Module 10: Research Criteria, Screening And Data Extraction

Research criteria is indeed a part of the protocol of any study. The protocol of a study outlines the specific procedures, methods, and guidelines that will be followed in order to conduct the research. Research criteria, also known as inclusion and exclusion criteria, are used to determine the characteristics or conditions that potential participants must meet in order to be included in the study. These criteria help ensure that the study sample is representative and that the results are valid and reliable. Therefore, it is true that research criteria are a part of the protocol of any study.

The study criteria include both inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria are the specific characteristics or conditions that participants must have in order to be included in the study. Exclusion criteria, on the other hand, are the specific characteristics or conditions that would disqualify individuals from participating in the study. These criteria help researchers ensure that the participants chosen for the study meet certain requirements and that the study results are valid and applicable to the target population.

Screening is the process of identifying and selecting relevant articles that are related to a research question. It involves reviewing the titles, abstracts, and sometimes full texts of articles to determine their relevance to the research topic. By screening, researchers can narrow down the pool of articles and focus on those that are most pertinent to their study. Therefore, the statement "Screening means identify the relevant articles to your research question" is true.

Tables of any study are an important source for the data needed in meta-analysis because they provide a concise and organized presentation of the study's findings. These tables often include key information such as sample sizes, effect sizes, and statistical significance, which are crucial for conducting a meta-analysis. By including data from various studies' tables, researchers can analyze and synthesize the findings to draw more robust conclusions and make evidence-based decisions. Therefore, tables play a vital role in providing the necessary data for meta-analyses.

The PRISMA checklist is a tool used for conducting and reporting systematic reviews. It consists of several criteria that researchers need to follow to ensure the quality and transparency of their systematic review. One of the checklist points is the systematic review criteria, which means that the review should adhere to specific guidelines and standards for conducting a systematic review. Therefore, the statement "Systematic review criteria is one of the PRISMA checklist points" is true.

The correct answer is "All of the above" because the question asks for the data extracted from relevant articles, and all three options (sample size, continuous outcomes, and categorical outcomes) are commonly extracted and reported in research articles.

The given statement is false. Screening does not only include one step, which is "Title and abstract screening." Screening typically involves multiple steps, such as title and abstract screening, full-text screening, and possibly additional steps like quality assessment or data extraction. Therefore, the correct answer is False.

The correct answer is "Title and abstract screening, Full text screening". Screening in research refers to the process of reviewing and evaluating the relevance and suitability of articles or studies for inclusion in a systematic review or meta-analysis. Title and abstract screening involves quickly scanning the titles and abstracts of articles to determine if they meet the inclusion criteria. Full text screening is the next step, where the full articles are assessed in detail to determine if they meet the eligibility criteria. Both steps are essential in the screening process to ensure that only relevant studies are included in the review.

Data is usually extracted from the Method and Result sections of an article. The Method section provides information about the research design, data collection methods, and procedures used in the study. This is where researchers explain how they gathered and analyzed the data. The Result section presents the findings of the study, including any statistical analyses and data visualizations. This section provides the raw data and the interpretation of the results. Therefore, these two sections are the primary sources for extracting data from an article.

The correct answer is "All of the above." In systematic reviews and meta-analyses, exclusion criteria are used to determine which studies should be included in the analysis. Abstract only articles, non-full text available articles, and articles with data that can't be reliably extracted are all common exclusion criteria. Abstract only articles may not provide enough information for a thorough analysis, non-full text available articles may not have all the necessary data, and articles with unreliable data cannot be used to draw accurate conclusions. Therefore, all of these options are valid reasons for excluding studies from the analysis.