Maxton, F.J.C., Justin, L. & Gillies, D. Research Paper

Maxton, F.J.C., Justin, L. & Gillies, D. (2004). Estimating core temperature in infants and children after cardiac surgery: a comparison of six methods. Journal of Advanced Nursing 45(2): 214-22.

What is the research question? If it is not explicitly written, but is implicit in the article, suggest null and alternative hypotheses.

Which temperature-taking site yields the most accurate readings in babies and young children following cardiac surgery? Temperature is usually measured using the pulmonary artery as a "gold standard." However, the authors hypothesize that because the pulmonary artery cannot be used in the majority of the patients in the target population, other methods can and should be used. In addition to pulmonary artery temperature, the temperatures can be taken at the rectal, bladder, nasopharyngeal, axillary, and tympanic sites.

List the variables used in the study and identify each of them as either independent or dependent variables. Also describe the level or scale of measurement of each of them.

The independent variables are the sites at which temperature measures are taken on the infant or young child. These sites include the pulmonary artery, the rectum, bladder, nasopharyngeal area, axillary area, and tympanic sites.The dependent variables are the measure of variance between the core temperature taken at the pulmonary artery (the "gold standard") and the other sites. Thus, each site is being measured against the pulmonary artery temperature. The difference between the measurement of temperature at each site vs. The pulmonary artery temperature is the dependent variable.

3. List ALL the statistical analyses performed in the study, descriptive and inferential. What is the purpose of each of the analysis you listed?

Analyses of variance, used multiple times, are the primary statistical analysis used in the study. It is used because the primary method is to measure the variance between the target independent variable and the standard, which is the measure of temperature taken at the pulmonary artery. Differences between the two temperatures is computed, and compared with one another to determine which of the temperature sites is more accurate. Accuracy is considered to be whatever temperature is closer to that taken at the pulmonary site. An intraclass correlation was also used to determine which measures were closest to each other, too.

4.Describe….....