Research week 8

A1- Does this review cite quantitative research, qualitative research, or both?

Both: The Bradley and Lewis study of over 1,000 infants is quantitative, indicating that incidence of specific problems was measured, Hughes' in-depth study of 18 families is qualitative.

One of the major purposes of a literature review is to ascertain what the existing evidence indicates about a given research problem.

true

A2- Were any of the studies included in the review experimental?

No, it would never be possible to manipulate age- only non-experimental studies are possible, given the study problem.

A1- Is this literature review likely to be through?

No, none of the cited studies is more recent than 2008; there would almost certainly be more recent research on this topic.

A2- What type of meta-analytic model did the researchers use?

A fixed effects model

A2- What type of systematic review was this?

A meta-analysis

A2- Did the researchers compute d (standardized mean differences) in this study? If no, what effect size index was used?

No, the correlation coefficient, r, was the effect size index.

A descendancy approach to a literature search is essentially the same as an author search.

False

A meta-synthesis is essentially a literature review of prior qualitative research about a particular phenomenon.

False

A well-written literature review is characterized by numerous quotations from prior research reports on the topic.

False

Frequency effect sizes in meta-synthesis can be interpreted in essentially the same way as an effect size in meta-analyses.

False

If a meta-analysis involve integrating findings about the effects of an intervention on subsequent smoking status (smoked vs. did not smoke), the appropriate effect size index would be d.

False

Information from anecdotal and opinion articles is usually included in a research literature review.

False

Meta-analysis is always a legitimate integration method as long as there are two or more quantitative studies on the same question.

False

Meta-synthesists avoid including dissertations in their analysis because of a desire to omit reports that are not peer-reviewed.

False

Most mea-analyses exclude studies that failed to use a true experimental design i.e. studies that are not RCTs.

False

Qualitative researchers agree that a meta-synthesis should cover all qualitative research about a particular phenomenon, regardless of the research tradition of the primary study.

False

Quality assessments of primary studies are done in meta-analyses but not in meta-syntheses.

False

Systematic reviews usually use as one selection criterion that the primary studies be published within the previous 10 years.

False

The CINAHL database can be searched through PubMed.

False

The literature review section of a research report typically involves in-depth critiques of all relevant studies that have been completed on the research question.

False

A2- What was the independent variable in the study? What was the dependent variable?

IV- age DV- amount of nighttime sleep

A1- Are all of the references to research reports, or does it appear that other materials were used in the review?

It appears hat one opinion article was cited, the citation by Tilmon.

A2- Did the researchers assess publication bias?

It does not appear that they did. There is no mention of it in the summary.

A2- Was grey literature included in the sample?

No, unpublished studies were excluded

A1- In this literature review, what would be considered the independent variable in the studies reviewed?

Mother's age

A2- What inclusion criteria can be inferred?

Studies had to have been published in English language journals between 2000 and 2017; studies had to involve samples of adult subjects; hey also had to have provided sufficient information about the correlation between age and NS to permit the computation of an effect size.

A1- In this literature review, what would be considered the dependent variables in the studies reviewed?

The dependent variables would be the various health outcomes to children (health problems, accidents and injuries, hospitalizations, etc.)

A primary advantage of meta-analysis is that results from multiple studies are integrated in an objective fashion.

True

A published literature review article is likely to be a good secondary source for a person doing a literature review on the same topic.

True

A truncation symbol after a truncated word permits a search for multiple words with the same root.

True

An analysis of the research literature essentially involves a search for themes and patterns in the research evidence.

True

An example of a Boolean operator is the word AND.

True

An intensity effect size would be higher in a qualitative report that identified 10 key themes than in one that identified four key themes.

True

In appraising that rigor and quality of primary studies, some reviewers use formal rating scales that award points for certain methodologic features, such as randomization.

True

Most systematic reviews in the Cochrane Collaboration are meta-analyses.

True

The ancestry approach in a literature search involves using the bibliography of one study to find other similar studies done earlier.

True

The integration of effect sizes in a meta-analysis usually involves calculating a weighted average, with effects usually weighted by a study's sample size.

True

The literature review section of a research report should conclude with a critical evaluation of current evidence on the problem of interest.

True

Two or more coders should extract data for a meta-synthesis so that intercoder reliability can be assessed.

True

A1- Is there a sentence in the second paragraph that is inappropriate and should be reworded?

Yes the first sentence accidents and injuries; this should be reworded for example, found rather than proved.

A2- Across all studies was there a significant relationship between age and NS?

Yes the probability was less than 1 in 1,000 that the effect size across studies was zero, older people get significantly less sleep than younger ones.

A2- Was interrater reliability assessed for the quality ratings? If yes, what was the/ reliability?

Yes, interrater reliability was 93.

A1- Is there a sentence in the first paragraph that is inappropriate for a research literature review?

Yes, the quote from Tilmon has no bearing on the state of the evidence concerning the relationship between maternal age and children's health outcomes, it tis one person's subjective opinion.

A-2 Were studies appraised for quality using a formal tool?

Yes, the researches used a formal scale that yielded quality ratings.

A2- Did the researchers analyze whether effects varied by study quality?

Yes, they examined whether the effect size was affected by the study's quality rating; for both high quality and low quality studies, according to the threshold thy used, the effect size was statistically significant. The researchers did not test whether the two effect size estimates were significantly different form each other.

A2- Did the researchers conduct analyses for subgroup effects involving participant characteristics?

Yes, they tested whether the relationship between age and NS was moderated by a person's gender.