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Evidence-Based Practice

Qualitative :: Quantitatve Research

Do you have trouble distinguishing between Qualitative research and Quantitative research? Take a look at the document below for help.

BEWARE ! Review Methodology Carefully

When searching for EVIDENCE in the literature, don't believe everything you see.

These next 2 articles focus on the autism / vaccine debate. The Wakefield article is the orignal article that ignited the debate. The second article is a scientific rebuttal based on epidemiological methodology. The Wakefield article was retracted in February 2010, but the debate continues.

Original research article:
Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children.
Wakefield, A. J., Murch, S. H., Anthony, A., et al. (1998).
Lancet, 351(9103), 637.

Rebuttal:
Vaccine adverse events: causal or coincidental?
Chen, R.T. & DeStefano, F. (1998). 
Lancet 351: 611-12.

Sensitivity / Specificity

When determining / measuring the accuracy of a tool, researchers must be aware of two gauges:

SENSITIVITY

Sensitivity represents the proportion of truly diseased persons in a screened population who are identified as being diseased by the test. It is a measure of the probability of correctly diagnosing a condition. (Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

[Also know as 'Recall Rate' or correctly identified positives]

SPECIFITY

Specificity is the proportion of truly nondiseased persons who are so identified by the screening test. It is a measure of the probability of correctly identifying a nondiseased person. (Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

[identified negatives]

EBP Delima

EBP Delimma CINAHL Venn diagram
Pravikoff, D.S. (2004) The Evidence-Based Practice Dilemma. CINAHLnews 23(1):6-7
"Teaching the Clinician to Fish" PowerPoint