A researcher who has conducted experimental research finds that ...

[colton]

A researcher who has conducted experimental research finds that in his 145-person hospital study the patients who are ambulated on the evening of abdominal surgery are less likely than the control group to develop postoperative pneumonia.
 
  What does the researcher infer?
  a. The control group resembled the experimental group in all important characteristics.
  b. Early ambulation and pneumonia are strongly related.
  c. Evening-of-surgery ambulation will prevent some cases of postoperative pneumonia in abdominal surgery patients.
  d. Careful support of the abdomen is important for postoperative ambulation in patients who have had abdominal surgery.

Question 2

What are the purposes of completing a pilot study? (Select all that apply.)
 
  a. It provides nominal and ordinal data with which the researcher can construct better instruments.
  b. It helps identify problems the researcher might encounter while collecting data.
  c. It justifies the existence of a research gap.
  d. It gives the researcher preliminary data to present to the institutional review board in order to obtain permission to conduct research.
  e. It provides an idea of the timelines of the proposed study, including instrument completion and subject recruitment.

[aham8f]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: C
Statisticians use the term inference or infer in somewhat the same way that a researcher uses the term generalize. Inference requires the use of inductive reasoning. One infers from a specific case to a general truth, from a part to the whole, from the concrete to the abstract, from the known to the unknown. When using inferential reasoning, one can never prove things; one can never be certain. However, the rules that have been established with regard to statistical procedures so as to increase the probability that inferences are accurate. Inferences are made cautiously and with great care. Researchers use inferences to infer from the sample in their study to the larger population.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: B, E
Completing a pilot study may save the researcher difficulty later when the final steps of the research process are implemented. Pilot testing helps to identify problems that might be encountered while collecting data, and helps develop strategies for addressing potential problems. Following approval of the study by your institutional review board (IRB), the study's approved research plan is used to recruit 3 to 5 pilot subjects who meet the eligibility criteria. The same study data collection methods are utilized, paying special attention to how long it takes to recruit a subject, obtain informed consent, and collect the data. Often, the participant is asked to identify questions or aspects of the process that were unclear or confusing. Based on the pilot study and feedback of the first subjects, data collection forms and methods of data collection may be modified to improve feasibility, validity, and reliability.