Research Methods Ch.1-3

A client's values should influence and be considered when providing evidence-based occupational therapy services.

True

The purpose of needs assessment research is to identify the gap between a client's or population's present status and that individual's or group's:

Desired status

Contemporary methods recognize that it is not possible to undertake research without some underlying theory and first principles, even if they are not made explicit.

True

Explanations offered by a practice theory are always tentative, and must be refined through research.

True

In an experimental design study, researchers might have more than one experimental condition group.

True

Occupational science generates knowledge regarding explanations of humans performing daily functions and behaving within occupational contexts. In doing this, its research purpose serves as a:

Basic Science

Mixed-methods research represents a blend of philosophical perspectives, including primarily those of logical positivism, critical modernism, and postmodernism.

True

Survey studies may be quantitative, qualitative, or mixed with their methodology.

True

There exists a dynamic relationship between research and practice. Professional research should be used to inform practice theory and interventions; equally, practice should influence and guide the direction of future research.

True

During a research study, multiple therapists will be assessing and re-assessing the same participants. The principal investigator wants to utilize an assessment that demonstrates high inter-rater reliability. Inter-rater reliability means:

the degree of agreement in test results among multiple raters

A core tenet of evidence-based practice for occupational therapy is that interventions utilized should be those that are validated through the best available clinical evidence without consideration of an individual therapist's clinical expertise.

False

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) and its established prescriptive guidelines closely reflect the philosophical beliefs and nature of occupational therapy (OT). Therefore, its principles are directly replicated with evidence-based OT practice.

False

In experimental research, investigators manipulate a dependent variable in order to observe and measure the effect on any independent variables of interest.

False

Most scientific approaches towards knowledge development in occupational therapy derive from the historical periods of classicism and postmodernism.

False

Participatory research involves inclusion of recipients of services (or consumers) in the data collection and dissemination process only after a specific research hypothesis have been established by an investigator.

False

Participatory research is the most common form of applied science research conducted in occupational therapy.

False

The modernist perspective is that research is often tied to particular ideologies and further is used to reinforce power structures and to disenfranchise or oppress groups.

False

While perspectives toward the creation of knowledge have varied throughout the various philosophical foundations of science, one common shared belief was that true knowledge was paramount and infallible once supported by evidence.

False

The primary difference between an experimental and quasi-experimental study design is:

An experimental design includes subjects being randomly assigned to a condition group, whereas a quasi-experimental design does not.

Occupational therapists offer a unique perspective towards identifying and addressing deficits with clients' occupational participation. The area of research that examines how occupational therapists identify problems and make treatment decisions is:

Clinical Reasoning Research

In order to establish the psychometrics of a new instrument developed to measure symptoms of depression in a post-stroke population, a study is conducted that examines how well the assessment captures all behaviors, symptoms, and somatic presentations of depression. This form of psychometric testing would be examining the instrument's:

Construct Validity

There are multiple methodological designs that may be employed while conducting qualitative research studies. Which of the following is not a qualitative method?

Controlled Trial

Which of the following statements regarding the contemporary process for conducting research is false?

Empirical research methods produce evidence that is inherently value-free and benign.

Inclusion of a placebo group reduces the biasing effects of:

Expectancy

Psychometric research may be used to evaluate an assessment according to multiple criteria. Which domain is not a measure of psychometric research?

Formative utility

The scientific parable of Newton devising his theory of gravity based on observations of the natural world (i.e., an apple falling on his head) is an example of what type of logic?

Inductive

A common form of research in health care and in occupational therapy is participatory research. Which of the following is not a characteristic of participatory research?

It is most commonly carried out in a controlled laboratory setting

A researcher's preference toward adhering to a particular research approach for knowledge development is defined as his or her:

Philosophical Orientation

There are three major ways in which to define and classify research. Which of the following is not one of the primary classifications?

Philosophical rigor

A study investigating the subjective perspectives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in a group home would be an example of a:

Qualitative, phenomenological study

The philosophical foundations of research may be seen by their influence on contemporary research methods. Which of the following statements is true regarding this influence?

Quantitative approaches are consistent with the tradition of logical positivism

Occupational therapy has a professional obligation to maintain a systematic and shared body of knowledge. Which of the following does not serve toward the development of evidence for this requirement?

The collective clinical expertise of an outpatient occupational therapy department

Formative research best seeks to identify what characteristic of an intervention of study?

The mechanism of change for the intervention

Applied science is used frequently within occupational therapy practice. Which of the following examples does not depict an applied science purpose?

To describe the mechanism of action that underlies a common intervention technique