CHAPTER 9: QUANTATATIVE RESEARCH

The research design for a quantitative study involves decisions with regard to all except:

A) which conceptual framework to use.

B) whether there will be an intervention.

C) what types of comparisons will be made.

D) how many times data will be collected.

A

A nurse researcher tested whether sucrose (vs. sterile water) had a beneficial effect on

infant pain during immunizations. Neither those administering the intervention nor the

parents of the infants knew which infants received the sucrose. This strategy is an

example of:

A) randomization.

B) attrition.

C) crossing over.

D) blinding.

D

When researchers withhold information from the people collecting research data (e.g.,

information about who received an intervention and who did not), the researchers are

taking steps to minimize which type of bias?

A) Selection bias

B) Attrition bias

C) Expectation bias

D) History bias

C

Which design decision is at issue when researchers decide what to use as a

counterfactual?

A) Deciding on the type of comparison that will be made

B) Deciding where the study will take place

C) Deciding how confounding variables will be controlled

D) Deciding when and how often the data will be collected

A

Which is a question that researchers may ask when deciding how to control confounding

variables?

A) From whom should information about the design be withheld?

B) When will the research data be collected?

C) What factors, other than the independent variable, could affect the outcome?

D) Where and how often will data collection occur?

C

Which is a key criterion for making a causal inference about the relationship between

two variables?

A) Lack of ambiguity about how outcomes will be measured

B) Lack of ambiguity about which variable occurred first

C) The ability to randomly assign study participants to groups

D) The ability to blind study participants and research staff

B

The causes of health-related phenomena (e.g., a cancer diagnosis) are usually:

A) probabilistic.

B) deterministic.

C) prognostic.

D) counterfactual.

A

An important function of a research design in a quantitative study is to exert control

over which variables?

A) Outcome variables

B) Mediating variables

C) Carryover variables

D) Confounding variables

D

A hypothetical condition embodying what would have happened to people if they were

simultaneously exposed and not exposed to a cause is:

A) a cause.

B) an effect.

C) a confounder.

D) a counterfactual.

D

There are three well-known criteria for establishing a causal relationship, attributed to

John Stuart Mill. Which is one of those criteria?

A) A cause and effect must occur simultaneously.

B) A counterfactual must be known and controlled for in the research design.

C) The relationship between the cause and the effect cannot be explained as being

caused by a third factor.

D) The relationship between the cause and the effect must be deterministic.

C

For which broad category of EBP research questions is causality not an issue?

A) Therapy

B) Meaning

C) Prognosis

D) Etiology/harm

B

Which is not a standard feature of a true experimental design?

A) An intervention

B) A placebo

C) Randomization

D) Control

B

In a true experimental design, what does the researcher manipulate?

A) The independent variable

B) The dependent variable

C) The confounding variable

D) The mediating variable

A

The use of randomization for assigning participants to conditions eliminates:

A) systematic bias.

B) ethical problems.

C) need for a control group.

D) unnecessary manipulation.

A

Which statement is true?

A) Random assignment is accomplished with random sampling.

B) Grouping participants with similar features together is the best way to achieve

random assignment.

C) Random assignment to different conditions is a signature of a true experiment.

D) Recruiting participants from different neighbourhoods results in random

assignment.

C

A pretest in a pretest-posttest design corresponds to:

A) an outcome measure.

B) a baseline measure.

C) a measure of attitudes toward the intervention.

D) a measure of the independent variable.

B

Which statement is true?

A) A crossover design allows participants to choose the intervention they will receive.

B) A crossover design is useful for eliminating crossover effects.

C) A crossover design is not a true experimental design.

D) A crossover design achieves the highest possible equivalence among participants

exposed to different conditions.

D

A nurse researcher tested two different head-of-bed elevations for the prevention of

ventilator-associated pneumonia. In this 2-day trial, patients were randomly assigned to

receive either the 30-degree elevation or the 45-degree elevation on the first day, and the

other elevation on the second day. What type of design was used?

A) Crossover

B) Posttest only

C) Delay of treatment

D) Time series

A

Which statement is true about RCTs?

A) The control condition in an experiment corresponds to the "I" in PICO-format

questions.

B) The control group condition is a proxy for an ideal counterfactual.

C) Control groups never get the experimental intervention.

D) Experiments involving a pseudointervention use an attention control group.

B

An RCT could use all of the following designs, except a:

A) crossover design.

B) nonequivalent control group design.

C) randomized posttest-only design.

D) randomized pretest-posttest design.

B

A researcher randomized nursing home residents to a fall prevention intervention or to

"usual care." After outcome data are collected, control group members were offered the

chance to receive the intervention. This control group strategy is called:

A) a "usual care" control group.

B) an attention control group.

C) a wait-listed control group.

D) an alternative treatment control group.

C

To test the effect of a Hatha yoga intervention on blood pressure, 100 prehypertensive

adolescents were randomly assigned to either Hatha yoga classes or to an art class. This

control group strategy is called:

A) a "usual care" control group.

B) an attention control group.

C) a wait-listed control group.

D) an alternative treatment control group.

B

Which is a major strength of true experimental designs?

A) They are less artificial than other designs.

B) They are undertaken with a strong theoretical underpinning.

C) They tend to be less costly than other designs.

D) They permit greater confidence in making causal inferences than other designs.

D

Which statement is true?

A) RCTs are in the middle of most evidence hierarchies for Therapy questions.

B) RCTs are more susceptible to confounding variables than quasi-experiments.

C) Many variables of interest to nurse researchers cannot be experimentally

manipulated.

D) RCTs are the most often used design for studying the effect of cigarette smoking on

lung cancer.

C

Which is invariably a feature of quasi-experimental research?

A) A control group

B) An intervention

C) Matching

D) Randomization

B

Which statement is true?

A) A signature of quasi-experiments is that they involve randomization.

B) Quasi-experiments sometimes—but not always—involve an intervention.

C) A hallmark of quasi-experiments is that they involve a comparison group.

D) In a nonequivalent control group design, it cannot be assumed that the groups being

compared are equivalent at the outset.

D

A researcher initiated an innovative cigarette cessation intervention. Seventy

participants received the intervention, and their cigarette smoking 3 months later was

compared to smoking at baseline. What type of design is this?

A) A crossover design

B) A nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design

C) A one-group pretest-posttest design

D) A time-series design

C

A team of researchers evaluated a protocol designed to reduce medication errors. Data

on medication errors were obtained for each month in the 12 months preceding the

intervention, and for each month in the 12 months following the intervention. What type

of design is this?

A) A crossover design

B) A nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design

C) A one-group pretest-posttest design

D) A time-series design

D

Compared to true experiments, quasi-experiments are more susceptible to:

A) rival hypotheses about causality.

B) ethical transgressions.

C) feasibility problems.

D) recruitment difficulties.

A

What is a central feature of nonexperimental (observational) studies?

A) Researchers do not manipulate the independent variable.

B) Researchers do not manipulate the dependent variable.

C) Data are collected through the observation of participants' behaviours.

D) Their strength lies in their ability to elucidate cause-and-effect relationships.

A

A sample of both users and nonusers of electronic cigarettes was followed over a 10-

year period to assess whether there were any long-term adverse effects. What type of

design was this?

A) Time series

B) Case control

C) Prospective

D) Crossover

C

Women with and without lymphedema following breast cancer surgery were compared

in terms of their presurgical body mass index (BMI). Which design did the researcher

use?

A) Time-series

B) Case control

C) Prospective

D) Crossover

B

A researcher collected cross-sectional data to estimate the percentage of community-

dwelling older people who were at risk of malnutrition. What type of study is this?

A) A descriptive correlational study

B) A prospective study

C) A retrospective study

D) A prevalence study

D

A nurse researcher plans a study to compare the occurrence of anxiety disorders in

military personnel deployed overseas with those who were never deployed overseas.

What research design would the researcher use?

A) A crossover design

B) A time-series design

C) A nonequivalent control group design

D) A nonexperimental design

D

If a researcher studied the relationship between women's age and their frequency of

performing breast self-examination, how would the study be classified?

A) Descriptive correlational

B) Quasi-experimental

C) Longitudinal

D) Experimental

A

What is a major weakness of correlational studies?

A) They tend to be expensive.

B) They tend to be artificial.

C) They are vulnerable to self-selection bias.

D) They are impractical.

C

Researchers collect data at a single point in time in which type of study?

A) Time-series studies

B) Cross-sectional studies

C) Longitudinal studies

D) Crossover studies

B

A nurse researcher is studying the attitudes of high school students toward bullying at

Metro High School during the past school year. What type of study is this?

A) A time-series study

B) A cross-sectional study

C) A longitudinal study

D) A follow-up study

B

In a study examining the quality of life of patients who had undergone coronary artery

bypass surgery, the research team collected data 2 months after the surgery, and then 2

years later. What type of study is this?

A) Cross-sectional

B) Crossover

C) Follow-up

D) Retrospective

C

Which is a major challenge specific to longitudinal designs?

A) Loss of research control

B) Deterioration of participants' health

C) Inferential challenges

D) Attrition

D

How can researchers take steps to control the study context?

A) Using standardized scripts in communicating with participants

B) Using a prospective rather than retrospective design

C) Maximizing the external validity of the study

D) Using matching

A

There are several alternative strategies for controlling confounding participant

characteristics. Which method is the most effective?

A) Using a homogeneous sample

B) Statistically controlling confounders

C) Matching subjects on confounding variables

D) Randomizing participants to conditions

D

Researchers do not have to know in advance which confounding variables need to be

controlled for which control strategy?

A) Matching

B) Randomization

C) Statistical control

D) Homogeneity

B

Homogeneity is a principle that can be used to control extraneous variation from

participant characteristics. What does homogeneity entail?

A) Randomly assigning participants to homogeneous groups

B) Not allowing important confounders to vary in the research sample

C) Making the treatment conditions as homogeneous as possible

D) Creating homogeneous groups of participants through matching

B

In a retrospective case-control study of the relationship between having or not having a

herniated disc and patients' prior history of trauma in a sample of 200 men and women,

the researcher would most likely use which method to control the gender distribution in

the groups?

A) Having patients serve as their own controls

B) Randomizing patients to groups

C) Matching cases and controls on gender

D) Maintaining homogeneity of the sample

C

A researcher used a two-group quasi-experimental (nonequivalent control group) design

to test the effect of a Tai Chi intervention on quality of life in nursing home residents.

The researchers used analysis of covariance to control residents' age. What strategy for

controlling participant characteristics did the researcher use?

A) Statistical control

B) Matching

C) Randomization

D) Homogeneity

A

Four types of validity affect the rigor of a quantitative study. Which type concerns the

validity of inferences that there is an empirical relationship between variables?

A) Statistical conclusion validity

B) Internal validity

C) Construct validity

D) External validity

A

There are four types of validity that affect the rigor of a quantitative study. Which type

of validity does a researcher address in choosing to use a true experimental design?

A) Statistical conclusion validity

B) Internal validity

C) Construct validity

D) External validity

B

Which can result in a threat to statistical conclusion validity?

A) Temporal ambiguity

B) Maturation

C) Small sample size

D) Selection bias

C

A nurse researcher tested the effectiveness of a telephone intervention to support family

caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease. During the trial, the researcher

undertook an assessment and found that staff were not following the established

intervention procedures. The assessment focused on:

A) statistical power.

B) intervention fidelity.

C) risks for participant attrition.

D) maturation threats.

B

In their cross-sectional correlational study, researchers hypothesized that stress was a

risk factor for depression among college students. The researchers found a correlation

between stress and depression, consistent with the hypothesis. Which is a possible threat

to the internal validity of this study?

A) Selection

B) Mortality

C) Maturation

D) Temporal ambiguity

D

Using a one-group pretest-posttest design, nurse researchers studied the effect of quiet

music on sleep efficiency in low-birth-weight infants. Which threat to internal validity

would be especially salient in this study?

A) Selection

B) Mortality

C) Maturation

D) Temporal ambiguity

C

Nurse researchers randomly assigned 50 participants to a 3-month smoking cessation

intervention and 50 to be in the control group. At the end of the study, there were 40 in

the intervention group and 32 in the control group. Which threat to internal validity

would be especially salient in this study?

A) Selection

B) Mortality

C) Maturation

D) Temporal ambiguity

B

A nurse researcher implemented a physical fitness program for nurses in one hospital

and used nurses in another hospital as the control group. Which threat would be the

most serious to internal validity in this study?

A) Selection

B) Mortality

C) Maturation

D) Temporal ambiguity

A

Which threat to internal validity can emerge when external events co-occurring with the

independent variable affect outcomes?

A) Maturation

B) Selection

C) Mortality

D) History

D

Which is typically the most serious threat to the internal validity of RCTs?

A) Mortality

B) Selection

C) Maturation

D) History

A

Using homogeneity as a strategy for controlling confounding variables can reduce

which type of validity?

A) Statistical conclusion validity

B) Internal validity

C) External validity

D) Construct validity

C

Construct validity concerns inferences from the particular exemplars of a study to the

higher order constructs that they are intended to represent. The absence of which

strategy in an RCT could undermine construct validity?

A) Randomization

B) Statistical control

C) Matching

D) Blinding

D