Topic 2B: Research Questions; Ethics in Research

Readings recap

This week’s computer lab is based on the Topic 2B lecture , where we discussed research questions (RQs), as well as ethics in research. If you did not attend the lecture and have not yet reviewed the recording, you can review the slides here .

0.1 Types of research questions

🏡 Consider the following research questions and for each, identify whether they are Descriptive, Relational, or Interventional:

  1. Among Australian upper-limb amputees, is the percentage wearing prosthesis ‘all the time’ the same for transradial and transhumeral amputations? (Davidson 2002) 💬
  2. In New York, what is the difference between the average height of oaks trees ten weeks after planting, comparing trees planted in a concrete sidewalk and a grassed sidewalk? (Grabosky and Bassuk 2016) 💬
  3. What is the average response time of paramedics to emergency calls? (Pons et al. 2005) 💬
  4. Is there a relationship between the average weekly hours of physical activity in children and the weekly maximum temperature? (Edwards et al. 2015) 💬

Peter K. Dunn, 2021: BY-NC-SA. Used by permission.

0.2 Research questions activity

🏡 Carry out the following activity to see another worked example of a research question. Towards the end (Slide 9), there will be three questions for you to answer.

Peter K. Dunn, 2021: BY-NC-SA. Used by permission.

0.3 Ethics recap

🏡 For a short recap on ethics in research, answer the following questions:

Peter K. Dunn, 2021: BY-NC-SA. Used by permission.

1 Research Questions: Exercises

💡 To further consolidate your knowledge about research questions, carry out the exercises found in this topic’s readings.


🏡

2 Ethics in Research: Exercises

2.1 Discussion questions

🏡To further consolidate your knowledge about ethics in research, carry out the exercises found in this topic’s readings.

Discuss the questions with others in your class.

🎧 Online students 💬 Indicate in the chat one possible advantage and one possible disadvantage of using placebos in medical research.

2.2 Using statistics to bend the truth

🏡 This video (SciToons 2019) discusses data visualisation and manipulation. After watching the video , answer the following question:

  • Name four ways data can be manipulated to misrepresent the truth.
🎧 Online students 💬 Specify in the chat one or two possible ways in which data can be manipulated to misrepresent the truth.

References

Davidson, Judith. 2002. “A Survey of the Satisfaction of Upper Limb Amputees with Their Prostheses, Their Lifestyles, and Their Abilities.” Journal of Hand Therapy 15 (1): 62–70.
Edwards, Nicholas M., Gregory D. Myer, Heidi J. Kalkwarf, Jessica G. Woo, Philip R. Khoury, Timothy E. Hewett, and Stephen R. Daniels. 2015. “Outdoor Temperature, Precipitation, and Wind Speed Affect Physical Activity Levels in Children: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.” Journal of Physical Activity and Health 12 (8): 1074–81.
Grabosky, J., and N. Bassuk. 2016. “Seventeen Years’ Growth of Street Trees in Structural Soil Compared with a Tree Lawn in New York City.” Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 16: 103–9.
Pons, Peter T., Jason S. Haukoos, Whitney Bludworth, Thomas Cribley, Kathryn A. Pons, and Vincent J. Markovchick. 2005. “Paramedic Response Time: Does It Affect Patient Survival?” Academic Emergency Medicine 12 (7): 594–600.
SciToons. 2019. “Data Visualisation and Manipulation.” Youtube. 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-rDVXVwW9s.


These notes have been prepared by Amanda Shaker. The copyright for the material in these notes resides with the authors named above, with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and with La Trobe University. Copyright in this work is vested in La Trobe University including all La Trobe University branding and naming. Unless otherwise stated, material within this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Non Derivatives License BY-NC-ND.