Designing research: ex post facto designs.

The research design is the overall plan or structure of the study. The goal of a good research design is to insure internal validity and answer the question being asked. The only clear rule in selecting a design is that the question dictates the design.

Reading research critically: results-group data II.

The readers of this journal are frequently confronted with statistical analysis that includes analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). This article discusses what the authors are really telling you when they use these techniques.

[Discitis in childhood: integrated neuroradiological imaging in diagnosis and follow-up study of one case].

Discitis is an inflammatory disease of the intervertebral disc which has usually a benign evolution in childhood. It often recognizes an infectious etiology. Still discussed however is the possibility of a primitive discal involvement (not secondary to a vertebral inflammation) or of a non infectious etiology and the subsequent more correct diagnostic-therapeutic procedures.

Research: doing it right the first time.

This manuscript presents the beginning portions of a research project as well as a critique of the design and methods. Although it is not a complete proposal, this article may given those readers who are thinking of doing research some idea of how easy it is to make fatal flaws in the design of a project. Suggestions for how a research novice might avoid these classic mistakes are made.

Autosomal recessive severe dwarfism in a Sicilian girl: a new form of osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism?

A new type of osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism is delineated in a 5-year-old female child with severe growth retardation of prenatal onset, gross skeletal changes, a non-Seckel facial phenotype, and presumed autosomal recessive inheritance.

Reading research critically: the discussion section.

The discussion section of a research manuscript is the last thing we read and often the section that leaves the most lasting impression. It is important to know what to reasonably expect to be in the discussion section. This article presents the areas that are usually covered.

[Pulmonary hypertension caused by a severe scoliosis. Description of a case].

Background: Pulmonary hypertension in childhood is uncommon. It can be idiopathic or secondary to other pathologies (cardiovascular, skeletric,..

Reading research critically: results--group data.

The article explains what to look for when an investigator compares data from two distinct groups. The most common statistical methods of doing these evaluations are the chi-square test and the t test. Both tests are explained.

Lymphoproliferative disorders in Sotos syndrome: observation of two cases.

Sotos syndrome is included among the overgrowth disorders, most of which have an increased risk of neoplasms. Sotos syndrome does not appear to be related to a specific tumor type, but rather to the development of solid tumors of ectodermal or mesodermal origin in general. We report on two Sotos syndrome patients who developed a non-Hodgkin lymphoma and an acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, respectively.

[Evaluation of IGF1 and IGFBP3 during diet therapy in patients with food allergy with complex nutritional risk].

The seric levels of IGF1 and IGFBP3 and their molar ratio, together with clinical and auxological parameters, have been evaluated in 16 patients (8 males and 8 females), of average age of 11.6 +/- 8.66 months, who were suffering from complex food allergy and were subjected to a balanced diet will excluded the "offending" food.

Inferring causality.

The goal of research is to discover new knowledge to improve patient care. Research is essential because of its ability to establish causal relationships. This article discusses the minimum requirements a research report must meet to establish a causal relationship.

Conducting research: getting started.

This article presents issues to be considered when planning to conduct research, specifically ways to avoid critical errors in writing the research proposal. It concludes with an outline for writing research proposals.

Reading research critically: results: multiple regression analysis.

Multiple regression is an analysis tool used much more frequently than bivariate regression analysis in the research we are reading. This article is designed to help the reader understand multiple regression analysis and confidence intervals.

Reading research critically: results--bivariate regression analysis.

Regression is an analysis tool used in much of the research we read, and the terminology can be daunting. In reality, bivariate regression analysis is simply an extension of correlational analysis. This article was written to help the reader understand bivariate regression analysis.

[Congenital adrenal hypoplasia and hearing loss. A case report].

We report on the diagnostics, the therapeutics and the follow-up (to 3 years and 5 months) of a newborn affected by X-linked congenital adrenal hypoplasia. After the beginning of substitute hormonal therapy, the patient underwent periodical clinical examinations, with particular attention to the growth, and laboratory tests, which monitored the hormonal pattern. This experience points out the diagnostic role of low maternal levels of urinary estriol during pregnancy and the importance of a prolonged follow-up, so as to discover associated pathologies as early as possible.

Investigating the reliability and validity of the infrared tympanic thermometer: a learning experience.

This series of articles to date has discussed points that readers should be looking for when reading and critiquing a researcher article. This article presents a brief report of a research project investigating the reliability and validity of the infrared tympanic thermometer (ITT) in afebrile subjects. Using four subjects and 40 temperature diads, the ability of the ITT to predict the subjects' temperatures obtained with a mercury thermometer was very poor (regression coefficient = .

Reading research critically: results using correlation coefficients.

Statistical tests you have heard of, designed primarily to characterize relationships between and among variables within a data set, are correlations and regressions. Tests designed to analyze the difference among groups on a particular variable are the chi-squared test, the Student's t Test, and the analysis of variance. This article will explain the interpretation of simple relationships in research data, specifically correlations.

Reading research critically: results--Part 1.

Nurses in PACUS as well as other areas of nursing are increasingly being asked to incorporate research into their clinical practices. Unfortunately, many nurses have limited formal education in research and are not adequately prepared to critically analyze the quality of the research they are reading. This is especially true when it comes to the statistical analysis section of the published research report.

Reading research critically: assessing the validity and reliability of research instrumentation--Part 2.

Accurate measurement of research variables is necessary so that research consumers can trust that it is the research intervention that affected the change in the outcome variable, not some extraneous error component. Reliability is the accuracy with which the research instruments measure the variable that they are designed to measure. A number of known threats to instrument reliability should be anticipated by the researcher and looked for the consumer.

Reading research critically: assessing the validity and reliability of research instrumentation--Part 1.

Meaningful measurement of events in a research study depends on the use of valid and reliable measurement tools. This article discusses the nature of validity, types of validity, and how researchers demonstrate the validity of their instruments to the reader.

Reading research critically: statistical significance.

Statistical significance pertains to the probability that a finding of difference between two groups in a study has occurred by chance. Unfortunately, statistical significance often is confused with significance. This article discusses the meaning of statistical significance, how it differs from significance, and when it can be misleading.

Reading research critically: threats to internal validity.

Internal validity refers to the extent to which it is possible to attribute the change in the dependent or outcome variable in a study to manipulation in the independent variable. This article will discuss the frequent threats to internal validity and how to recognize them.

Reading research critically: the review of the literature.

Postanesthesia nurses are being asked to incorporate research into their clinical practices. Unfortunately, many nurses are not adequately prepared to critically analyze the quality of the research they are reading. This article, which provides hints for reading review of the literature, is the first of a series regarding reading research critically.

New syndrome: autosomal dominant microcephaly and radio-ulnar synostosis.

To date, the combination of microcephaly and radio-ulnar synostosis has not been recognized as a distinct clinical and genetic entity. We report on 4 familial cases with this previously undescribed combination of defects, showing autosomal dominant inheritance (Fig. 1).