NSGD 2216 Critical Inquiry and Evidence Informed Practice Midterm Review

Vocabulary flashcards generated from NSGD 2216 midterm review lecture notes, covering core concepts, paradigms, research methodologies, EBP/EIP principles, research ethics, and information literacy.

Critical inquiry

A deliberate, structured, reflective process for understanding complex issues and making informed decisions by questioning assumptions and biases, evaluating evidence, and considering multiple perspectives.

Critical Thinking

Skills include analysis, evaluation, inference, interpretation, explanation, problem-solving, and decision-making.

Privacy and Dignity

To control when and how private information is shared

Critical Thinking

Dispositions include curiosity, open-mindedness, skepticism, and intellectual humility.

Critical Thinking

The set of reasoning skills and dispositions used to assess information and make sound judgments.

Critical Inquiry

Uses critical thinking as part of a broader, purposeful process of questioning a problem, gathering and analyzing information, considering perspectives, discussing, reflecting, and taking informed action.

Critical thinking

The cognitive skills and dispositions used to assess information, arguments, and evidence systematically and logically.

Information literacy

The ability to recognize an information need and locate, evaluate, synthesize, use, and communicate information effectively and ethically.

Information Literacy

Includes judging credibility and relevance, using information responsibly, and adapting to changing information environments.

Critical Inquiry for Nursing Practice

Assess complex situations, question assumptions and routines, appraise evidence, consider patient and team perspectives, reflect on bias, and make or improve care decisions. It supports patient advocacy, collaboration, ethical decision-making, evidence-informed practice, and attention to inequity.

Research

A systematic, rigorous, and logical investigation used to answer questions and develop knowledge.

Research

Begins with identifying a knowledge gap, generates knowledge through research, disseminates findings, supports adoption into practice or policy, and is reviewed as new issues or evidence arise.

Nursing Research

A systematic investigation of questions about nursing phenomena that develops trustworthy knowledge relevant to nurses, patients, families, and communities.

Nursing Research

Can begin with practice-based knowledge gaps; findings are disseminated, considered for adoption into care or policy, and reviewed as knowledge and health needs change.

Evidence Based Practice (EBP)

A systematic, lifelong problem-solving approach that combines the best available empirical research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values and preferences to guide decisions and improve outcomes.

Clinical Nursing Research

Evaluates practical treatments, therapies, and interventions in clinical settings, and say nursing research addresses issues important to nurses and clients.

Nursing Roles in Research

(1) learning research literacy and reading/searching for evidence

(2) using research in practice, policy development, quality improvement, and knowledge translation

(3) interpreting data and facilitating research use

(4) beginning research production by understanding designs, contributing to teams, and analyzing data

(5) leading a program of research with expertise in methods and analysis.

Future of Nursing Research

Develop long-term programs of research, replicate studies, and increase research on nursing interventions and outcomes. Priorities include health promotion; Indigenous, vulnerable, and equity-seeking communities; chronic disease; home and primary care; older adults; nursing roles; quality, safety, and education outcomes; and cost-effective systems. It also highlights maternal and infant health, mental health and addictions, palliative care and MAiD, long-term COVID impacts, health disparities, patient-oriented research, data analytics and AI, and international collaboration.

Evidence Informed Practice (EIP)

An approach that integrates the best available research with clinical expertise, patient preferences, and context to guide care, taking a broader, holistic approach to evidence and ways of knowing.

Primary Literature

Original quantitative or qualitative studies

Secondary Literature

Evidence summaries, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and practice guidelines

Evidence Informed Practice

A broader, more holistic approach to evidence, values different sources and ways of knowing, and treats the process as cyclical and interdependent. It aims for patient-centred, contextually appropriate decisions and better outcomes.

Post-Positivism

Seeks explanation, prediction, and control while recognizing imperfect observation and researcher bias

Constructivist Paradigm

Understands reality and truth as shaped by individual perceptions and social context; meanings can be multiple and relative. Researcher and participant perspectives influence knowledge, and dialogue and interpretation help understand lived experience.

Paradigm

A worldview consisting of a set of assumptions about reality, knowledge, and what is valuable to study.

Positivism

A research perspective that seeks objective, impartial, generalizable findings

Critical theory

A paradigm that examines how power and historical, social, political, economic, and cultural forces shape reality, aiming for critique, change, and emancipation.

Constructivism / Interpretivism

A paradigm that focuses on how people construct meaning and understand social reality within context, viewing truth and reality as relative and shaped by individual perceptions.

Quantitative Research

A research approach that generally uses deductive reasoning. It moves from theory or a general idea to specific concepts or variables that can be measured, and tests questions or hypotheses empirically. It often uses measurement, control, and methods to account for factors that may affect findings.

Qualitative Research

A research approach that generally uses inductive reasoning. It starts with specific experiences or observations and builds toward a broader understanding. It uses dialogue, interviews, documents, or observations to interpret meanings and experiences in context.

Mixed Methods

A research approach that intentionally combines quantitative and qualitative methods.

Empirical Evidence

Evidence generated through observation, experimentation, and measurement, consisting of objective data from scientific research.

Evidence Hierarchy Pyramid

A framework ranking study designs by relative strength—from systematic reviews and randomized control trials at the apex down to editorials and commentaries at the base—balancing quality of evidence against volume of evidence.

Ontology

The branch of philosophy addressing what exists or what is real.

Epistemology

The branch of philosophy addressing what knowledge is and how it is known.

Methodology

The principles and procedures used for acquiring knowledge.

Concept

An abstract idea.

Conceptual framework

A map or scaffold of connected concepts.

Theoretical framework

A specific theory guiding a research study.

Theory

A set of interrelated concepts explaining or predicting phenomena.

Model

A symbolic representation of concepts and relationships.

Variable

A factor that can take different values.

Conceptual definition

The theoretical meaning of a concept.

Operational definition

The specification of how a variable or concept will be measured.

Inductive reasoning

Reasoning that moves from specific observations toward a broader understanding.

Deductive reasoning

Reasoning that moves from a general theory toward specific testable expectations.

Abstract

A concise, comprehensive synopsis of a study.

Critical appraisal

An organized, systematic evaluation of a study's strength, quality, consistency, and relevance or applicability.

Critical reading

An active, intellectually engaged interpretation and assessment of a text.

Critique

An evaluation of an article's scientific validity, merit, and relevance to practice.

Reliability

The consistency or constancy of a measurement tool.

Validity

The extent to which a measurement tool measures the intended phenomenon.

Respect for persons

A core research ethics principle that requires respecting autonomy and voluntary choice, while providing added protection for individuals with diminished autonomy.

Beneficence

A core research ethics principle that requires avoiding harm and maximizing potential benefits.

Justice

A core research ethics principle that requires treating participants fairly and distributing research burdens and benefits equitably.

Anonymity

An ethical participant right that prevents a participant's identity from being linked to their responses.

Confidentiality

An ethical participant right that prevents unauthorized access or disclosure of identifiable information.

Data

Unprocessed facts, figures, and observations.

Information

Data that are organized and analyzed in context to become meaningful.

Knowledge

Synthesized information used to interpret situations and make judgments.

Health literacy

The capacity and skills to access, understand, evaluate, and use health information and services to make informed health decisions.

Misinformation

False or inaccurate information spread unintentionally.

Disinformation

False information deliberately spread to deceive, manipulate, or influence.

Teach-back

An interactive communication strategy where patients explain information in their own words so the nurse can evaluate understanding.

Woo’s 5 steps of evidence based practice

(1) Ask a focused, answerable clinical question

(2) Acquire the best available evidence

(3) Appraise its validity, quality, and relevance

(4) Apply the evidence with clinical judgment and patient values

(5) Assess the outcomes

Critical Inquiry

A general cycle is questioning, gathering information, analyzing, discussing, and reflecting; it is iterative rather than strictly linear.

Context

The setting and social, cultural, organizational, or political conditions around a phenomenon

Values

What a researcher considers important

Classes of Qualitative Research

Explores experiences, meanings, perceptions, and social processes in depth, with the participant’s perspective central.

Classes of Quantitative Research

Descriptive, correlational, longitudinal, cross-sectional, quasi-experimental, and experimental studies

The aim of evidence based practice

To use the best available evidence together with clinical expertise and patient values and preferences to guide decisions and improve outcomes for individuals, groups, communities, or systems.

The 3 main components of evidence based practice

Best available research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values and preferences.

The key principles of evidence based practice

Ask an answerable question, search systematically for relevant evidence, critically appraise it, integrate it with clinical expertise and patient preferences, apply it in context, evaluate the outcome, and share what was learned.

Evidence Hierarchy Pyramid - Level 1

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Evidence Hierarchy Pyramid - Level 2

Randomized control

Evidence Hierarchy Pyramid - Level 3

Nonrandomized control

Evidence Hierarchy Pyramid - Level 4

Cohort studies

Evidence Hierarchy Pyramid - Level 5

Case-controlled studies

Evidence Hierarchy Pyramid - Level 6

Case Report (expert opinions)

Evidence Hierarchy Pyramid - Level 7

Editorials and commentaries

Evidence Hierarchy Pyramid - from top to bottom

Systematic review, randomized control, non-randomized control, cohort studies, case-controlled studies, case report (expert opinions), editorials and commentaries

3 key points when applying the evidence hierarchy

1. A level reflects the relative strength of a design for a particular purpose, especially hypothesis testing or intervention effectiveness; different methods answer different questions.

2. The level alone does not reveal the study’s full value, quality, or credibility, so critically appraise strengths, limitations, and risk of bias.

3. Qualitative evidence may sit lower in a hierarchy built for intervention testing, but it is important for understanding experience, complex pathways, theory development, and intervention design.

Nurse’s role in evidence-based practice

Formulate practice questions, search for and appraise evidence, combine it with clinical expertise and patient preferences, apply it to care, evaluate the results, and share outcomes. They also contribute to evidence-informed policies and procedures. This process is intended to improve care quality, safety, and patient outcomes.

Additional uses of evidence in nursing practice

Can guide policies and procedures, patient-care plans, medication and pain management, patient education, safety and infection control, quality improvement, community and public-health programs, and policy or professional-standard changes.

Quantitative Research

Generally focuses on measurement, control, variables, and numerical analysis.

Qualitative Research

Explores experiences, meanings, perceptions, and social processes in depth, with the participant’s perspective central.

Critiquing Criteria

Standards, appraisal guides, or questions used to judge an article

Critical Thinking

Rational examination of ideas, inferences, assumptions, arguments, conclusions, issues, beliefs, and actions

4 classes of quantitative research

Descriptive, correlational, longitudinal, cross-sectional, quasi-experimental, and experimental studies.

The Nuremburg Code

Emphasizes voluntary consent and protection from harm

The Belmont Report

The principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice

3 core principles of research ethics

Respect for persons, beneficence, justice

6 rights of research participants

Self determination, privacy and dignity, anonymity, confidentiality, fair treatment, protection from discomfort and harm

Self-Determination

To choose freely, refuse, and withdraw without penalty

Confidentiality

To prevent unauthorized access or disclosure of identifiable information

Protection from discomfort and harm

Protection from physical, psychological, social, or economic harm.

The ways a researcher can impede self-determination

Coercion, deception, covert data collection, or pressure

The ways a researcher can protect self-determination

Free, informed, ongoing consent and the right to refuse or withdraw without penalty.

The ways a researcher can impede privacy and dignity

Hidden recording or sharing private information without awareness