable = outcome (ill or healthy) Independent variable = treatment arm (new drug) | |||
Interval Scale | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
L |
---|
Levels of Evidence | |||
---|---|---|---|
Level I: Evidence from a systematic review or meta-analysis of all relevant RCTs Level II: Evidence obtained from well-designed RCTs Level III: Evidence obtained from well-designed controlled trials without randomization Level IV: Evidence from well-designed case-control and cohort studies Level V: Evidence from systematic reviews of descriptive and qualitative studies Level VI: Evidence from single descriptive or qualitative studies Level VII: Evidence from an opinion of authorities and/ or reports of expert committees Further information: Evidence Based Practice Toolkit More information about different study types: Literature Reviews: Types of Clinical Study Designs | |||
M |
---|
Maximum (MAX) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Set of numbers: 3,4,5,5,5,6,7
MAX= 7 | |||
Mean (μ, x̄) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Median | |||
---|---|---|---|
Order all observations from smallest to highest number
Set of numbers (ordered from smallest to biggest number): 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7
: x(n+1)/2 = x(7+1)/2= x4→ x4= 5
2. Even number of observations: n= 8
Set of numbers (ordered from lowest to highest number): 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 9 : (x(n/2)+ x(n+2)/2)/ 2= (x(8/2)+ x(8+2)/2)/ 2= (x4+ x5)/ 2= (5+ 6)/ 2= 11/ 2= 5.5
| |||
Minimum (MIN) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Set of numbers: 3,4,5,5,5,6,7
MIN= 3
| |||
Mode | |||
---|---|---|---|
Set of numbers: 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7 Mode= 5 | |||
N |
---|
Nominal Scale | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Normal Curve | |||
---|---|---|---|
Normal Distribution | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Null Hypothesis (H0 or Ho) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Number Needed to Treat (NNT) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
O |
---|
Objectivity | |||
---|---|---|---|
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) | |||
---|---|---|---|
→ 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 | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
P |
---|
Percentile | |||
---|---|---|---|
50th percentile= 50% of all values in a distribution fall below this score
| |||
PICO | |||
---|---|---|---|
P= Population I= Intervention (or diagnosis, prognosis) being evaluated C= Comparison (usually to gold standard or no treatment) O= Outcome Example: Is physical activity at least twice a week for more than ten minutes as effective as the antihypertensive X in preventing high blood pressure in adults over 18 years? P= adults over 18 years I= physical activity at least twice a week for more than ten minutes C= antihypertensive X O= prevention of high blood pressure | |||
Prevalence | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
P-Value | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Q |
---|
Qualitative Data | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Quantitative Data | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Quartile | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
R |
---|
Randomized-Controlled Trial | |||
---|---|---|---|
Randomized-Controlled Trial: Treatment success for patient A with drug A in comparison to treatment success for patient B with already existing drug B Cluster-Randomised-Controlled Trial: Prevalence of obesity in a community with a systematic physical activity program versus a community without any such program | |||
Range (R) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Ratio Scale | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Relative Risk (RR) | |||
---|---|---|---|
→ Smokers have a 1.3 higher risk of getting lung cancer than non-smokers
| |||
Reliability | |||
---|---|---|---|
First round of an experiment Second round of the experiment under the same conditions → Both experiments have the exact same outcome | |||
Risk Factor | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
S |
---|
Sensitivity | |||
---|---|---|---|
A sensitivity of 97.5% in mammography screening means that every woman with a tumor will be correctly detected in 97.5% of the cases. 2.5% might have a tumor, but cannot be identified through the screening. Further information: Understanding and using sensitivity, specificity and predictive values. Example for using sensitivity in a study: Sensitivity and specificity of mammography and adjunctive ultrasonography to screen for breast cancer in the Japan Strategic Anti-cancer Randomized Trial (J-START): a randomised controlled trial. | |||
Skewed Distribution | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Specificity | |||
---|---|---|---|
A specificity of 95.0% in mammography screening means that 95.0% of the women tested are correctly identified as not having a tumor. Further information: Understanding and using sensitivity, specificity and predictive values | |||
Standard Deviation | |||
---|---|---|---|
Set of numbers: 3,4,5,5,5,6,7
| |||
Statistically Significant | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
T |
---|
Type-I-Error (α-error) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Type-II-Error (β-error) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
V |
---|
Validity | |||
---|---|---|---|
An interview guideline for breast cancer experts contains questions about the topic "breast cancer". This guideline includes previously defined research questions regarding the topic so that it will help in answering the required questions. Further information: Understanding and using sensitivity, specificity and predictive values | |||
Variance | |||
---|---|---|---|