Nurs 370-Unit 2 Knowledge Checks

1. In a study on patients’ fear of falling, a nurse researcher administered a questionnaire; one question asked about the participants’ educational attainment (1 = high school, 2 = some college, 3 = college degree, 4 = graduate degree). In this example, what is the level of measurement of the variable educational attainment?

	A.	Ordinal
	B.	Interval
	C.	Ratio
	D.	Nominal

2. A researcher controls the risk of a Type I error by:

	A.	computing confidence intervals rather than using hypothesis testing.
	B.	setting the level of significance.
	C.	using the appropriate sampling distribution.
	D.	selecting a sufficiently large sample.

3. In analyzing scores on an anxiety scale, a nurse researcher found the scores were distributed from 62 to 98 in the research sample. What is the range?

	A.	62
	B.	160
	C.	36
	D.	98

4. A nurse researcher tested the effectiveness of a foot massage on geriatric patients’ pain levels. One study participant, Mr. Evans, had a pain score of 80 (on a scale from 0 to 100) before the massage and a pain score of 65 at follow-up. What would a score of 15 for Mr. Evans be called?

	A.	His score at the next follow-up
	B.	His baseline score
	C.	His targeted score
	D.	His change score

5. Which adjective best captures a prudent reader’s attitude in scrutinizing the evidence in a research report?

	A.	Admiring
	B.	Accepting
	C.	Deferential
	D.	Skeptical

6. A team of nurse researchers sent surveys to a sample of 300 students at the University of Connecticut by e-mail and received 154 completed surveys. Which of the following is most likely to have been the researchers’ population construct?

	A.	Public universities in the United States
	B.	Cooperative students at the University of Connecticut
	C.	Nursing students in the United States
	D.	College students in the United States

7. In a study on patient compliance, a nurse researcher administered a questionnaire and asked about the participants’ marital status. What is the level of measurement of the variable marital status?

	A.	Ordinal
	B.	Interval
	C.	Nominal
	D.	Ratio

8. The results section of a quantitative research article summarizes results of the:

	A.	study conclusions.
	B.	measurement plan.
	C.	statistical analyses.
	D.	interpretation of study findings.

9. For those interpreting statistical results, confidence intervals (CIs) provide what information?

	A.	The probability that the results were obtained in error
	B.	The range of the measured values in the sample reported in the research report
	C.	The range of values within which the population value probably lies
	D.	The likelihood that the results will be useful in practice

10. The statistical significance of a study finding indicates that:

	A.	the research methods were valid.
	B.	the results are clinically important.
	C.	biases were eliminated.
	D.	the results were unlikely to be due to chance.

11. Which of the following is an important research precept?

	A.	Causation does not prove a correlation.
	B.	Study results can prove that hypotheses are incorrect.
	C.	Study results can prove that hypotheses are correct.
	D.	Correlation does not prove causation.

12. What is a central purpose of a diagram advocated in the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT)?

	A.	To summarize results from statistical analyses
	B.	To chart the flow of the researcher’s methodological decisions
	C.	To document the progression of research activities in a study
	D.	To document the flow of people into and out of a study sample

13.

A nurse researcher reported that, for scores on a 12-item scale of empathy, x= 43. What does the symbol x represent?

	A.	Total sample size
	B.	An effect size
	C.	A mean
	D.	An individual score

14. A researcher tested the effects of prenatal yoga on the mean stress levels of 100 pregnant women at three points in time—at baseline and at two points of follow-up. Which statistical procedure did the researcher likely use?

	A.	Paired t-test
	B.	Repeated measures ANOVA
	C.	Analysis of variance (ANOVA)
	D.	Chi-squared test

15. It is important that researchers adopt rigorous study methods in an effort to eliminate:

inferences.

biases.

the need for a CONSORT flow chart.

the rejection of null hypothesis.

16. A researcher collected stories about how 16 suicide survivors felt when they learned their suicide attempts had failed. What type of qualitative study is this likely to be?

	A.	A case study
	B.	Qualitative description
	C.	A narrative analysis
	D.	Historical research

17. What is authenticity in Lincoln and Guba’s framework of quality criteria?

	A.	Objectivity or neutrality of the data
	B.	Stability of data over time and conditions
	C.	A researcher’s confidence in the truth value of the findings
	D.	The extent to which researchers faithfully depict the feeling tone of participants’ lives as they are lived

18. Although qualitative research design is emergent, advance planning is needed for which purpose?

	A.	Deciding how large the sample will be
	B.	Identifying personal presuppositions and biases
	C.	Determining the reliability of instruments that will be used
	D.	Developing a coding scheme for the data

19. Descriptive phenomenology most fundamentally involves a search for:

	A.	the essential nature of an experience.
	B.	thematic descriptions from artistic sources.
	C.	intersubjective agreement among judges.
	D.	a core category from open coding.

20. Ethnographers strive to:

	A.	understand human cultures.
	B.	understand the essence of a phenomenon.
	C.	link the etic and emic perspectives into a unified whole.
	D.	develop an etic perspective.

21. A nurse researcher did an in-depth study of physical aggression among residents in nursing home settings. After interviewing 14 residents, the researcher analyzed the data for important themes. Six study participants were asked to review the emergent themes. Which quality-enhancement strategy was the researcher using?

	A.	Method triangulation
	B.	Data triangulation
	C.	Member checking
	D.	Persistent observation

22. Qualitative research involves statistical analysis of numerical data.

True

False

23. A theoretically flexible approach to qualitative analysis developed by the psychologists Braun and Clarke is called:

	A.	content analysis.
	B.	metaphorical analysis.
	C.	thematic analysis.
	D.	exemplar analysis.

24. In phenomenological studies, researchers strive to ensure that their own preconceived beliefs and opinions do not influence the emerging data, using which strategy?

	A.	Constant comparison
	B.	Participant observation
	C.	Hermeneutics
	D.	Bracketing

25. Which of the following statements about quality issues in qualitative research is true?

	A.	One debate among qualitative researchers is whether there should be a generic set of quality standards or different standards for different traditions.
	B.	Quality standards for the conduct of qualitative research are the same as those for the conduct of quantitative studies.
	C.	The debate about using the term “validity” among qualitative researchers has been resolved.
	D.	There is a broad consensus among qualitative researchers regarding what the quality criteria for evaluating qualitative research should be.

26. A nurse researcher is studying how members of an immigrant community manage chronic health problems. The researcher spends 15 months in the field conducting interviews and making observations in the community. Which quality-enhancement strategy is described in this study?

	A.	Reflexivity
	B.	Audit trail maintenance
	C.	Member checking
	D.	Prolonged engagement

27. Several strategies can be used to enhance transferability in qualitative studies. Which is one of those strategies?

A.Thick description

B.Inquiry audits

C.Member checking

D. Method triangulation

28. What does the process of constant comparison involve?

	A.	Comparing two researchers’ interpretation of the data
	B.	Comparing data from the study with data and categories from other similar studies
	C.	Comparing elements present in one data source with those in another for similarity
	D.	Comparing the researchers’ interpretation of the data against study participants’ interpretation

29. A qualitative researcher studied women’s decision to delay childbearing until their late 30s. Initial study participants referred friends who had made similar decisions. What type of sample is being used with such referrals?

	A.	Volunteer
	B.	Purposive
	C.	Convenience
	D.	Snowball

30. Which of the following is not an interpretive dimension for qualitative studies?

	A.	The precision of qualitative results
	B.	The implications of qualitative results
	C.	The meaning of qualitative results
	D.	The importance of qualitative results

31. A nurse researcher conducted an in-depth study of therapeutic relationships in day-surgery settings. The researcher systematically collected, documented, and maintained information about the progress of the study, including the raw data, reflexive and methodological notes, coding decisions, and data analysis products. Which quality-enhancement strategy was the researcher using?

	A.	Ensuring adequate triangulation
	B.	Maintaining an audit trail
	C.	Undertaking a member check
	D.	Enhancing persistent observation

32. In which approach do researchers work in vulnerable communities and collaborate with participants in defining the problem, selecting research methods, and analyzing and interpreting the data?

	A.	Feminist research
	B.	Participatory action research
	C.	Critical grounded theory
	D.	Critical ethnography

33. Critical research differs from traditional qualitative research in its:

	A.	use of reflexivity.
	B.	desire to gain an in-depth understanding of phenomena.
	C.	use of interviews as a data source.
	D.	goal to be transformative.

34. The quality criterion of credibility in the Lincoln and Guba’s framework for qualitative research refers to:

	A.	applicability of the data to other groups.
	B.	objectivity of the interpretation of the data.
	C.	confidence in the truth value of the data.
	D.	the reliability of data over time.

As a strategy for refining a research question for a systematic review, researchers may undertake:

	A.	a mixed studies review.
	B.	a scoping review.
	C.	a power analysis.
	D.	an effect size analysis.

There is no consensus on whether systematic reviews should include the grey literature. What is the grey literature?

	A.	Unpublished research reports
	B.	Research articles published in peer-reviewed journals
	C.	Research reports published in open-access journals.
	D.	Research articles published in non–peer-reviewed journals

A researcher used the Plan-Do-Study-Act model to develop and assess a perioperative hand-off tool and standardized process for improving communication. What type of inquiry was this?

	A.	A survey
	B.	A quality improvement study
	C.	A secondary analysis
	D.	A methodological study

Clinical trials to test new interventions often adhere to a sequence of phases. Which phase of a clinical trial is a full test of the intervention’s efficacy in controlled settings, typically involving the use of a true experimental design?

	A.	Phase IV
	B.	Phase II
	C.	Phase III
	D.	Phase I

Which of the following is a central issue during the pilot phase of an intervention project?

	A.	Cost-effectiveness
	B.	Feasibility
	C.	Efficacy
	D.	Utility in real-world settings

35. Quality improvement (QI) teams often undertake which of the following to identify underlying process deficiencies?

	A.	A lean analysis
	B.	A time-series analysis
	C.	A root cause analysis
	D.	A process analysis

Donabedian created a widely used framework for outcomes research. Which of the following was not a factor in the original Donabedian framework?

	A.	Interactions
	B.	Structures
	C.	Processes
	D.	Outcomes

A nurse researcher gathered data from a national sample of nurses regarding fatigue and burnout by sending out a mailed questionnaire. This is an example of:

	A.	a secondary analysis.
	B.	outcomes research.
	C.	a survey.
	D.	an evaluation.

Which research question is appropriately phrased for a quantitative systematic review, within the PICO framework?

	A.	“What percentage of adults aged 60 years and older have dementia?”
	B.	“What factors put people at risk for dementia?”
	C.	“What is the effect of music, compared to no music, on agitation levels in patients with dementia?”
	D.	“What is the experience of caring for a patient with dementia?”

Which type of research has the goal of documenting and appraising health care and nursing services?

	A.	Outcomes research
	B.	Methodological research
	C.	An economic analysis
	D.	A process analysis

Which of the following statements is true of mixed methods research?

	A.	A mix of qualitative and quantitative research should be used in all research studies.
	B.	Quantitative and qualitative methods are complementary and can help researchers avoid the limitations of a single approach.
	C.	Using mixed methods is not as popular as a research strategy as it was a decade ago.
	D.	An advantage of mixed methods research is that people are more likely to participate because the experience is enjoyable.

In a meta-analysis, the “unit of analysis” is:

	A.	prior systematic reviews.
	B.	individual study participants.
	C.	results from primary quantitative studies.
	D.	results from primary qualitative studies.

In an economic analysis, which would most likely be the researcher’s goal?

	A.	To evaluate the program’s effectiveness
	B.	To assess whether a program was meeting its objectives
	C.	To weigh a program’s benefits against its monetary costs
	D.	To describe how a program was implemented

Which is a major limitation of Internet surveys?

	A.	They are not appropriate for longitudinal studies.
	B.	They involve a lot of personnel time.
	C.	They tend to be more expensive than other methods of doing surveys.
	D.	They tend to have low response rates.

36. Cornerstone of EBPS= Systematic reviews

37. In the context of ethical principles, what is beneficence?

	A.	Participants’ right to self-determination
	B.	Researchers’ obligation to protect participants’ privacy
	C.	Researchers’ obligation to maximize benefits and minimize harms
	D.	Researchers’ obligation to fully disclose aspects of the research to participants

1. A researcher distributes a questionnaire to classrooms of nursing students about their health-promoting activities. The researcher considered the completion of the questionnaire as an indicator of the students’ permission to use their data. This is an example of:

	A.	process consent.
	B.	deception.
	C.	confidentiality.
	D.	implied consent.

2. Which group would be considered vulnerable for research purposes, according to conventional guidelines?

	A.	People who do not speak English
	B.	Women hospitalized for a mastectomy
	C.	Pediatric patients
	D.	Members of a senior citizens group

3. In response to human rights violations, various codes of ethics have been developed. Which code of ethical standards was developed after the Nazi atrocities were made public?

The ICN Code of Ethics

The Nuremberg Code

The Declaration of Helsinki

The Belmont Report

4. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, an example of research with serious ethical transgressions, violated which ethical principle?

	A.	Failure to obtain a Certificate of Confidentiality
	B.	Failure to conduct debriefing sessions
	C.	Failure to protect participants from harm
	D.	Failure to treat participants as a vulnerable group

5. In undertaking a risk/benefit assessment to enhance the ethical conduct of a study, which of the following might the researchers identify as a potential benefit?

	A.	Researchers’ opportunity to publish in a prestigious journal
	B.	Students’ opportunity to gain research experience
	C.	Participants’ opportunity to take some time off from work
	D.	Knowledge gains that could benefit patients in the future

6. A researcher recruits patients for a study and advises them that their time commitment will be 45 minutes in a single session. Participants are not told at the outset that the researcher plans to collect more data from study participants 6 months later. This might be considered an example of:

	A.	covert data collection.
	B.	invasion of privacy.
	C.	emotional harm.
	D.	exploitation.

7. In the context of health research, a situation that results in an ethical dilemma is one in which:

	A.	Informed consent cannot be obtained from all study participants.
	B.	An ethical transgression is unavoidable.
	C.	Participants’ rights and the demands for rigorous research are in conflict.
	D.	Researchers knowingly violate ethical principles to achieve personal goals.

8. Researchers can show their respect for participants in several ways, including the use of debriefing sessions. What are debriefing sessions?

	A.	Discussions with a small group of participants before the study to test the informed consent process
	B.	Discussions with prospective participants to recruit them into the study
	C.	Discussions with participants after data collection to allow them to ask questions or provide feedback
	D.	Discussions with a human subjects committee before a study to obtain their permission to proceed as planned

9. The function of an Institutional Review Board is to:

	A.	authorize Certificates of Confidentiality.
	B.	review the ethical aspects of a study before it gets underway.
	C.	identify ethical dilemmas.
	D.	oversee the humane treatment of animals in research.

10. What is the safeguard mechanism by which researchers cannot link study data to specific participants?

	A.	Informed consent
	B.	Anonymity
	C.	Covert data collection
	D.	Confidentiality

11. In the context of health care research, minimal risks are risks that:

	A.	affect a minority of study participants.
	B.	make informed consent unnecessary.
	C.	are no greater than those encountered in daily life.
	D.	do not require the payment of a stipend.

12. To protect participants’ right to fair treatment, what are researchers who seek a federal research grant in the United States required to do?

	A.	Disclose the benefits of the research to participants
	B.	Offer participants a stipend for participation in the study
	C.	Obtain informed consent from participants
	D.	Include women and minorities in their studies

13. The Belmont Report articulated three broad principles of ethical conduct in research with human study participants. Which of the following is not one of these principles?

	A.	Justice
	B.	Informed consent
	C.	Respect for human dignity
	D.	Beneficence

14. What action could a researcher take to increase the confidentiality of study participants?

	A.	Maintain all identifying information on computer files rather than in manual files.
	B.	Avoid collecting any of their identifying information.
	C.	Avoid introducing participants to other participants in the study.
	D.	Destroy all identifying information within 3 years of the end of the study.

15. Researchers must screen primary studies for eligibility in a quantitative systematic review. Which of the following is a plausible eligibility criterion?

	A.	The primary studies must be within the grounded theory tradition.
	B.	The primary studies must have had funding.
	C.	The primary studies must have been based on pilot studies.
	D.	The primary study reports must be written in English or Spanish.

16. In the evolving field of evidence integration, special types of review are emerging. Which of the following is a type of review that integrates findings from two or more systematic reviews?

	A.	Umbrella reviews
	B.	Rapid reviews
	C.	Scoping reviews
	D.	Mixed studies reviews

17. Which research question is appropriately phrased for a quantitative systematic review, within the PICO framework?

	A.	“What is the experience of caring for a patient with dementia?”
	B.	“What factors put people at risk for dementia?”
	C.	“What is the effect of music, compared to no music, on agitation levels in patients with dementia?”
	D.	“What percentage of adults aged 60 years and older have dementia?”

18. Which of the following is an advantage of meta-analysis, compared to narrative integration in a systematic review?

	A.	Meta-analysis is less work than a narrative systematic review.
	B.	Meta-analysis requires a smaller sample of primary studies than a narrative systematic review.
	C.	Meta-analysis integrates information in a more objective manner than in a narrative integration.
	D.	Meta-analysis is feasible with a wider range of research questions than a narrative systematic review.

19. There is no consensus on whether systematic reviews should include the grey literature. What is the grey literature?

	A.	Research articles published in peer-reviewed journals
	B.	Research reports published in open-access journals.
	C.	Unpublished research reports
	D.	Research articles published in non–peer-reviewed journals

20. Which activity is not normally undertaken as part of doing a metasynthesis?

	A.	Searching for and selecting a sample of primary studies
	B.	Evaluating the quality of the primary studies
	C.	Obtaining the original data set from primary study researchers
	D.	Systematically extracting and recording data from the primary studies

21. In the Johanna Briggs Institute’s (JBI’s) approach to meta-aggregation, which of the following is a step in the data analysis process?

	A.	Collapsing findings to compute frequency effect sizes
	B.	Integrating findings using reciprocal translation analysis
	C.	Rating confidence in the findings using ConQual
	D.	Collapsing two or more categories into synthesized findings

22. Systematic reviews are considered a cornerstone of:

	A.	evidence-based practice.
	B.	meta-analyses.
	C.	evidence hierarchies.
	D.	primary studies.

23. Which statement about systematic reviews is true?

	A.	“Systematic review” is another name for a literature review.
	B.	All systematic reviews of quantitative studies involve a meta-analysis.
	C.	Systematic reviews follow many of the same “rules” as those for primary studies.
	D.	All systematic reviews of quantitative studies involve a metasynthesis.

24. Which of the following is a criterion for undertaking a meta-analysis?

	A.	The results among the primary studies in a meta-analysis must all be consistent.
	B.	All of the primary studies must have clinically significant results.
	C.	There needs to be a sufficiently large number of relevant primary studies.
	D.	All of the primary studies must have statistically significant results.