EVIDENCE-BASED PHYSICAL THERAPY · FOUNDATIONS PRACTICE · CHAPTERS 1–2
Can You Spot a Weak Research Conclusion?
How to use: Choose an option, then tap it once to reveal the reasoning. Nothing is scored or stored. If you miss a question, read why the better option fits before moving on.
Three practical research decisions: refine the question, identify what a design can answer, and avoid drawing a conclusion the methods cannot support.
1. A student asks, ‘What’s the best treatment for all shoulder pain?’ Which revision best helps plan a search?
A. Add more broad words but leave the population and outcome undefined.
Revisit your choice
A larger vague search is not automatically a better answer to a clinical decision.
Best answer: C. Specify the patient group, intervention or exposure, comparison and functional outcome.
Take it with you: Start from a decision and a meaningful outcome, not from the paper you hope to find.
B. Search only for articles that recommend the treatment the student already likes.
Revisit your choice
That invites confirmation bias and still fails to define the clinical question.
Best answer: C. Specify the patient group, intervention or exposure, comparison and functional outcome.
Take it with you: Start from a decision and a meaningful outcome, not from the paper you hope to find.
C. Specify the patient group, intervention or exposure, comparison and functional outcome.
Best answer
Correct. PICO or a related question framework makes the clinical decision searchable and helps check applicability.
Take it with you: Start from a decision and a meaningful outcome, not from the paper you hope to find.
2. A study follows people after an injury and estimates recovery at six months. Which question does this directly address?
A. Prognosis.
Best answer
Correct. It follows outcomes over time. It does not by itself prove that a treatment caused recovery.
Take it with you: The question guides the study design, and the design limits the conclusion.
B. Diagnostic test accuracy.
Revisit your choice
That generally requires comparing a test against an appropriate reference standard.
Best answer: A. Prognosis.
Take it with you: The question guides the study design, and the design limits the conclusion.
C. Randomized intervention effect.
Revisit your choice
A followed cohort without treatment allocation does not provide the same causal comparison as a randomized treatment study.
Best answer: A. Prognosis.
Take it with you: The question guides the study design, and the design limits the conclusion.
3. A cross-sectional study finds that pain and weakness are associated. What conclusion is justified by that design alone?
A. Weakness definitely caused the pain.
Revisit your choice
Causal direction and confounding have not been established.
Best answer: B. They were associated in the observed sample; cause and sequence remain uncertain.
Take it with you: Good critical appraisal starts by saying what the study did—not what you wish it had done.
B. They were associated in the observed sample; cause and sequence remain uncertain.
Best answer
Correct. The snapshot may identify a relationship, but it does not establish which came first or whether a third factor matters.
Take it with you: Good critical appraisal starts by saying what the study did—not what you wish it had done.
C. No meaningful relationship can ever be found in cross-sectional research.
Revisit your choice
Cross-sectional studies can identify useful associations or prevalence; the limitation is causal interpretation.
Best answer: B. They were associated in the observed sample; cause and sequence remain uncertain.
Take it with you: Good critical appraisal starts by saying what the study did—not what you wish it had done.
Where to go next
Review foreground clinical questions, PICO, diagnosis/prognosis/intervention designs and the distinction between study labels and validity.
Original teaching questions derived from my Evidence-Based PT lectures Chapters 1–5 and 21. These are not standardized NPTE questions and do not certify research-appraisal competency.
From My PT School Notes · Original student concept checks. Answers are not collected or scored.
