Nursing Research 1 Lecture Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the fundamentals of Nursing Research 1, including terminology, methodology types, variable classifications, and sampling techniques.

Cerchier

The French word meaning 'to seek' or 'to search' from which the term 'Research' is derived.

Research

A systematic inquiry that uses the scientific method to solve problems and answer questions.

Florence Nightingale

The individual who initiated the history of Nursing Research in the early 1850’s during the Crimean war.

Nursing Research

The systematic study and assessment of nursing problems or phenomena to improve nursing practice and patient care.

Description

Kowledge generated through research to identify what exists in nursing practice and discover new knowledge.

Explanation

Knowledge that explains existing facts in relation to effects and outcomes, such as how bed sores occur in elderly people due to lack of mobility.

Prediction

The ability of a nurse to anticipate outcomes based on specific interventions.

Control

The ability to write a prescription or intervention to produce the desired result.

Exploratory Study

Research studies conducted when little is known about the phenomenon being studied.

Descriptive Study

Research in which phenomena are described or relationships between variables are examined without attempting to determine cause-and-effect.

Explanatory Study

Research studies that search for a causal explanation; usually experimental in nature.

Basic Research

Research conducted to generate knowledge rather than to solve immediate problems.

Applied Research

Research conducted to find a solution to an immediate practice problem.

Quantitative Research

Research concerned with objectivity, tight controls, and the ability to generalize findings.

Qualitative Research

Research concerned with the subjective meaning of an experience to an individual.

Quasi-experimental

An experimental design where there is either no comparison group or no random assignment of subjects to groups.

Correlational Studies

Non-experimental research where the researcher examines the strengths of relationships between variables without manipulation.

Phenomenological Research

Qualitative research that examines human experiences, called 'live experiences,' through descriptions provided by the people involved.

Ethnographic Research

Qualitative research involving the collection and analysis of data about cultural groups.

Grounded Theory

Studies in which data are collected and analyzed to develop a theory that is grounded in that specific data.

Action Research

A type of qualitative research that seeks action to improve practice and studies the effects of that action.

Historical Research

Research concerning the identification, location, evaluation, and synthesis of data from the past to relate it to the present and future.

Independent Variable

The 'cause' or variable thought to influence the dependent variable; it is the variable manipulated by the researcher in experimental research.

Dependent Variable

The 'effect,' response, or behavior influenced by the independent variable; also called the criterion variable.

Dichotomous Variable

A variable with only two choices or results, such as male or female.

Intervening Variable

A variable that comes between the dependent and independent variables.

Conceptual Definition

The dictionary or theoretical definition of an abstract idea being studied.

Operational Definition

Indicates how a variable will be observed or measured, including the specific instrument used.

Target Population

The entire group of people or objects to which the researcher wishes to generalize findings; also called the universe.

Accessible Population

The group of people or objects available to the researcher for a particular study.

Simple Random Sampling

A probability sampling method where each element has an equal and independent chance of being chosen.

Systematic Sampling

A random sampling process in which every $k^{th}$ element of the population is selected.

Snowball Sampling

A non-probability sampling method, also called network sampling, that involves the assistance of study participants to find other subjects.

Purposive Sampling

A non-probability sampling method, also called judgmental sampling, involving the handpicking of subjects.

Longitudinal Study

A study that follows subjects over a period of time in the future.

Cross-sectional Study

A study that examines subjects at one specific point in time.

Sampling Error

The difference between data obtained from a random sample and data that would be obtained if the entire population were measured.

Null Hypothesis ($H_0$)

A hypothesis that predicts no relationship exists between variables and is subject to statistical analysis.

Nominal Level of Measurement

The lowest level of measurement where numbers are used to name or categorize objects or events.

Ordinal Level of Measurement

A level of measurement where data can be rank-ordered into categories, such as small, medium, and large.

Ratio Level of Measurement

The highest level of data where distance between ranks can be specified and a true or natural zero point exists.

Grey Literature

Documents not commercially published or indexed in major databases, such as theses, dissertations, and conference proceedings.

CINAHL

An acronym for the Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature, an electronic database for nursing research.

Limitations

Uncontrolled variables that may affect study results and limit the generalizability of findings.