This guide is an introduction to finding key resources for your research. In it, we will examine how to identify and locate the following resources: Controlled trials, research instruments, and systematic reviews. We will also explore key terms to help you better understand different research methods.
"A work that reports on a clinical trial involving one or more test treatments, at least one control treatment, specified outcome measures for evaluating the studied intervention, and a bias-free method for assigning patients to the test treatment. The treatment may be drugs, devices, or procedures studied for diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic effectiveness. Control measures include placebos, active medicine, no-treatment, dosage forms and regimens, historical comparisons, etc. When randomization using mathematical techniques, such as the use of a random numbers table, is employed to assign patients to test or control treatments, the trial is characterized as a RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL." (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/68018848)
"Research in which quantitative data (usually generated via close-ended questions or items) and qualitative data (usually understood to result from open-ended queries) are integrated and interpreted to address research questions." (http://carlow.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1413747&site=ehost-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_7)
"Qualitative data are data representing information and concepts that are not represented by numbers. They are often gathered from interviews and focus groups, personal diaries and lab notebooks, maps, photographs, and other printed materials or observations. Qualitative data are distinguished from quantitative data, which focus primarily on data that can be represented with numbers.
Qualitative data can be analyzed in multiple ways. One common method is data coding, which refers to the process of transforming the raw collected data into a set of meaningful categories that describe essential concepts of the data. Qualitative data and methods may be used more frequently in humanities or social science research and may be collected in descriptive studies." (https://www.nnlm.gov/guides/data-glossary/qualitative-data)
"Quantitative data are data represented numerically, including anything that can be counted, measured, or given a numerical value. Quantitative data can be classified in different ways, including categorical data that contain categories or groups (like countries), discrete data that can be counted in whole numbers (like the number of students in a class), and continuous data that is a value in a range (like height or temperature). Quantitative data are typically analyzed with statistics." (https://www.nnlm.gov/guides/data-glossary/quantitative-data)
"Instrumentation refers to the tools or means by which investigators attempt to measure variables or items of interest in the data-collection process. It is related not only to instrument design, selection, construction, and assessment, but also the to conditions under which the designated instruments are administered—the instrument is the device used by investigators for collecting data. In addition, during the process of data collection, investigators might fail to recognize that changes in the calibration of the measuring instrument(s) can lead to biased results. Therefore, instrumentation is also a specific term with respect to a threat to internal validity in research." (https://
"A review of primary literature in health and health policy that attempts to identify, appraise, and synthesize all the empirical evidence that meets specified eligibility criteria to answer a given research question. Its conduct uses explicit methods aimed at minimizing bias in order to produce more reliable findings regarding the effects of interventions for prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation that can be used to inform decision making." (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2028176)