Study Types and Research Design

MCAT Basics (from MedSchoolCoach)

MedSchoolCoach

Science

4.6 • 612 Ratings

🗓️ 28 November 2024

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Understanding study design and research variables is crucial for mastering the MCAT and in medical research.

In this episode, host Sam Smith discusses the essentials of study design and research methods, from understanding independent and dependent variables to navigating the complexities of correlation, causation, and confounding variables. You’ll learn about the different types of studies, including experimental, observational, case-control, and cohort designs, and how they apply to MCAT questions. Plus, we’ll explore odds ratios, study validity, and the importance of specificity and sensitivity in diagnostic tests. This episode also covers common study limitations and biases, helping you sharpen your critical thinking skills for exam day.

Visit MedSchoolCoach.com for more help with the MCAT.

Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Intro

(01:22) Types of variables seen in studies

(03:10) Correlation and Pearson correlation coefficient

(05:38) Causation vs. correlation

(07:16) Confounding variables: Examples and impact

(08:55) Odds ratio and study applications

(11:00) Validities in experiments

(16:20) Specificity vs. sensitivity in diagnostic tests

(19:13) Types of studies: Experimental and observational

(31:32) Single blind vs. double blind studies

(32:58) Randomized controlled trials (RCTs)

(35:57) Research limitations and study bias

(45:39) MCAT Advice of the Day

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to MCAT Basics, your ultimate guide to the essential topics you need to master for the MCAT,
0:07.0	brought to you by the physicians at Med School Coach.
0:10.0	Every week, Sam Smith breaks down high-yield MCAT topics, ensuring you're primed for success on test day.
0:17.0	Join Sam as we explore the most crucial subjects outlined by the AAMC, pulled from official practice materials and third-party resources.
0:25.0	Get ready to elevate your MCAT game with topics tailored to maximize your score potential.
0:30.3	Hello, I'm Sam Smith.
0:32.6	This podcast covers types of studies and research design.
0:36.1	I'm going to go over the different types of variables
0:38.7	that you'll see in studies, as well as some terms you'll see on the MCAD that are relating to study
0:42.8	design. This will include things like the six different types of validity and confounding variables.
0:49.2	And then I'll go on and I'll start talking about the different kinds of studies. And this is
0:53.7	going to be things
0:54.2	like observational studies, cross-sectional studies, cohort studies, experimental, et cetera. And then lastly,
1:01.6	I'm going to touch on study limitations and bias. In my opinion, that's a very big part of the
1:07.7	MCAT. They love to ask questions about, you know, what are the limitations of
1:10.9	this study? Where did this researcher have bias? What was this bias called? So that's huge.
1:16.3	And this material will show up on three out of the four MCAT sections. This will include
1:20.6	chemical and physical foundations of biological systems, biological and biochemical foundations
1:25.2	of living systems. And lastly, psychological, social, and
1:29.2	biological foundations of behavior. And it will mostly show up on that psych-soci part. So just keep
1:34.3	note of that.
1:40.3	So the first thing I want to talk about are study variables. The most important variables to know here are the independent variable and the dependent variable.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from MedSchoolCoach, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of MedSchoolCoach and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.