Chapter 12

1. Chapter 12 Additional Research Approaches Conducting & Reading Research Baumgartner et al

2. Historical Approach • Goal: Record and understand events of the past • Problems: • New data cannot be generated • Data cannot easily be controlled • Data must be analyzed without clarifying questions being asked Conducting & Reading Research Baumgartner et al

3. Sources of Historical Data • Primary sources • original documents, physical artifacts, people who were eyewitnesses • Secondary sources • textbooks, newspapers, abstracts, almanacs, encyclopedias, bibliographies (some of these may sometimes be primary sources) Conducting & Reading Research Baumgartner et al

4. Evaluating Historical Data • External criticism • Test physical and chemical properties of items to confirm age, authorship • Test signature, script, handwriting, spelling, and type to confirm authenticity • Check consistency in language use, time-sensitive knowledge and technology • Internal criticism • Assess meaning and content of item • Assess value of data Conducting & Reading Research Baumgartner et al

5. Oral History - Techniques • Taped history should also be writted and edited by primary source • Content should use researcher’s notes as must as possible • Questioning must be conducted carefully (no leading questions) • Interview sessions should be short • Topics should be given to interviewee in advance • Researcher should be well-read in topic Conducting & Reading Research Baumgartner et al

6. Biographical Research • Humanizes past • Use lots of primary sources • Difficulties: • Memory mistakes of primary source people • Inability to interview critical source • Failure to discover critical source • Responses could be biased • May or may not be testing a hypothesis Conducting & Reading Research Baumgartner et al

7. Epidemiological Approach • Descriptive: identify patterns, trends, etc. • May attempt to determine causation Conducting & Reading Research Baumgartner et al

8. Research designs • Cohort studies (prospective studies) • Case-control studies (retrospective studies) Conducting & Reading Research Baumgartner et al

9. Ten Principles of Causal Inference • Strength of Association • Dose-Response Relationship • Independence • Temporal Sequence • Persistence • Alterability • Agreement • Consistency • Biologic Plausibility • Experimental Confirmation Conducting & Reading Research Baumgartner et al

10. Strength of Association • Relative Risk – likelihood that a group with a risk factor will have a health characteristic in comparison to a group without risk factor • Odds-ratio – Estimate of relative risk • Attributable Risk – Percentage of cases in the total group that occur in the group with a risk factor. Conducting & Reading Research Baumgartner et al

11. Single Participant Approach • May include more than one “subject” • Baseline measure obtained for each participant, compared to post-treatment score • Do not analyze data as group, based on idea that some treatments may work only in some individuals Conducting & Reading Research Baumgartner et al

12. Creative Activities • Examples: dance, skillful performers, development of novel computer programs for various purposes, gymnastics, development of new piece of equipment or new procedure Conducting & Reading Research Baumgartner et al