HBS108 (Topic 8.4 Statistical inference and hypothesis testing: Conf) Mind Map on P-values, Generalisability, Study Limits, created by shirley.ha on 16/09/2013.
allow the researchers to formally test their null
hypothesis and to demonstrate the strength of that
evidence in any publication.
In many cases, a research finding is not always
accepted from one published article based on a single
study.
many other researchers will retest the null
hypothesis
using perhaps stronger or more powerful studies in order
to improve the level of evidence
until there are a number of published articles from various types
of studies before clinicians will change their practices and adopt
the findings from the published research. This
important that researchers
published fully transparent results
from their research.
Subsequent researchers will re-test
the null hypothesis using the earlier
studies to improve their own
research into the same health
problem.
Generalisability
is the extent to which research findings and
conclusions from a study conducted on a sample
population can be applied to the population at large.
The first step to check generalisability is to ensure that the result was statistically significant
aka The first step to check
generalisability is to ensure that the
result was statistically significant
Study validity
the degree to which an inference from a scientific
study is warranted,
taking into the account the strengths and
weaknesses of the study design.
Internal validity
the degree to which observations taken during the
study may be attributed solely to the hypothesized
effect that is being studied
External validity
is the extent to which the finding of a study
can be generalised from the results from
the sample being studied, to the population
from which the sample was taken.
Important note
The results of any study may not be generalisable to all patients outside the study setting
example, when researchers conduct an RCT, they usually
address the question of whether a treatment can work (efficacy)
but may not tell us about whether the treatment will be effective
when offered to the broad range of patients seen in day-to-day
clinical practice.
Study Limitations
The researchers should always point out the shortcomings of
the study, especially those that affect the conclusions drawn
then "defend" the results and conclusions drawn in light of these limitations.
You need to assess whether or not these limitations damage the overall nature of study findings?
limitations
might relate to the overall study
design, the response rate, the
characteristics of the sample
etc.
The limitations might affect the
degree to which the results can
really be generalised to the
target populations from which
the study sample was drawn.