Question 5-6

Question 5-6

by Hyelee Kim -

Hi! 

Still, I am figuring out questions in the assignment 4, but I happened to have a question in assignment 5.

Q6. 

For each of the paragraphs referred to in Q1-Q5, discuss whether the authors’ explanations can be ruled out because of the study design and explain your reasoning briefly. For those explanations that cannot be ruled out, propose what might be a better study design to help evaluate (or rule out) the alternative explanation (i.e., one that would allow ruling them out in case they are not the true explanation). 


Discuss whether the authors’ explanations can be ruled out because of the study design and explain your reasoning briefly.
-> I thought that we are supposed to present the reason why we do not agree with the authors' explanations.
- For those explanations that cannot be ruled out, propose what might be a better study design to help evaluate (or rule out) the alternative explanation. 
-> I am not clear what this question is asking. 

Thank you in advance!

Re: Question 5-6

by June Chan -
Hi Hyelee,
Here's a little more re-phrasing for what we are asking for in those questions, which I hope helps.

For each scenario, you are asked to draw a DAG that reflects the potential alternative solution posed by the paragraph (q1-q5), to explain the observed results. In q.6a-63, we then ask you to consider if the study design elements inform on the likelihood that that alternative explanation is happening or not. In several cases, you can follow the paper itself, to glean insights on the authors’ own thinking about these alternatives. It's fine to use these to guide your answer, just put in your own words. There may be some situations that are highly unlikely bc of the study design – if so, then these could be “ruled out”. However, there are some alternatives that are harder to rule out – in other words, these could be potential explanations for the observed results (rather than the results reflecting a true causal association). For those scenarios, consider improvements that could be made to the study, that might help you eliminate the alternative explanation, to improve your ability to make causal inferences (e.g., how might you reduce a potential bias from happening?).

Best wishes,
June

Re: Question 5-6

by Hyelee Kim -
Thanks for the reply, Dr. Chan!
I see what the question intended.

Hyelee