Nursing research is a scientific process that
Validates existing knowledge, refines existing knowledge, and generates new knowledge
Evidence-Based practice in nursing should be based
On the synthesis of findings from a collection of research studies addressing nursing practice
What are the three abstract thought process that are important to nursing
Institution, role modeling, and reasoning
What is the role of institution in the research process
Institution may be valuable in linking ideas while interpreting findings
What type of reasoning is represented in the following example? Premises
Patients with untreated right-sided heart failure experience shortness of breath. Mr. Jones experiences shortness of breath.: Deductive reasoning
The following set of statements is an example of what type of reasoning? An altered level of comfort is experienced with facial surgery. Therefore, all surgeries result in an altered level of comfort
Research is conducted for which of the following reasons?
To test theory, to develop new knowledge, and to generate theory
What is the most significant way of acquiring knowledge to develop an empirical knowledge base for nursing practice?
For nursing as a discipline to be effective in research, which of the following should be the focus of research-directed activity?
Creating a culture within nursing that value, uses, and supports research
Which of the following research methodologies is (are) being used to generate nursing knowledge?
Outcomes research, qualitative research, and quantitative research
Which of the following characteristics is not descriptive of quantitative research?
It is used to develop a theory
What characteristics are descriptive of quantitative research?
Basic elements of analysis are numbers, data are analyzed with statistics, and generalization of findings is important
Which of the following is a characteristics of qualitative research?
Analysis of the data involves individual interpretation
What type of research involves the systematic investigation of relationships among variables?
Which of the following describes the basis of grounded theory methodology used in research?
Research continually use data to reformulate, revise, and test propositions until a theory evolves from the data
What type of quantitative research is conducted to generate knowledge that will directly influence clinical practice?
Which of the following statements about sampling is true?
Random or probability sampling methods require more rigor and research control
Experimental studies are most often conducted in which of the following settings?
Highly controlled setting
The purpose of a study was to identify caring behaviors desired by patents with (AIDS) or (HIV) infection. This purpose statement indicates that the study probably is an example of
Sources of research problems for nursing research include
Nursing practice, Areas of health concern, and the literature
Which of the following statements about research objectives, questions, and hypotheses is true?
They are used to link the research problem and purpose to the study methods and analysis strategies
The statement "People want control of their own health problems" is an example of which of the following?
Data analyses are conducted to reduce, organize, and give meaning to the data. Data analyses are used to produce which of the following?
Which of the following are the four major parts most often included in a research report?
Introduction, methods, results, discussion
Which section of a quantitative research report includes the implications of the findings for nursing practice and theory and the recommendation for further research?
The "Methods" section of a research report should include a subsection on the measurement methods used. Which of the following statements related to the information to be included in this subsection?
Sufficient information about the instrument must be provided for he reader to see the link between the concept and the way it was operationalized in the study
Research outcomes should focus on
specific recommendations for implementation (or not) of the findings in practice, what the findings contribute to building knowledge, and specific recommendations for future research
Which of the following statements correctly describes a true experiment?
Making modifications to true experimental designs decreases their internal and external validity
Which of the following statements is a belief reflective of the worldview on which qualitative research is based?
There is not a single reality
The research question of a phenomenological study of the birth of a first child might be
What is the meaning of a woman's lived experience of having a first child
Grounded theory is based on the belief that
It is possible to understand the process by which something happens, rather that just describing what is happening
Which of the following statements about historical research is true?
Triangulation of data collection methods and verification from other sources make life histories more valuable
Data collection and data analysis occur simultaneously in qualitative research. One technique that is used to help the research to not misinterpret the phenomenon as the subject experiences it is to set aside what is known about the experiences. This technique is called
Which qualitative research methodology requires the understanding of culture before initiating data collection?
The process of external criticism is used in which of the following qualitative research methodologies?
Internal criticism in historical research refers to
Identifying possible biases, which threaten the accuracy of what was said
Which type of qualitative research method was used by the theorist Benner in her study of nursing practice?
Which type of qualitative research method was used by the theorist Leinger in her study of nursing practice?
Which type of qualitative research was used by Fagerhaugh and Strauss in their study of pain management?
The reliability and validity of historical research are based on which of the following concerns?
the reliability of the primary data source
Which of the following statements describes the special relationship between the participants and the researcher in qualitative research?
the participants are considered to be colleagues
Research problems occur when there are gaps in knowledge about how to address a significant clinical problem. Which of the following would indicate that current knowledge is insufficient and that additional study of a clinical problem is needed?
Little is known about the variables, findings of previous studies have been inconclusive and/or conflicting, and ethnic minority and women subjects have not been included in many states
Which of the following statements correctly describes the research problem and purpose of the study in a quantitative study?
the purpose statement is very specific about what will be studied, whereas the problem statement is more abstract
The focus of significant research problems and purposes are
addressing research priorities in nursing, building on previous research, potential impact on clinical practice
Which of the following most accurately describes the focus of outcomes research?
comparing and contrasting groups on selected preexisting variables
As the researcher develops the research problem and purposes of the study, he or she must take into consideration the feasibility of the study. Which of the following statements best describes the concept of feasibility?
It is an evaluation of whether the researcher has the ability and resources (e.g. facilities, time, potential subjects) and ethical protections for participants to carry out the study as proposed
A researcher identified modifiable risk factors that had an impact on smoking. If you wanted to do an approximate replication of that study, could you change the operational definition of the concept of "smoking"?
Yes, but the new operationalization would need to be similar to the conceptual definition
The purpose statement of a qualitative study is expected to identify
the focus of the investigation (e.g. an event, a phenomenon, a culture)
Which of the following statements about clarifying and refining a research problem is true?
several alternative problems should be evaluated before one is selected for study
In some studies, researchers make a formal statement of the expected relationship between two or more variables in a specified population. This formal statement is a
Research hypotheses may be classified as either associative or casual. Which of the following is a characteristic of associative research hypothesis?
It identifies variables that vary or change together in an identified population
Research hypotheses also may be classified in terms of being simple or complex. Which of the following statements correctly describes a study designed to test a simple hypothesis?
Two variables are included in the hypothesis to be addressed
Adults using guided-imagery relaxation have a lower heart rate, blood pressure, and perceived anxiety level that adults not using a relaxation technique. Which of the following set of characteristics best describes this hypothesis?
Complex, casual, research hypothesis
Research studies include both a research hypothesis, which states what the researcher thinks will be found, and a null hypothesis is true?
The null hypothesis states that no interaction occurs between variables or that no relationship exists among the variables being studied
Which of the following states the primary characteristic(s) of variables that separate them from concepts?
Values of variables must be able to be measured or manipulated, and the values must vary among the objects, people, or situations in the study
In a study examining cause-and-effect interactions, the cause portion of the interaction is represented by the
Demographic variables are attributes of subjects that are collected to allow the researcher to
develop a description or profile of the sample
What is the independent variable in the following hypothesis? Adults using guided-imagery relaxation have a lower heart rate, blood pressure, and perceived anxiety level than those in adults not using a relaxation technique
Guided-imagery relaxation/no relaxation
A variable that can interfere with an intervention but cannot be controlled is a(an)
A research study report states that "Heart rate was recorded using a cardiac monitor." This statement is an example of
an operational definition
Which of the following statements about operational definitions is true?
Operational definitions are developed so that variables can be measured in research
In published research literature, a primary source refers to
An article written by the people who did the study
Regarding citation dates of literature to be included in a literature review for a research study, which of the following statements is true?
The literature review should include backgrounds on the variables in the study
Which of the following indexes(indices) is the most helpful in locating sources for a nursing research proposal?
Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)
In searching databases, it is important that the researcher identify keywords to enter into the search process. Which of the following statements about these keywords is true?
The researcher may need to find synonyms of alternate terms to describe the concepts
Sometimes a search strategy identifies too many sources. How might the researcher limit the number of citations to retrieve and critique?
Limit the years from which the researcher wishes to use citations usually the most recent, combine concepts using AND so that only citations that address all of the concepts are identified, and Request citations only for articles that can be downloaded as the full-text version
Reading and critiquing research reports constitutes an important step in the review of literature. The first step in reading a research report is to review it by
Skimming the article to get an overall sense of the content
The process of reading and critiquing an article includes
Highlighting or noting important content and ideas throughout the article
Which of the following qualitative research methods uses a minimal literature review?
The literature may be actual source of data in which of the following qualitative methodologies?
In performing a complex literature search using a computerized database, what term should be between each of the keywords?
When a full-text article is found in a bibliographic citation database, how does the researcher obtain the article?
Clicking on the link
Readers of theoretical literature often experiences confusion in the use of the terms "conceptual model" and "theory." Which of the following statements reflect(s) general consensus about the use of these terms in nursing?
theories present a view of phenomenon that is specific enough to be used to guide research, the scope of the theories is limited in comparison with that of conceptual models, and conceptual models are broad and abstract and reflect a philosophical position
Concepts identified in a study may or may not be variables in that specific study. In which of the following studies would the concept "gender" also be a variable?
A study comparing men and women in their response to an intervention
A relational statement says that a relationship of some kind exists between two or more concepts. For the statement "the relationship between two concepts is positive," which of the following is an accurate translation?
As the values of Concept A increase, values of Concept B can be expected to increase
Which of the following statements about frameworks in research is true?
Frameworks are important in both qualitative and quantitative research
A variable in a study is characterized by which of the following essential elements?
a concept, a conceptual definition, a method of measurement
Theories link interrelated concepts to present a view of phenomenon or something that is happening in nursing. Which of the following statements about theories is (are) true?
Theories begin when research findings are organized and synthesized to explain what is happening in an identified situations, theories may originate from abstract ideas, institution, or personal experiences, and many theories are needed to stimulate new and different nursing interventions or protocols
Philosophy influences the way in which people view the world, what they consider to be real, and the beliefs, values, and attitudes they hold. Which of the following statements about nursing philosophy, practice, and research is true?
the philosophies of the nursing support both quantitative and qualitative approaches to research
Which of the following was developed in the late 1940s to address ethical conduct of biomedical research?
Which of the following is not a human right that requires protection during the conduct of a study?
Right to experience the treatment
Which of the following potential research subjects have diminished autonomy and are considered incompetent to give informed consent?
Children, Mentally ill, cognitively impaired elderly
Which of the following statements about obtaining permission to study children is true?
Children aged 7 or older, with normal cognitive development, may be asked to assent to participating in research
When a subject's identity cannot be linked, even by the researcher, with his or her individual responses, this subject is said to have
A study requires diabetic subjects to perform one or more blood glucose determinations per day. The level of discomfort or risk for the subjects is rated as
Which of the following is not part of the balancing of benefits and risk for a study?
Eliminating all risk of the study
Essential elements of informed consent include which of the following
disclosure of essential information regarding the study, comprehension of essential study information, and competency to give consent
Subjects with diminished autonomy require which of the following types of documentation of informed consent?
Formal written consent document signed by the subject and/or parent or legal guardian
Written informed consent may be waived in some circumstances that present no more than minimal risk to the potential subject-for example, completion of questionnaires not asking for sensitive data. What is the researcher's responsibility in this case?
The researcher is obliged to inform the potential subject of all of the usual elements of consent (e.g., disclosure of the purpose of the study, obligations of the participant, and voluntary nature of participation) in a cover letter or in some other identified fashion
Institutional review boards (IRBs) I universities, clinical agencies, and managed care centers are responsible for reviewing studies involving human subjects for the express purpose of
Determining if potential benefits of the investigation outweigh any risk that may be present to the subject
For a study that involves a chart review to obtain information abut a patient's smoking history, age, gender, and incidence of cardiovascular disease, which of the following types of review by an institutional review board (IRB) will be required?
Which act requires that the privacy of people's health information be Protected?
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPPA)
What level of institutional review board (IRB) review should be undertaken for a study in which the subjects participate in a clinical trial of new medications?
Complete review by only IRB
What level of institutional review board (IRB) review should be undertaken for a study in which the participants complete anonymous questionnaires?
What level of review by an institutional review board (IRB) should be undertaken for a study in which subjects participate in interviews about their lived experience f being a nurse?
Which of the following regulations is(are) used to protect animals in research studies?
Public health service policy on humane care and use of laboratory animals, animal welfare assurance statement, state and federal law
the consent form in a research proposal needs to include all the following except
Treatments provided to the control group
What is the initial question the researcher should ask when selecting a research design for a particular study?
What is the primary reason for the study?
which of the following is a condition for determining causality in research studies?
The effect should not occur unless the cause is, or has been, present
In health sciences it is unlikely that researchers will be able to establish absolute causality. Therefore, most nursing research studies must deal with relative cause and probabilities of a cause leading to an effect. Which of the following statements about probability is true?
The researcher investigates the likelihood that an effect will occur under specific circumstances
Manipulation is a term used in research to mean
The ability to determine the various treatments given to groups in quasi-experimental and experimental studies
Bias is a term used to indicate that data in a study are being distorted or slanted away from reality by some influencing factor. Which of the following statements about bias in research s true?
Preconceived ideas about what the findings of a study may be could lead to bias in interpreting data
Controlling the treatment is one of the elements of a good design. Which of the following statements about this element is true?
Controlling the treatment is enhanced with a clear description of all steps of the treatment
the design for a study to gain more information about characteristics within a particular field of a study should be
Case study designs can involve in-depth study of
A single institution, Small groups of subjects, A family
Which of the following can be achieved using a correlational design?
Testing of relationships proposed in a theoretical proposition
Which of the following statements about quasi-experimental designs is true?
They are an alternative for establishing causality when an experimental study might not be ethical or feasible
Which of the following statements about replication studies is true?
Replication studies extent knowledge even if they do not confirm previous study findings
Which of the following elements are required in an experimental design?
Random assignment of subjects to groups, control of variance in sampling, and carefully defined variables
Other than data related to the concepts being measured to address the research objectives, questions, or hypotheses, what data can be controlled in the data collection process?
Demographic data such as age, gender, and the like, Information related to the diagnosis (For clinical studies), and Cormorbid conditions or problems in addition to the admitting diagnosis
Several problems can occur during data collection. Which f the following is a researcher-related problem?
The funding agency that focuses most on outcomes research is
The agency of Healthcare Policy and Research
The sampling method most desired for outcome studies is
Convenience sampling using large heterogeneous samples
The process of describing clinical problems, identifying possible courses action, assessing the probability of outcomes, and calculating a optimal course of action is referred to as
Clinical decision analysis
a unique characteristic of prospective cohort studies is that
Data are collected from subjects who are at risk for, but do not currently have the problem identified
Which of the following statements about outcome variables is true?
Available measuring instruments must be sensitive enough to detect changes over time
Outcomes in nursing research are considered time dependent for which of the following reasons?
Some findings may not be apparent for a long time, The results may be only temporary, and Outcomes in some instances are immediately seen
the definition of a set of sampling criteria is
A list of the characteristics essential to be a member of the target population
The term representativeness means that
the sample must be like the population in as many ways as possible
Which of the following statements gives the major difference between control groups and comparison groups in experimental research?
Random selection of subjects for the sample and random assignment to groups are hallmarks of true control groups
When subjects are selected because they happen to be in the right place at the right time, the sampling method is referred to as
When subjects area selected randomly on the basis of their fir in categories of variables important to the study, the sampling method is referred to as
Stratified random sampling
Nonprobability quota sampling is most closely related to which of the following probability sampling techniques?
Stratified random sampling
In studies, the intervention is expected to have a small effect size. Which of the following statements about effect size is true?
Differences between groups will be more difficult to detect
Which of the following statements describes a heterogeneous study?
Members of a sample have different values on study variables
A sample should be homogenous because
the ample with common characteristics more clearly indicates the impact of a treatment
For a study using one independent variables and one dependent variable, a good sample size would result if
The study had 40 participant, and 3 dropped out
A researcher can undertake random sampling by which of the following strategies?
Choosing the participants out of a hat, Using a computer program, Assigning each volunteer a number and then choosing the participants using a random numbers tabe
If every fifth baby born in a city is entered into a study, the sampling method is called
Which of the following statements describes how the effect size of a sample influences the null hypothesis?
a large effect size results in rejection of the null hypothesis
Which of the following would require the researcher to increase the sample size?
Increasing the number of dependent variables
Qualitative sampling focuses on what particular part of a research study?
The incidents in the lives of the participants
When a researcher in a qualitative study chooses the participants based on what they ma be able to contribute to the study, the sampling method is called
Data saturation depends on which of the following criteria?
Scope of the study, Nature of the topic, and Quality of the data
which of the following is an example of cluster sampling?
Random hospitals are selected in a region, and then nurses in each hospital intensive care unit (ICU) are asked to participate in the study
Which of the following variables can be directly measured?
Vital signs (temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, blood pressure)
Which of the following is an example of random measurement error?
The researcher presses the wrong key when entering data into the computer
Sources on a multiple-choice final examination represent an example of which of the following levels of measurement?
Possible choices for the variables "Education" are given as
did not graduate from high school; high school graduate; college degree; graduate degree. This set of choices is an example of which of the following levels of measurement?: Ordinal
Which of the following choices is an example of an item on a Likert scale?
Instructor kept convenient office hours: strongly agree; disagree; neutral; agree; strongly agree
The term "reliability" is best understood reflecting
Consistency of measurement obtained with use of the identified instrument
the amount of change in a physiologic measure that can be detected reflects an instrument is
an example of systematic error is
a thermometer measurement indicating a body temperature as 0.1 higher than the accurate temperature
Which of the following statements abut error in physiologic measurement is True?
Physiologic measures are subject to several sources of error
Physiologic measures may be obtained in which of the following ways?
Self-report, Observation, Electronic Monitoring
Which of the following is true in relation to structure interviews?
The interviewer is required to ask the questions precisely as it has bee designed
Encouraging the participation to keep talking is a strategy used in interviews to
Elicit more information n a specific area
a measurement strategy that is fairly new to nursing studies is the use of focus groups. Which of the following statements about focus group studies is true?
Groups are made up of subjects who are similar to ach other to encourage candid discussion
A line 100mm long with right-angle stops at each end indicating bipolar describing sensations is referred to as: Visual analogue scale
The researcher want o collect data abut the evaluation process of staff nurses on a unit. Which of the following measurement tool is best to gather the data?
which of the following will provide the most sensitive measurement of a concept such as pain intensity? A visual analogue scale
You are examining several instruments to find the one most appropriate for your study. Which of the following findings should be of greatest concern?
The instrument has been used in a number of studies that have not reported validity and reliability data. You find a recent article written by a credible researcher criticizing the validity and reliability and evidence that the instrument is invalid for measuring the concept of interest
Finding an appropriate measurement tool is based on which of the following assumptions?
The concept to be measured has been clearly defined
Which of the following is an advantage of self-reports over interviews?
Self-reports allow respondents to easily writ down measurements and perceptions soon after the event
In nursing research, which of the following researcher factors is most important in relation to statistical analysis?
The researcher should understand the meaning underlying the choice and interpretation of statistics
Using decision theory, if the alpha level of significance for determining differences between groups is set at .05, which of the following probability levels calculated during data analysis has the most significant difference?
None of the Above
If you are conducting a study to examine relationships or predict an event, your study is based on which of the following theories?
According to the theoretical normal curve, what percent of the scores un a data set are within 2 standard deviations (above and below) the mean?
Which of the following statements about a one-tailed test of significance is True?
The researcher is interested in extreme scores in only one tail of the distribution
A type I error occurs when
The results indicate a statistically significant difference when in reality no significant difference exist
The power of a statistical procedure is the
Probability that a statistical test will detect a significant difference if one exists
A researcher reports that a finding in a study comparing effectiveness of two interventions is statistically significant. Which of the following statements about this study is true?
the level of significance of the statistical finding reveals nothing about the actual size of the difference
After entering data into a database, the researcher prints a copy of the data and cross-checks all of the data for accuracy. This process is referred to as
Cleaning the data
Analyses performed in studies with more than two groups often indicate that the groups are significantly different but do not identify which groups are different. In such instances, a second analysis is then performed to identity significant differences between groups. These analyses are referred to as: Post hoc analyses
Which of the following should be done before analyzing data designed to test the hypotheses or questions for a research study?
Description of the sample, Establishing the reliability of measuring instruments, and Exploratory analysis of the data
Many decisions need to be made in selecting the appropriate statistical procedure for a study. Which of the following statements about selection of statistical procedures is true?: Specifying the purpose of the study and stating the hypotheses or research questions will narrow the options of statistical procedures considerably
Which of the following statements about use of descriptive statistics is true?
they are used in every research study, qualitative as well as quantitative, they are used to identify patterns in data, and they are used to address objectives of some studies
The mean is the basic statistic that forms the base for many more advanced statistical procedures. Which of the following statements about the mean is true?
It is the mathematical average of a set of scores
Which of the following correlational procedures looks at the extent of a Relationship between two variables?
Pearson Product Moment Correlation