Research Methods & Evidence-Based Practice Flashcards
7 cards from real CLC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Research Methods & Evidence-Based Practice flashcards as text
A laboratory quality study uses a Likert scale survey to assess staff satisfaction with a new LIS. What type of data does a 5-point Likert scale produce?
Answer: Ordinal data
Likert scale data are ordinal because responses have a meaningful order but the intervals between categories cannot be assumed equal.
Which of the following confounding control strategies is exclusively available at the study design phase rather than the analysis phase?
Answer: Restriction
Restriction limits enrollment to a specific subgroup at design, preventing confounding from that variable entirely, unlike post-hoc analytical methods.
A laboratory research team calculates a 95% confidence interval of (1.2 – 4.8) for a relative risk. What can be concluded?
Answer: There is a statistically significant increased risk since the interval does not include 1.0
A 95% CI for relative risk that excludes 1.0 indicates a statistically significant association at the 0.05 level.
In LEAN methodology applied to laboratory workflow, 'Muda' refers to:
Answer: Any activity that does not add value and should be eliminated
Muda is the Japanese term for waste in Lean methodology, representing non-value-adding activities such as waiting, overproduction, or unnecessary motion.
A laboratory implements a Six Sigma quality program. A process with a sigma level of 6 is expected to produce how many defects per million opportunities?
Answer: 3.4
A Six Sigma process produces no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities, representing near-perfect quality.
When a laboratory study reports a statistically significant difference but the clinical team considers the magnitude unimportant, this discrepancy reflects:
Answer: The distinction between statistical significance and clinical relevance
Statistical significance indicates a difference is unlikely due to chance, but clinical significance requires that the magnitude of change meaningfully impacts patient care.
A laboratory benchmarking project compares TAT metrics across 15 peer institutions. Which type of study design does this represent?
Answer: Cross-sectional descriptive study
Benchmarking that captures data at a single point in time across multiple sites is a cross-sectional descriptive study design.