Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31415596›Full record

ArticlePloS one2019

A Z-score based method for comparing the relative sensitivity of behavioral and physiological metrics including cognitive performance, mood, and hormone levels.

John A Caldwell, Philip J Niro, Emily K Farina, James P McClung, Gregory R Caron, Harris R Lieberman

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

John A CaldwellOak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Belcamp, MD, United States of America.
Philip J NiroMilitary Nutrition Division, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA, United States of America.
Emily K FarinaMilitary Nutrition Division, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA, United States of America.
James P McClungMilitary Nutrition Division, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA, United States of America.
Gregory R CaronSERE EAST, Center for Security Forces, Brunswick, ME, United States of America.
Harris R LiebermanMilitary Nutrition Division, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-1519-0156

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A method for assessing the relative sensitivity of research metrics is proposed and illustrated by comparing 18 outcome measures from a published study of the cognitive, mood, and hormonal effects of four different levels of stress induced by intense military training. Research on the human response to stress often assesses multiple disparate dependent measures. Selecting the most sensitive is difficult as formal methods to compare varied dependent measures have not been developed. The method first converts the outcome measures into standard scores (z-scores) and then compares them using analysis of variance to determine whether there are differences in how they assess the impact of graded levels of exposure to stress. The analysis detected various significant interactions in several measures and suggests self-report mood questionnaires were more sensitive to the stressors present in the study than the cognitive or hormonal measures which were used. These findings support the effectiveness of the z-score based method as a useful procedure for objectively evaluating the differential sensitivity of various metrics. This method could be useful for research on other independent variables when use of multiple assessment strategies is appropriate. It could be used for evaluating studies yielding conflicting results, such as those detecting effects on one parameter but not others. In such instances, cross-metric inconsistencies may be due to differential sensitivity of measurement strategies rather than actual differences in the effects of the independent-variable on the domains under investigation.

Indexed as

AdultAffectAttentionBenchmarkingBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCognitionFemaleHumansHydrocortisoneMaleNeuropeptide YPsychometricsReaction TimeSalivaSelf ReportStress, PsychologicalBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorHydrocortisoneNeuropeptide YTestosterone

Identifiers

PMID31415596
PMCPMC6695149

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.