Extraneous & dependent variables and levels of evidence discussion essay example
Answers to questions expected to be 150 words. Provide two or more references for each question using in-text citations and source referencing in APA 6th ed. formatting (see announcement on APA 6th ed. formatting). No title page or running header needed.
DQ #1
Extraneous variables may have an influence on the dependent variable. In what ways do researchers attempt to control extraneous variables? Support your answer with current literature.
DQ #2
Describe the levels of evidence and provide an example of the type of practice change that could result from each.
Discussion Questions
DQ #1: Extraneous variables may have an influence on the dependent variable. In what ways do researchers attempt to control extraneous variables? Support your answer with current literature.
Extraneous variables refer to factors that are not of interest to a research study but have an influence on the dependent variable. In an ideal research, any changes to the dependent variable should be attributed to the independent variable. As such, there is a need to control extraneous variables so that they do not influence the dependent variable and any changes will be attributed to the independent variable. Extraneous & dependent variables and levels of evidence discussion essay example. Control of extraneous variables reliable on the specific type of variable. Firstly, situational extraneous variables that include environmental aspects such as temperature and rain should be controlled by standardizing the experimental procedures. Secondly, participant extraneous variables that refer to the personal variability noted between participants such as intelligence and mood should be controlled using randomization of how participants are assigned into treatment groups. Thirdly, designing a control group. Finally, experimenter extraneous variable refers to the bias that an investigator can introduce into the research should controlled through independent verification of the research process and results by other experimenters (Hussain, 2014; Schutt, 2014). Applying the mentioned approaches will control the extraneous variables so that they have minimal or negligible effect on the dependent variable.
DQ #2: Describe the levels of evidence and provide an example of the type of practice change that could result from each.
Level of evidence is a scoring system assigned to studies that evaluates their applicability, validity and design quality. There are seven levels of evidence. Level I evidence refers to material from meta-analysis or systematic review of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and randomized controlled trials. This level of evidence is typically used to answer clinical questions on treatment, intervention and therapy harms or benefits. Level II evidence refers to material collected from at least a single well-designed randomized controlled trial. This level of evidence is typically used to answer clinical questions on screening, risk and etiology. Extraneous & dependent variables and levels of evidence discussion essay example. Level III evidence refers to material collected from well-designed non-randomized controlled trials. This level of evidence is used to answer clinical questions on diagnostic testing and diagnosis. Level IV evidence refers to material collected from well-designed cohort and case control studies. This level of evidence is used to answer clinical questions on prevention and prognosis. Level V evidence refers to material from systematic reviews of qualitative or descriptive studies. This level of evidence is used to answer clinical questions on values, beliefs, attitudes, lived experiences, and meaning. Level VI evidence refers to material from a single qualitative or descriptive study. This level of evidence is used to answer clinical questions on quality improvement. Level VII evidence refers to opinion from experts and authorities. There is no restriction on the type of clinical question that this level of evidence can answer, although it has the least value and is not considered authoritative (Dang & Dearholt, 2017; Greenhalgh, 2014). Extraneous & dependent variables and levels of evidence discussion essay example.
References
Dang, D. & Dearholt, S. (2017). Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice: Model and guideline (3rd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International.
Greenhalgh, T. (2014). How to Read a Paper: The basics of evidence-based medicine (5th ed.). Hoboken NJ: BMJ Publishing Group Limited.
Hussain, A. (2014). Experiments in Psychology. Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited.
Schutt, R. (2014). Investigating the Social World: The process and practice of research (8th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Extraneous & dependent variables and levels of evidence discussion essay example.
