Sequential Sampling Method Research Articles

Frequency of Non-Adherence to Antiepileptic Drugs in Patients with Epilepsy

Background: Epilepsy is a chronic medical ailment or condition that typically causes unexpected, unprovoked repeated seizures that impair a number of mental and physical abilities. Non adherence to antiepileptic drugs is an emerging issue. Objective: To measure the frequency of non-adherence of AEDs among epilepsy patients presenting to a tertiary care hospital Material and Methods: This study was conducted at Chandka Medical College Hospital Larkana and the duration of this study in which this study was completed was 6 months from 29-9-2020 to 29-3-2021. A total of 183 patients were the participants of this study and all the patients were calculated through the calculator of WHO. The method of non-probability sequential sampling was utilized. Forms for ethical approval and permission were completed. The Morisky 8-Item Medication Adherence Questionnaire was used to assess non-adherence. SPSS was used to analyze the data. The P value of 0.05 was deemed important. Results: 183 patients were the participants of this study. There were 103(56.3%) male and 80(43.7%) female. Mean age of patients was 32.1 years ±5.6SD. Among all the patients 183(100%), 68(37%) had non adherence while 115(63%) did not had non adherence to antiepileptic drugs. A substantial association between non adherence and residential status (p=0.02), duration of diseases (p=0.00), educational status (p=0.00), employment status (p=0.00), marital status (p=0.00) and type of medication dose(p=0.00) was found. Conclusion: Non adherence in epileptic patients, resistance to AED therapy has been identified as a key impediment to obtaining the therapeutic aim of seizure independence. Frequency of non-adherence in epileptic patients was moderately high. Keywords: Non adherence, antiepileptic drugs, epilepsy

Quality of Life of Parents of Children With Refractory Seizures Referred to a Hospital in Ahvaz, Iran

Background and Objectives Up to 25% of children with epilepsy experience resistance to treatment and recurrence of seizures and have low quality of life (QoL) in various dimensions. Limited evidence is available on the QoL of the parents of these patients in the south of Iran. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the QoL of parents with children having refractory epilepsy in Ahvaz, Iran Subjects and Methods Using a sequential sampling method, 157 parents of 113 children with refractory epilepsy who referred to the neurology clinic of Golestan Hospital in Ahvaz city during 2009-2016 were selected to participate in the study. The 36-item short form health survey (SF-36) was used to assess the QoL of parents. The significance level of statistical tests was set at 0.05. Results The mean age of parents was 35.2±8.5 years and the mean age of children was 7.1±2.6 years. Of 157 parents, 98 (62.4%) were mothers and the rest were fathers. The children had seizures for 3.1±1.6 years. The mean score of SF-36 was 62.6±21.4. In all domains of the SF-36, mothers had significantly lower scores than fathers (P<0.000). Conclusion The QoL of parents with children having resistant epilepsy, especially their mothers, in Ahvaz is lower compared to the general population of Iranian

Comparative microbial analysis and assessment of paired umbilical cord blood culture and peripheral venous blood culture in neonates with high risk factors to detect early onset neonatal sepsis: A study from tertiary care hospital of central India

Background: Neonatal sepsis is a prime cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Peripheral venous blood (PVB) culture is a gold standard for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Low sensitivity of blood culture in newborn is due to small volume of blood sample and antibiotics given before sampling. Aims and Objectives: The study aims to compare and analyze the microbial spectrum in the Umbilical cord blood (UCB) culture with PVB culture and evaluation of both for detection of early onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) in high risk neonates and to use appropriate microorganism specific antibiotic for treating the sepsis. Materials and Methods: About 100 inborn neonates with two or more risk factors for EONS, chosen by sequential sampling method were included in this prospective analytical study. Blood samples were collected from umbilical cord and peripheral vein for culture. Sepsis screen was done to substantiate the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Results: Out of 100 neonates, 21 belongs to sepsis; 14 to probable sepsis; 65 to no sepsis. Among these 27 had UCB culture & 24 had PVB culture +ve. Organisms grown on culture were Klebsiella(m/c isolate), Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter, Coagulase-ve Staphylococcus (blood culture contaminant), Pseudomonas and Enterococcus. Conclusion: UCB culture is simple and convenient method for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis as compared to PVB culture with Sensitivity of 66% and specificity of 93%. Organisms grown are comparable to PVB culture sample (Klebsiella - most common isolate).

Relationship Between Social Capital and Quality of Life (QoL) Among the Elderly Patients Experienced Traumatic Events

Background and Objectives: The quality of life (QoL) of the elderly can be declined by several factors. Social capital is one of the effective factors for improving the QoL. This study aims to determine the relationship between social capital and QoL in the elderly hospitalized due to traumatic events. Methods: This is a descriptive-correlational study. The study population consists of all older patients aged 65 years and higher admitted to selected hospitals in Qom, Iran from September 2019 to September 2020 due to experiencing traumatic events. of these, 330 were selected using a non-probability sequential sampling method. Data collection tools were Onyx and Bullen’s social capital questionnaire, the Leiden-Padua quality of life questionnaire, and a demographic checklist. Data were analyzed in SPSS v. 26 software using descriptive statistics and statistical tests including Spearman correlation test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and multivariate regression analysis. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results: The mean age of participants was 70±4.6 years; 49% were male and 51% were female. The mean scores of social capital and quality of life were 67.6±13.5 and 51.6±17.4, respectively. A positive and significant correlation was observed between social capital and quality of life (r=0.719, P<0.05). Social capital had a significant relationship with marital status (P=0.000), place of residence (P=0.001), insurance coverage (P=0.000) and level of education (P=0.000). Conclusion: Social capital has a relationship with the quality of life in the elderly experiencing traumatic events. For successful aging and to anticipate its prerequisites, the strengthening and improvement of social capital is important.

Estimating space–time wave statistics using a sequential sampling method and Gaussian process regression

The traditional Monte Carlo sampling of waves requires generating tens of thousands of random waves to achieve stable statistics in the tail of the distribution, which is computationally costly for numerical simulations and time-consuming and often impractical for experiments. To improve the sampling efficiency, we present a sequential sampling method, which predicts the wave statistics based on the nonlinear response of deterministic wave groups. This data-driven method starts with parameterising the linear random wave field with a series of Gaussian wave groups. The nonlinear system response from the water wave system is then approximated by observations through the nonlinear evolution of wave groups with carefully designed initial conditions. A sequential sampling method is introduced during this sampling procedure, which determines the next best sampling point based on the previous observations and the distance metric. We examine the performance of the proposed method with Monte Carlo simulation of random wave fields as well as a grid search sampling strategy. The results show the proposed method can achieve computational cost savings over several orders of magnitude for numerical simulations. The results also suggest such a sequential sampling method can be used to determine the test matrix of the wave experiments with better coverage over the parameter space.

Risk of Falling after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery And its Related Factors

Introduction: A fall is a sudden descent on the ground or other lower levels. It is a serious safety threat for hospitalized patients. Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery as an open heart surgery has complications such as cardiac arrhythmias and delirium that can increase the risk of fall. Objective: This study aims to determine the risk of falls in patients after CABG surgery and investigate its associated factors. Matetials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 302 patients undergoing CABG surgery in a specialized hospital in Rasht City, Iran, from November 2019 to July 2020. They were selected by a sequential sampling method. The data collection instrument included demographic information, disease-related factors, surgery-related factors (before, during, after), and the Morse fall scale (MFS) checklist. The study data were collected after the patient's surgery and transfer from the intensive care unit to the surgical ward. Descriptive statistics, as well as the Kolmogorov Smirnov, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman correlation, were used to analyze the collected data. A rank regression model was used to determine the factors related to the risk of falls in patients. Results: The mean ±SD age of participants was 59.35 ±8.37 years. About 70.53% of the patients were male, and 46.03% were overweight (Body Mass Index ranged 25-29.9 kg/m2). The majority of patients at the time of admission to the surgical ward and before surgery (92.72%) had no risk of falls. After surgery and transfer to the surgical ward, 82.12% had a low risk of falls. The mean risk of falling was higher in patients over 60 years (P <0.05). With decreasing hemoglobin values on the morning of surgery, the risk of postoperative fall increased (P = 0.046, r = -0.115). The sodium level on the morning of surgery had a significant negative correlation (P = 0.040, r = -0.118) with the risk of falling, but urea level on the morning of surgery had a significant positive correlation (P = 0.001, r = 0.212) with the risk of falling. Using regression model, the results showed that with increasing age (B = 0.23, 95%CI; 0.07-0.39, P = 0.003), history of high blood pressure (B= 3.5, 95%CI: -0.69-0.39, P = 0.003), decrease in hemoglobin (B = -5.47, 95%CI; -10.2- -0.6, P = 0.02), an increase in creatinine (B = 17.73, 95%CI; 8.17-27.29, P = 0.001) and urea (B = 6.09, 95%CI; 2.57-9.61, P = 0.001) before the surgery, the risk of fall after CABG surgery increases. Conclusion: Several factors can increase the risk of falls after CABG surgery. Considering that the risk of falls in patients undergoing CABG surgery in most medical centers is examined only at the beginning of admission, it is recommended to consider the possibility of postoperative falls based on the predicting variables.

Influence of YouTube commercial communication on organic eWOM, purchase intent and purchase associations among young consumers

This study ascertains if YouTube (YT) commercial communication (CC) influences the organic electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), purchase intention and purchase associations among young consumers. A sequential sampling method was employed in a survey of 2,122 South African high school learners. Structural equation modelling was utilised to investigate the hypothesised associations. The analysis established that organic eWOM had a positive impact on purchase intent and purchase. Favourable organic eWOM → purchase intent and eWOM → purchase associations were also shown for young consumers who accessed YT via both personal computers and mobile, were inexperienced YT users, used YT daily, used YT for briefer periods of time, were aged 15-18 years, and were of White ethnicity. Organisations could take advantage of the positive organic eWOM and behavioural attitude relationships, as well as the favourable responses regarding usage and demographic characteristics.

Comparative assessment of umbilical cord blood with peripheral venous blood using hematological scoring system as an early predictive screening method for the detection of early-onset neonatal sepsis in the tertiary care center of Central India

Background: Sepsis is one of the major causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Early recognition and diagnosis of early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) is difficult because of the variable and non-specific clinical presentation of this condition. Hence, there is a need for early predictive screening method for EONS. Aims and Objectives: To compare the umbilical cord blood Haematological Scoring System (HSS) with peripheral venous blood as an early predictive screening method for detection of EONS. Materials and Methods: 100 inborn neonates with two or more risk factors for EONS, chosen by sequential sampling method were included in this prospective analytical study. Blood samples were collected from the umbilical cord and peripheral vein analyzed for hematological parameters, sepsis screen, and peripheral smear for HSS of Rodwell et al., send for blood culture. Blood cultures were performed as gold standard for diagnosing neonatal sepsis and sepsis screen was done to corroborate the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Results: Of 100 neonates, 21 belongs to sepsis; 14 to probable sepsis; 65 to no sepsis. HSS in umbilical cord blood (UCB) had Sensitivity-74.28%, Specificity-92.30%, PPV-83.87%, NPV-86.95% and HSS in PVB had Sensitivity-62.85%, Specificity- 87.69%, PPV-75.86%, NPV-81.69%. Conclusion: HSS score in UCB can be used as a simple, quick, cost-effective, and readily available screening test with decent sensitivity and high specificity, for the detection of EONS.

Estimation of fine root production, mortality, and decomposition by using two core methods and litterbag experiments in a mangrove forest

AbstractMangrove forests are characterized by high rates of carbon sequestration, with much of this carbon being derived from fine roots. In this study, we sought to estimate the dynamics of the fine (<2 mm) and small (≥2 mm) roots of Kandelia obovata, one of the mangrove forest species found on Okinawa Island, southern Japan, and to evaluate annual root production considering root decomposition estimated using root litterbags. To estimate root production and mortality, we applied two approaches, sequential soil core sampling and ingrowth core methods. We found that annual root production determined by sequential soil core sampling was 3.2 times higher than that estimated by ingrowth core methods. The annual production of fine roots (545 and 294 g m−2 year−1 for sequential soil core sampling and ingrowth core methods, respectively) was higher than that of small roots (536 and 44 g m−2 year−1 for sequential soil core sampling and ingrowth core methods, respectively). The results obtained using sequential soil core sampling indicated a high proportion of fine root necromass to total fine root mass (81%), most of which comprised very fine roots (<0.5 mm). We also established that the decomposition ratio of fine roots was lower than that of small roots. Collectively, our observations indicate that the slow rate of decomposition and high rate of production of fine roots contribute significantly to the accumulation of fine root necromass, particularly that of very fine roots, in the mangrove forest.

Efficacy of Psycho-educational Program on Burden of Caregivers of Children with Epilepsy: A clinical trial

Background: Long-term care of the children with epilepsy and lack of psycho-educational training will lead to caregiver burden. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a psycho-educational training program on caregiver burden in families with pediatric epileptic children. Methods: This is a clinical trial study with two groups of experimental and control with three stages of Before, Immediately later, One month after the intervention. The population of the study consisted of family caregivers of children with epilepsy referring to Imam Hossein and Kashani Hospitals in Isfahan, Iran. Seventy families of children (ages 6 - 18years) with epilepsy participated in this study in 2018. The samples were randomly assigned to experimental (35) and control (35) groups using sequential convenience sampling method. The experimental group received a psycho-educational training program in eight sessions (90-minute) in four groups (8 - 9 members), and training was held two sessions a week. The control group participated in three sessions and expressed their problems and experiences. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) that consisted of 22 items and a 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods and SPSS18 were used for data analysis. Results: Before the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups of experimental and control in terms of caregiver burden (P = 0.917). However, there was a significant difference between the three time stages in the intervention group after the intervention (P < 0.05; f = 3.511). Meanwhile, the mean score of caregiver burden decreased during the intervention period than before the study (P < 0.05; f = 166.60), while the mean score of caregiver burden did not increase significantly in the control group over time (P = 0.036). Conclusions: The results showed that in a family with school-age epileptic children, appropriate programs and training methods are needed to decrease caregiver burden; so it is necessary to develop and use such programs by the treatment team members.

Effect of Surfosept and Deconex® 53 Disinfectant Agents on the Accuracy and Dimensional Stability of Panasil Dental Impression Materials: An Experimental Study.

Materials and Methods This in vitro study was performed on 30 dental casts. The samples were divided into one control group and two experimental groups to be disinfected with Surfosept (1%) and Deconex® 53 (2%) using a sequential sampling method (10 per group). The impressions in the experimental groups (i.e., Surfosept and Deconex® 53) were rinsed and dried; then, the disinfectant was sprayed on the impressions and remained for 30 seconds before pouring with stone. In the control group, the impressions were only rinsed and dried and were poured in 10 minutes. Cast dimensions were measured by a profile projector device, and the mean values obtained from the experimental groups were compared with those of the control group. Results There were no significant differences among the groups regarding the height of the resulting dies without undercut (P=0.62). Moreover, there was no significant difference among the groups regarding the distance between the two dies (P=0.77). However, the diameter of the dies with undercut and without undercut was different significantly among the control and experimental groups (P < 0.005). Conclusion In general, no significant difference was encountered between dimensional stability and accuracy of the dental impressions using Surfosept and Deconex® 53 in this study.

EVALUATION OF CORD BLOOD CULTURE AS AN EARLY PREDICTOR FOR THE DETECTION OF EARLY ONSET NEONATAL SEPSIS IN TERTIARY CENTRE OF CENTRAL INDIA.

BACKGROUND : Neonatal sepsis is one of the major causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Peripheral venous blood culture and sensitivity is gold standard for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Low sensitivity of blood culture in newborn is due to small volume of blood sample collected from neonates &amp; antibiotics given before sampling. AIM : To evaluate the utility &amp; compare the Umblical cord blood culture(UCBC) with Peripheral venous blood culture(PVBC) for detection of Early Onset Neonatal Sepsis(EONS) METHOD : 100 inborn neonates with two or more risk factors for EONS, chosen by sequential sampling method were included in this prospective analytical study. Blood samples were collected from umbilical cord and peripheral vein for culture. Sepsis screen was done to corroborate the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. RESULT : Out of 100 neonates, 21 belongs to sepsis; 14 to probable sepsis; 65 to no sepsis. UCBC had Sensitivity-65.71% , Specicity-93.84%, PPV-85.18% , NPV-83.56% &amp; PVBC had Sensitivity-60% , Specicity-95.38% , PPV-87.5% , NPV-81.57%. CONCLUSION : UCBC is simple and convenient method for the diagnosis of EONS compared to PVBC. Organisms grown are comparable to PVBC sample.

Feature Screening for Massive Data Analysis by Subsampling

Modern statistical analysis often encounters massive datasets with ultrahigh-dimensional features. In this work, we develop a subsampling approach for feature screening with massive datasets. The approach is implemented by repeated subsampling of massive data and can be used for analyzing tasks with memory constraints. To conduct the procedure, we first calculate an R-squared screening measure (and related sample moments) based on subsamples. Second, we consider three methods to combine the local statistics. In addition to the simple average method, we design a jackknife debiased screening measure and an aggregated moment screening measure. Both approaches reduce the bias of the subsampling screening measure and therefore increase the accuracy of the feature screening. Last, we consider a novel sequential sampling method, that is more computationally efficient than the traditional random sampling method. The theoretical properties of the three screening measures under both sampling schemes are rigorously discussed. Finally, we illustrate the usefulness of the proposed method with an airline dataset containing 32.7 million records.

Causes of Different Types of Abortion in Women Referring To Educational and Medical Centers in Shiraz, Iran

Background & aim: Abortion in Iran, like some countries in the world, has long been a culturally, socially, politically and religiously sensitive issue. So the present study was conducted to investigate the causes of abortions in pregnant women referring to Shiraz educational and medical centers.Methods: : In this cross-sectional study, 437 woman who had an abortion, were selected by examining 5176 pregnant women using sequential sampling method during 4 months from educational and forensic medicine centers in Shiraz, Iran, in 2017. A self-structured questionnaire including demographic characteristics and obstetric data was completed for each mother. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics.Results: Out of 88 abortions with a legal permission from the forensic medicine, 9.1% were due to maternal illness and 90.9% were due to fetal disease, the most common cause of which was fetal cranial and cerebral disorders (17.1%). Out of 105 cases of spontaneous abortion, 8 cases were due to maternal cause (the most common cause of uterine defects (4.8%) and 97 cases were due to fetal cause. Out of 244 induced abortions with obstetric indication, the most common cause was missed abortion (32%).Conclusion: In all three types of abortion, fetal causes were the most common cause of abortion. It seems that education, access to information and awareness raising activities involving the whole community will have a significant effect on preventing the occurrence of abnormalities. Emphasis is placed on the importance of conducting prenatal screening before 20 weeks of gestation.

Violence and Its Related Factors in Infertile Women Attending Infertility Centers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background & aim: Infertility, as a crisis in marital life, has multiple psychological and social consequences for couples, especially women. Infertile women are more vulnerable to violence than fertile women. The purpose of this study was to examine violence and its related factors in infertile women referring to infertility centers of Rasht, Iran.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 245 women with primary infertility who referred to infertility canters in Rasht, Iran in 2017, using sequential sampling method. The data collection tool was a self-structured questionnaire to examine the demographic characteristics of the couples and Onat's violence standard questionnaire for assessing the exposure of infertile women to violence. The data were analyzed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Friedman, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests as well as Spearman correlation and logistic regression.Results: The results showed that the mean total score of violence was 50.93 ± 18.76. Also, there were significant relationships between the total score of violence and the variables of the duration of marriage, the duration of awareness and treatment of infertility, the age of married couples, occupation/education of the couples, the family relationship between couples, unwillingly marriage and the number of infertility treatment attempts (P<0.05).Conclusion: Infertility is not merely a biomedical disorder and can lead to violence against women, therefore providing counselling services to infertile couples, making them aware of infertility treatments, improving the socio -economic status of women as well as teaching the way of managing marital, cultural and family issues to couples can be effective in reducing violence against infertile women.

Thyroid Dysfunction as a Modifiable Risk Factor for Wet Type Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Case-Control Study.

Purpose:To investigate possible links between thyroid dysfunction and prevalence of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Methods:The present case–control study enrolled a total number of 90 patients with wet AMD and 90 sex-, and age-matched controls through a convenient sequential sampling method. Thyroid hormones were profiled in serum assay. Statistical measures were done to compare means between groups.Results:Our findings showed a significant difference in free T4 levels between wet AMD and control groups (P = 0.002), but the mean values of total T3 and Thyroid-stimulating hormone levels were similar between the two groups. In addition, there were no differences in serum lipid profile between groups. Although no significant difference in the history of hypertension and hyperlipidemia between wet AMD and control groups was found, the history of smoking was higher in controls (P = 0.039).Conclusion:Thyroid hormone abnormalities may be associated with wet AMD.

ASS-GPR: Adaptive Sequential Sampling Method Based on Gaussian Process Regression for Reliability Analysis of Complex Geotechnical Engineering

Reliability analysis of complex geotechnical engineering is time-consuming since its performance function is highly nonlinear and implicit. In this paper, an adaptive sequential sampling metamodeling-based method is proposed to deal with such problems. Gaussian process regression (GPR), utilized to approximate the real performance function, is constructed by the initial design of experiments (DOEs). Based on the geometric meaning of the most probable point (MPP) in the first-order reliability method (FORM), the potential MPP, which is a point infinitely close to the limit-state surface and with the minimum distance to the origin while considering a distance constraint, is searched and added to the DOE to refine the GPR. Then, the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) is adopted to evaluate the failure probability by the refined GPR. The above two procedures are repeated until the stopping criterion is reached. Three examples, including one mathematical example and two geotechnical engineering problems, are analyzed. The results show the proposed method requires fewer performance function calls and is an efficient, accurate, and robust reliability analysis method.

An Adaptive Machine Learning Method Based on Finite Element Analysis for Ultra Low-k Chip Package Design

Machine learning (ML) is widely used for building data-driven models that are highly useful for optimization. In this study, a finite element model-based adaptive ML method is presented for chip package reliability prediction and design optimization. This ML method employs a validated multi-scale finite element model for training data generation. An adaptive sampling scheme is developed to optimize the training process with a steepest descent algorithm. The developed method was used to optimize ultra low-k chip package design. The effects of ten key design parameters on chip packaging reliability were considered. Multiple ML algorithms were evaluated for model development. It is shown that the adaptive sampling method performs much better than existing sequential sampling methods and that the finite element-based ML model can be used to achieve improved prediction accuracy for chip package design optimization.

Variance-based adaptive sequential sampling for Polynomial Chaos Expansion

This paper presents a novel adaptive sequential sampling method for building Polynomial Chaos Expansion surrogate models. The technique enables one-by-one extension of an experimental design while trying to obtain an optimal sample at each stage of the adaptive sequential surrogate model construction process. The proposed sequential sampling strategy selects from a pool of candidate points by trying to cover the design domain proportionally to their local variance contribution. The proposed criterion for the sample selection balances both exploitation of the surrogate model and exploration of the design domain. The adaptive sequential sampling technique can be used in tandem with any user-defined sampling method, and here was coupled with commonly used Latin Hypercube Sampling and advanced Coherence D-optimal sampling in order to present its general performance. The obtained numerical results confirm its superiority over standard non-sequential approaches in terms of surrogate model accuracy and estimation of the output variance.

Alternative sequential methods in statistical testing: A reply to Lakens (2021) and Erdfelder and Schnuerch (2021).

We recently developed a simple and general sequential sampling method for testing null hypotheses, the independent segments procedure (ISP; Miller & Ulrich, 2021). In this reply, we discuss the comments of Erdfelder and Schnuerch (2021) and Lakens (2021), who consider alternative methods such as the sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) and the group sequential design (GSD), respectively. We evaluate the pros and cons of these alternatives and conclude that the ISP does have several advantages over these other methods, especially for psychological research. All of these sequential methods can save research resources because smaller sample sizes are required compared to standard nonsequential methods, so it seems appropriate for researchers to choose from a variety of sequential methods based on the practical requirements of their research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).