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Biomedical subjects

K Higgins

Publications and source records attributed to K Higgins.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Identification of meta-analyses. The need for standard terminology.

Our efforts to identify published articles describing meta-analyses of clinical trials illustrate the need for standard terminology to facilitate retrieval. We found 119 articles describing meta-analyses and eligible for inclusion in MEDLINE, and yet when we searched MEDLINE, using strategies based on textwords and medical subject headings (MeSH), only 48% of the 119 articles were identified. Sixty-eight (57%) of the 119 articles contained at least one of the terms "meta-analysis," "pooling," or "overview" in the title or abstract. The importance of meta-analyses in the evaluation of medical treatments argues for more disciplined use of a specific term in order to facilitate identification of articles. The fact that the National Library of Medicine has started in 1989 to index articles describing meta-analyses using the MeSH META-ANALYSIS underscores this argument.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

Hypertext computer study guides and the social studies achievement of students with learning disabilities, remedial students, and regular education students.

Hypertext is a relatively new term for today's teachers, who work hard to stay abreast of the quickly changing field of computer technology in education. Hypertext as an educational tool is very different from traditional computer-assisted instructional software, offering the reader immediate access through its computer format to supplemental information. Two related studies were conducted to design and field-test hypertext computer study guides. In Study 1, 40 students (10 with learning disabilities, 15 remedial, and 15 regular education) worked in three different treatment groups (lecture, lecture/computer study guide, and computer study guide). Study 2 involved the five lowest achieving students (two with learning disabilities and three remedial) from Study 1 in an A-B-A design. Results indicated that (a) the computer study guide treatment was as effective as lecture, (b) the lecture/computer study guide treatment was as effective as lecture, (c) posttest scores were higher for the computer study guide group, and (d) retention test scores were higher for the computer study guide group.

Achievement↗

Content of reports on clinical trials: a critical review.

A 10% sample of English language papers, published in 1980, listed in Index Medicus, and classified under the heading, Clinical Trials, was used to assess the state of trials and reports from them. Tabulations are presented concerning the design of the trials represented by the papers in the sample. The manuscript concludes with a discussion of reporting responsibilities for investigators involved in trials and of methods for meeting those responsibilities.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

The effect of motivation on loose thinking in schizophrenics as measured by the Bannister-Fransella Grid Test.

Administered the Bannister-Fransella Grid Test of Schizophrenic Thought Disorder to 40 male schizophrenics. Half of them received a monetary reward for their performance, and half did not. The efficacy of this motivation-enhancing manipulation was verified by the fact that the group that was working for the money completed a card sorting task significantly faster than the group that received no compensation. However, the former group also exhibited more thought disorder on the grid test. The results were interpreted in terms of drive theory. It was argued that the rewarded group was more motivated and therefore more highly aroused and that this high arousal level disrupted performance on the more complex task. The findings do not support the hypothesis that lack of motivation contributes to schizophrenic cognitive deficit.

Arousal↗

The inventory of functional status-antepartum period. Development and testing.

The Inventory of Functional Status-Antepartum Period (IFSAP) includes six subscales measuring the extent to which a pregnant woman continues her usual household, social and community, childcare, personal care, occupational, and educational activities. Content validity was established at 94.4%. Reliability testing used a sample of 192 pregnant women. Internal consistency reliability using average correlations for the subscale item to subscale total scores ranged from .57 to .87. Subscale to total IFSAP score correlations ranged from .53 to .90. Test-retest reliability used a subsample of 21 pregnant women. The coefficients ranged from .27 to .93. Initial construct validity testing was accomplished by examination of subscale correlations, by comparing IFSAP scores for pregnant women who had no children with those who had children, and by comparing women who had complications and/or restrictions with women who experienced no complications or restrictions. The IFSAP may be used in research and clinical practice to assess functional status during pregnancy.

Activities of Daily Living↗

The viability and possible applications of high resolution mark replicator casting compound in document examination.

Mark replicator casting compounds are commonly associated with recovering toolmark detail. A series of experiments was designed to identify the possible applications, and assess the overall viability, of using mark replicator compound to record indentations on questioned documents. The trials included testing the effect of Isomark High Resolution Mark Replicator on different paper-based substrate types, and observing in particular, any damage that it may cause. The experiments also tested the effect that the mark replicator has on subsequent fingerprinting techniques. It was found that the mark replicator successfully recorded indentations on paper and card surfaces. In some cases, the mark replicator caused staining on some of the surfaces and had a negative effect on the quality of fingerprints subsequently developed.

Journal Article↗