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Related Concept Videos

Archival Research01:40

Archival Research

Some researchers gain access to large amounts of data without interacting with a single research participant. Instead, they use existing records to answer various research questions. This type of research approach is known as archival research. Archival research relies on looking at past records or data sets to look for interesting patterns or relationships. For example, a researcher might access the academic records of all individuals who enrolled in college within the past ten years and...
Ethics in Research01:56

Ethics in Research

Today, scientists agree that good research is ethical in nature and is guided by a basic respect for human dignity and safety. However, this has not always been the case. Modern researchers must demonstrate that the research they perform is ethically sound.
Bias01:22

Bias

Bias refers to any tendency that prevents a question from being considered unprejudiced. In research, bias occurs when one outcome or answer is selected or encouraged over others in sampling or testing. Bias can occur during any research phase, including study design, data collection, analysis, and publication.
In statistics, a sampling bias is created when a sample is collected from a population, and some members of the population are not as likely to be chosen as others (remember, each member...
Surveys02:16

Surveys

Often, psychologists develop surveys as a means of gathering data. Surveys are lists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be delivered as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally. Generally, the survey itself can be completed in a short time, and the ease of administering a survey makes it easy to collect data from a large number of people.
Naturalistic Observations02:30

Naturalistic Observations

If you want to understand how behavior occurs, one of the best ways to gain information is to simply observe the behavior in its natural context. However, people might change their behavior in unexpected ways if they know they are being observed. How do researchers obtain accurate information when people tend to hide their natural behavior? As an example, imagine that your professor asks everyone in your class to raise their hand if they always wash their hands after using the restroom. Chances...
Observational Studies01:11

Observational Studies

Observational studies are a type of analytical study where researchers observe events without any interventions. In other words, the researcher does not influence the response variable or the experiment's outcome.
There are three types of observational studies – Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional.
Prospective Study
Prospective studies, also known as longitudinal or cohort studies, are carried out by collecting future data from groups sharing similar characteristics. One example of...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Advancing Dyslexia Assessment in Children Through Computerized Testing
09:00

Advancing Dyslexia Assessment in Children Through Computerized Testing

Published on: August 16, 2024

Audit and research: similarities and differences.

Dinah Gould1

  • 1City University London. D.Gould@city.ac.uk

Nursing Standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987)
|September 4, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Healthcare audits are crucial for quality assurance, yet misunderstandings persist regarding their purpose and limitations compared to research. This article clarifies the distinct features and relationship between audit and research in healthcare settings.

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Last Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Advancing Dyslexia Assessment in Children Through Computerized Testing
09:00

Advancing Dyslexia Assessment in Children Through Computerized Testing

Published on: August 16, 2024

Area of Science:

  • Healthcare Quality Assurance
  • Medical Auditing
  • Clinical Research Methodology

Background:

  • Healthcare audit is vital for quality assurance.
  • Misconceptions exist regarding audit's purpose, use, and limitations.
  • The distinction between audit and research findings is often unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the key features differentiating audit and research.
  • To discuss the defining characteristics of both audit and research.
  • To clarify the relationship between healthcare audit and research.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of audit and research principles.
  • Literature review on quality assurance in healthcare.
  • Discussion of methodological distinctions.

Main Results:

  • Audit focuses on adherence to standards and quality improvement.
  • Research aims to generate new knowledge and understanding.
  • Key differences lie in objectives, scope, and application of findings.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding the distinct roles of audit and research is essential for effective healthcare quality assurance.
  • Clearer definitions can prevent misuse and misinterpretation of audit findings.
  • Both activities are valuable but serve different primary purposes in healthcare.