Research Approaches and Designs 15. Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Dental Public Health & Research: Contemporary Practice

Research Approaches and Designs

15

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education,

Inc.All rights reserved

Dental Public Health & Research: Contemporary Practice for the Dental Hygienist, 3/eChristine Nielsen Nathe

After studying this chapter, the dental hygiene student should be able to:

Describe and compare the various research approaches.

Describe various research designs used in oral epidemiology.

Describe the methods used to conduct research studies.

List the parts of a research design.

Objectives




After studying this chapter and participating in accompanying course activities, the dental hygiene student should be competent to do the following:

Use evidence-based decision making to evaluate and incorporate emerging treatment modalities.

Assume responsibility for dental hygiene actions and care based on accepted scientific theories and research as well as the accepted standard of care.

Competencies




A pilot study is a small version of a proposed study, and is carried out on a small, sometimes intentionally chosen sample. It is a way of working out unforeseen errors in the overall plan for conducting a study, which is called the research design, by doing a trial run.

Types of Research







Descriptive research: the attempt to identify and describe what the topic being researched is.

Analytic research attempts to establish why it is that way and how it came to be that way.

Analytical research may test a hypothesis about the relationship of an exposure to a disease.

Research




Studies using the historical approach are designed to determine the meaning of past events through a review of records and literature and the use of interviews. Historical studies help to establish the incidence and prevalence of a disease in a population over time.

Historical Approach


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Education, Inc.All rights reserved










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The descriptive approach includes a variety of studies, including surveys, case studies, developmental studies, document analysis, trend studies, and correlational studies.

Descriptive studies use the survey method to describe the presence and distribution of a disease or health condition in a population or sample.

Descriptive Approach




Survey research Case study Case series

Descriptive Approach (cont'd)




Developmental studies Cross-sectional studies Cohort studies Longitudinal studies





Document or content analysis Trend studies Correlational research





A retrospective study looks at a group of people with the disease in the past or present. Usually, this type of research is conducted via medical records.

In a case-control study, two groups are compared.

Retrospective Approach




An ecologic study also attempts to relate the outcome with exposure to a suspected risk factor, but does so using existing data that are available for the population rather than measuring the exposure and the outcome in the same group.

Retrospective Approach (cont'd)




Experimental research, also known as clinical trials, is probably the research most familiar to the lay person. In this type of research, an experimental treatment or intervention, called the dependent variable, is studied in a group of people or animals.

Experimental Approach




The dependent variable may be a new drug or surgical procedure; it is the outcome being studied. The variables that may influence or impact the dependent variable (the outcome) are called independent variables.

Experimental Approach (cont'd)







Placebo Blind study Double-blind study Bias Examiner calibration

Interexaminer Intraexaminer





Crossover design Washout period Split-mouth design





FIGURE 15-1 Quasi-Experimental and Experimental Study DesignsSource: Adapted from Darby, M. L., & Bowen, D. M. Research methods for oral health professionals: An introduction. St. Louis, MO: C. V. Mosby, 1980. Reprinted by J. T. K. McCann Co., Pocatello, ID, 1993.




A quasi-experimental approach is an experimental study that lacks inherent control. Results may be used when planning further studies. There are instances when the quasi-experimental approach is used because use of a control is not practical or necessary.

Quasi-Experimental Approach




Research Historical Descriptive Retrospective Experimental Quasi-experimental

Summary

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Research Approaches and Designs 15. Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Dental Public Health & Research: Contemporary Practice