intro. to research midterm

definition of nursing research

systemic inquiries about nursing practice that include research, testing, and evaluation

• designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge

definition of evidence based practice (EBP)

characterized by best research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient preferences and values

EBP goals

• lifelong approach to clinical practice

• translates knowledge with the goal of improving practice

impact of nursing research VS. impact of EBP

nursing research: growing knowledge base of nursing

EBP: translate the knowledge into practice

nursing research impact

generates the knowledge base for our nursing practice

EBP impact

translate the knowledge base of that we generated through research into our practice

deductive reasoning

• top → down approach

• uses general premises to reach specific conclusions

• used by most nurse researchers

• ex:

inductive reasoning

• bottom up approach

• uses specific observations to form general conclusions

• ex:

what is a PICO question?

for writing a good researchable question for EBP or nursing research

what does each letter in PICO stand for

P - population

I - intervention

C - comparison

O - outcome

how to identify POPULATION (P) in PICO

how would I describe this group of patients

ex: age, gender, geographic location

how to identify INTERVENTION (I) in PICO

which main intervention, management strategy, diagnostic test, etc. am I interested in?

how to identify COMPARE (C) in PICO

is there a control or alternative you would like to compare to the intervention?

how to identify OUTCOME (O) in PICO

what can I hope to measure, accomplish, improve, or effect?

what is sampling?

selecting a subset of the population to participate in the research study

why is sampling important?

for generalizability and external validity

• we want our sample to be representative of the population

definition of target population

who we ultimately want our results to apply to

ex: All elementary school students in the nation

definition of accessible population

the subset of people from the target population who we could reasonably enroll in our study

ex: Elementary school students in Pittsburgh, PA

definition of sample

the individuals who meet the criteria and enroll and participate in our study

ex: A randomly selected group of 150 students from the accessible population

what affects sampling error?

• sample size

• heterogeneity/variability

what happens to the sampling error when the sample size increases (increases/decreases)

the sampling error decreases

what happens to the sampling error when variability increases (increases/decreases)

increases

definition of sampling error

the difference between our sample statistic and our population parameter (we really want to know population parameter)

do we want the sampling error to be small or large

SMALLLL

point estimate

our single best guess of the unknown population parameter

confidence interval

the amount of uncertainty around the estimate

• can be narrow or wide

do we want the confidence interval to be large or small

SMALLLL so that it is more precise

what does overlapping mean

means there is no difference between the two groups

• the treatments and control are equivalent

• one is not better than the other

what does no overlapping mean

means that one is higher/better than the other

• one is superior

• there is a statistically significant difference

• P > 5

data collection methods

what types of data would you collect with each method?

definition of reliability

means CONSISTENCY

• getting the same thing over and over again

• without reliability, we would have no confidence in the data we collect

definition of validity

ACCURACY, TRUENESS

• the extent to which the instruments used measure exactly the concept that you want them to measure

types of validity

CONTENT, CRITERION, CONSTRUCT

what is content (type of validity)

involves the degree to which the content of the test matches a content domain associated with the construct

what is criterion (type of validity)

correlation between the test and the criterion available (variables) taken as representative of the construct

what is construct (type of validity)

the extent to which your test or measure accurately assesses what it's supposed to

types of bias from structured observation and surveys

• social desirability

• recall bias

• response bias

• extreme response bias

• acquiescence

what is a study design?

a guide for the research process

• the blueprint

• has the structure to maintain the control in the study

Quantitative research

uses numbers

qualitative research

everything BUT numbers

hierarchy of evidence

arranged in terms of internal validity based on the cause and effect

• randomized control trial

• the top is the most evidence

• the independent variable changes the dependent variable

definition of experimental design

the process of carrying out research in an objective and controlled fashion so that precision is maximized

• specific conclusions can be drawn regarding a hypothesis

3 required properties of true experimental design

R.M.C.

1. Randomization

2. Manipulation

3. Control

definition of blinding

the concealment of group allocation

• keeps groups equivalent in everything but the independent variable

definition of allocation concealment

hides the sorting of trial participants into groups so that this knowledge cannot be exploited

definition of intervention fidelity

participants receive the intervention or instructions exactly as described in the study protocol

definition of intention to treat analysis

analyzing the people in the group they are in no matter if they complete the study or not

• you will be analyzed regardless of whether you participate or not

definition of independent variable

the one you can change in an experiment

• the cause factor you are testing to see if it affects something else

definition of dependent variable

the results or the effects you measure in the experiment

• what you observe or count to see if it changes when the independent variable changes

definition of Quasi-experimental design

research approach that aims to establish a cause-and-effect relationship, but LACKS random assignment of participants to groups. 

what makes quasi-experimental design different from an experimental design

• DOES NOT have randomization

• participants are placed in groups on everything BUT randomization

• might NOT have a control group

definition of confounding

some variable that influences the dependent and independent variable

• can be measured and analyzed

• can also be unmeasured

definition of bias

any deviation from the truth during the process that can lead to FALSE INFORMATION

strengths of quasi-experimental designs

• practical

• less expensive

• more generalizable

weaknesses of quasi-experimental design

not able to truly test the cause and effect

definition of observational designs

researchers observe and record data about a phenomenon or group without intervening or manipulating any variables, allowing them to study naturally occurring events or behaviors

• JUST OBSERVING BEHAVIORS

observational vs. experimental/quasi

observational: NO active manipulation

experimental/quasi: active manipulation

definition of cohort study

start with individuals WITH exposure of interest AND individuals WITHOUT exposure

good things about cohort study

• calculate incidence, prognosis, natural history

• give us temporality

• we know the exposure

bad things about cohort study

• expensive

• time consuming

• not good for rare outcomes

definition of case control study

individuals with outcome of interest and individuals without the outcome of interested are identified

• these 2 groups are studied retrospectively to compare the frequency of the exposure

good things about case control study

• good fit for rare outcomes b/c they are based on outcomes

• less expenses

bad things about case control study

• limited to ONE outcome

• recall bias

• sampling bias

definition of cross-sectional study

a group of people is observed, or certain information is collected, at a single point in time or over a short period of time

good things about cross-sectional study

• for prevalence

• inexpensive

• easy

bad things about cross-sectional study

• no temporality

• sampling bias

• not good for rare outcomes

exposure relative to outcome

how close/related that factor that is associated with how the outcome is

timeline terms (3)

• prospective - look to the future

• retrospective - looking back at time

• simultaneous - in the moment

objective of the research definition

concise statement of the specific goals and aims of a research study

definition of internal validity

degree to which change in the dependent variable can be definitely attributed only to the independent variable and not to other variables

definition of external validity

generalizability of findings of experimental people and settings

what is a systematic review

studies of studies

• clearly states scientific research methods and designed to minimize bias

• can be qualitative

what is a meta-analysis

• unique type of systemic review

• can be quantitive

how to interpret a forest plot

Each horizontal line on a forest plot represents an individual study with the result plotted as a box and the 95% confidence interval of the result displayed as the line

• want the horizontal lines not overlapping with the middle vertical line

3 levels of measurement

1. nominal

2. ordinal

3. interval

what is nominal level of measurement

• categories (NO ranking)

  • Ex: sex, age, height, etc.

what is ordinal level of measurement

categories AND ranked (ranking not equal intervals)

• ex: scale → strongly agree, agree, disagree

what is interval level of measurement

• equal interval estimates

types of error

• type 1

• type 2

type 1 error means

false positive

• reject a true null hypothesis

type 2 error means

false negative

• fail to reject a false null hypothesi

statistical significance VS. clinical significance

• Statistical significance : indicates the likelihood that an observed effect isn't due to chance

• clinical significance : assesses the practical importance and real-world impact of that effect on patient care

definition of emergent design

the initial plan is NOT tightly describedi

definition of reflexivity

the researcher is an instrument, so the researcher needs to be aware of bias and experiences

definition of purposive sampling

not trying to be generalizable, BUT selecting individuals who will answer

definition of data saturation

how we get our sample size

• keep sampling until no new research can be attained

definition of triangulation

using multiple sources to corroborate evidence to increase accuracy

definition of memoing

researchers record their data while they observe

definition of bracketing

the researchers setting aside their bias and interpretation

definition of coding

putting texts into themes and common ideas

definition of phenomenology

aimed at understanding the lived experience of individuals

definition of grounded theory

seeks to develop a theory grounded in data, focusing on social processes and interactions

• illustration or figure of a process