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Questions and Answers

Answers to Topic #1:
Genes and Breast Cancer

 

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 When reading the article (see Topics for a listing of articles and how to get them) keep the following questions in mind.  After reading the article, try to answer them.  To see our answers, click on the Answer link to the left for the topic you chose.

Questions:

1. Purpose of the study

a. What was the reason for performing the study?

b. What were the research questions being asked?

2. Figuring out the study design

a. What type of study was performed and who were the participants?

b. How was the study population sampled (selected)?

c. Were there potential sources of selection bias?

d. Was there a control group?

e. Was randomization or matching used?

3. How things were measured and observed

a. What were the criteria for being a breast cancer case?

b. What measurements were taken?

c. How were the measurements made?

d. What methods were used to assess validity or reliability of the measurements?

4. Results--crunching the numbers

a. How are the data presented?

5. Conclusions--the take home message

a. What were the main conclusions?

b. Is the study significant?

c. Is the study generalizable or relevant to other populations?

d. What questions remain unresolved?