Critical Thinking in Evidence Based Medicine Nursing

 1. Minimizing bias and decreasing threats to internal validity is important to experimental study designs. How will a researcher use the three criteria, manipulation, randomization, and control to minimize bias and decrease threats to internal validity in their research studies?

2. Many times, researchers state that randomized clinical trials (RCT) provide the strongest level of evidence for an individual study when using an evidence-based model.  As a researcher, why do you think this statement is true?

3. When conducting an experimental design, how will you as a researcher, use intervention fidelity to increase the strength and quality of the evidence provided by the findings of the study?

4. What is your cosmic question? (This is a question you ask your peers to respond to based on the chapter discussed in class this week i.e. Quantitative studies).

Critical Thinking in Evidence Based Medicine Nursing

Internal Validity

The validity of a research has two main domains including the external and the internal validity. External validity is the degree to which results in a study are gathered to be applicable to other situations, events and groups (Hu & Zhong, 2019). Internal validity on the other hand is the degree to which observed results are a representative of the findings in the population that is subject to study but not based on procedural errors. Validity in a research indicates how the accuracy of a method can be used to measure something. Critical Thinking in Evidence Based Medicine Nursing .  Therefore, a method is claimed to be valid when it measures what it claims to measure accurately and also yields results that correspond closely to the real-world values.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM -FREE PAPER NOW

How a Researcher uses Manipulation to Minimize Bias and Decrease Threats to Internal Validity in their Research Studies

Manipulating an independent variable in a research means systemic change of levels so that different groups of participants are exposed to different variable levels. Manipulation can also manifest where a similar group of participants are exposed to different levels at different times. When a researcher is using manipulation of an independent variable, they must participate actively (Hu & Zhong, 2019). Experimental manipulation is used to describe the process used by researchers to influence, change and alter the independent variables in experimental research design. For example, when a researcher wants to study the effect of humor on learning and must have the participants reabsorbing or funny stories before a memory test is taken, then a manipulation check will be necessary where the researcher will request the participant to “please rate how funny you found each story’.

How a Researcher uses Randomization to Minimize Bias and Decrease Threats to Internal Validity in their Research Studies

Randomization is an experimental control method used extensively by researchers in human clinical trials as well as biological experiments.  Critical Thinking in Evidence Based Medicine Nursing . Researchers use randomization to insure against the accidental bias and also to prevent the selection bias. Additionally the researchers use randomization to eliminate the sources of bias found in treatment assignments as well as producing comparable groups (Bauchner & Fontanarosa, 2020). Through randomization, patients get equal chance of receiving all types of treatment in a study. In addition randomization forms the basis for statistical tests, eliminates selection bias and balance the participating groups with respect.

How a Researcher uses Control to Minimize Bias and Decrease Threats to Internal Validity in their Research Studies

Control refers to the effort used by the researcher to get rid of the influence caused by confounding and extraneous variable that may cause threats to internal validity. The researchers therefore use control to ensure all the varying factors that the factors the scientists are not interested in have no influence on the dependent variables in an experiment. In addition, controls are used in internal validity to ensure researchers make accurate claims about the independent variables impact (Hu & Zhong, 2019). Control in a research is very necessary since the researches use them to take corrective action, increase productivity, and monitor performance as well as detecting any possible irregularities and errors. Critical Thinking in Evidence Based Medicine Nursing .

ORDER A PLAGIARISM -FREE PAPER NOW

Ascertaining the truth about randomized clinical trials (RCT) providing the strongest level of evidence for an individual study when using an evidence-based model

Randomized clinical trials are rated the strongest in an evidence based model since they have less risk of systematic errors and they are also designed to be unbiased. Randomized clinical trials are the gold standard of a scientific evidence based model. RCTs are given a gold standard since they have a high potential of limiting all sorts of bias and they also have the highest evidence levels (Bauchner & Fontanarosa, 2020). Additionally, RCTs provide the trustworthy evidence that indicates efficiency of a study. The process involved when conducting a randomized clinical trial reduces the confounding factors risk that influence end results.Critical Thinking in Evidence Based Medicine Nursing .  The evidence generated in an experiment using randomized clinical trials is more supported since the results are accurate.

How researchers use Intervention Fidelity to Increase the Strength and Quality of the Evidence provided by the Findings of the Study

Intervention fidelity is the assurance that research groups, both control and experimental groups receive the instructions and interventions as per the study protocol description. A research study group that lacks intervention fidelity is a major threat to the sustenance of internal validity in a study (Walton, Spector, Tombor & Michie, 2017). The strength and quality of the evidence given by study findings is determined by the extent to which delivery of an intervention adheres to the original developed program model. In addition, intervention fidelity increases the significance of service administration, treatment effectiveness research as well as evaluation. Researchers use intervention fidelity to measure the fidelity of implementation through observation tool that help in assessing the quality of practice.

My Cosmic Question

What are the threats to internal validity?

References

Bauchner, H., & Fontanarosa, P. B. (2020). Randomized clinical trials and COVID-19:     managing expectations. Jama, 323(22), 2262-2263.

Hu, L., & Zhong, C. (2019). An internal validity index based on density-involved distance. IEEE             Access, 7, 40038-40051.

Walton, H., Spector, A., Tombor, I., & Michie, S. (2017). Measures of fidelity of delivery of,       and engagement with, complex, face‐to‐face health behavior change interventions: A   systematic review of measure quality. British Journal of Health Psychology, 22(4), 872- 903. Critical Thinking in Evidence Based Medicine Nursing.