Category: BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
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Chapter 13: Picking the Perfect Heroes – Selection of Study Population
We’ve decided we need to test SuperPaste, and we know how many children to pick (Sample Size), but we must be very careful about who we pick! If we select the wrong children, the study’s results won’t apply to the larger world, making the whole effort useless. This chapter is about Selection of Study Population—the…
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Chapter 12: How Many Heroes Do We Need? – Calculating Sample Size and Power
We’ve picked our small group of children (Sample), but how many children should be in that group? This is the question of Sample Size. If we pick too few children, our results might be wrong just by luck (like flipping a coin only 5 times and getting 4 heads). If we pick too many, we…
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Chapter 11: Choosing Our Heroes – Sampling Methods
We know SuperPaste needs to be tested on children, but India has millions of school-going children! We can’t possibly give SuperPaste to every single one. That would take forever, cost too much, and if we use hundreds of people to collect data, we’ll make lots of mistakes (inter-observer variation). This chapter is about Sampling, which…
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Chapter 10: Organizing the Treasure – Measurement of Study Variables
Hello! We’ve collected a huge sack of information from all the children in our SuperPaste study. Before we can tell if the paste works, we have to organize and summarize these facts, which are called Data. This whole process is known as Measurement of Study Variables. 1. Sorting the Treasure: Types of Data First, we…
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Lecture 9: Unpacking the ‘Why’ – Qualitative Research Methods
Qualitative research is a non-numerical approach that originates in fields like Anthropology, Sociology, and Psychology. It’s concerned with words and text rather than numbers, seeking to interpret social reality from the participants’ point of view (the emic perspective). 1. Quantitative vs. Qualitative Feature Quantitative (Epidemiology, Trials) Qualitative (Behavior, Context) Data Type Numbers, counts, statistical measures.…
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Lecture 8: The Truth Check – Validity of Epidemiological Studies
The main goal of any study is to get an accurate estimate of the relationship between an exposure (like using SuperPaste) and an outcome (like getting dental caries). Accuracy involves both precision and validity. 1. Types of Validity Epidemiological studies must satisfy two types of validity: Type of Validity Question Asked Significance Internal Validity Are…
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Chapter 7: The Gold Standard Test – Clinical Trials (Experimental Designs)
Experimental Studies (Clinical Trials) are the most advanced study design. Unlike Observational Studies (Cohort/Case-Control) where we just watch what people do, here the investigator manipulates the exposure. We decide who gets the new treatment. 1. The Clinical Trial A Clinical Trial is a planned experiment designed to assess the efficacy (effectiveness) of a new intervention…
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Chapter 6: Finding the Cause – Analytical Study Designs
Analytical Studies go beyond just describing a health event (descriptive studies); they look for cause-and-effect relationships using a comparison group. The investigator does not assign the exposure (no randomization); they just carefully measure what people naturally choose to do. 1. The Direction of Analytical Studies Analytical studies are categorized by which direction they look: 2.…
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Chapter 4: Counting the Cavities – Measurement of Disease Frequency
When we test our SuperPaste (for preventing dental caries), we need special counting tools to measure the dental problem. These tools tell us the Disease Frequency (how often the disease appears). 1. The Population at Risk Before counting, we define who can actually get the disease. 2. Prevalence (Existing Cases) Prevalence is like taking a…
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Chapter 3: Listening to the Old Stories – The Literature Review
Before we can start testing our SuperPaste (our new story), we need to read every single story, article, and textbook written about toothpaste and dental caries (cavities) that came before us. This huge reading and sorting process is called the Literature Review. 1. Why We Read Old Stories (What is Known vs. Not Known) The…