Nur Final
If a researcher wanted to describe the relationship between women's age and frequency of performing breast self-examination, the study would be classified as which of the following? A) Descriptive correlational B) Quasi-experimental C) Longitudinal D) Experimental
A
If the coefficient alpha for a stress scale was computed to be .80, the scale would be which of the following? A) More reliable than a scale with an alpha of .50 B) A valid indicator of stress C) Of indeterminate reliability until the scale's test-retest reliability was assessed D) Of unacceptably low reliability
A
If the power for an analysis was .50, which of the following would be true? A) There would be a 50% risk of a Type II error B) The odds ratio would be equal to .50 C) The 95% CI would have a range of 50 points D) There would be a 50% risk of a Type I error
A
Which of the following is characteristic of qualitative research? A) It is capable of adjusting to what is being learned during data collection. B) It depends on the robust nature of statistical analysis. C) It does not have to obtain Institutional Review Board approval before conducting the study. D) It involves survey research design.
A
Which of the following is the dependent variable (DV) in the research question, "Are serial 12-lead ECGs more accurate in diagnosing acute myocardial infarctions (MI) than a single initial 12-lead ECG?" A) Accuracy in diagnosing an MI B) Myocardial infarction C) Serial 12-lead ECGs D) Single initial 12-lead ECG
A
Which of the following is the final phase of Leininger and McFarland's (2006) ethnonursing data analysis guide? A) Abstract major themes and present findings B) Identify and categorize descriptors C) Analyze data to discover repetitive patterns in their context D) Collect, describe, and record data
A
Which of the following is the least likely research tradition to be used by qualitative nurse researchers? A) Experimental B) Phenomenologic C) Ethnographic D) Grounded theory
A
Which of the following is the term representing the "difference between a true and obtained score''? A) Error of measurement B) An observed score C) Response-set bias D) Situational contaminant
A
Which of the following is true of both theories and conceptual models? A) They are invented or created, not discovered. B) They need to be borrowed from other disciplines for nursing studies. C) They contain a set of logically interrelated propositions. D) They are different words for exactly the same thing.
A
Which of the following terms would likely be used only by qualitative researchers, as opposed to quantitative researchers, to refer to people who participate in a study? A) Informants B) Study participants C) Subjects D) Investigators
A
Which of the following types of sample is considered to be the weakest for quantitative studies? A) Convenience B) Quota C) Purposive D) Systematic
A
Which of the following would be the most appropriate reason to adjust the sampling method in a grounded theory study as it unfolds? A) To better evaluate emerging conceptualizations B) To support past descriptions of the phenomenon C) To increase the availability of participants D) To postpone data saturation
A
In a legal case, a participant is protected if a Certificate of Confidentiality was issued by which of the following? A) The National Institutes of Health to prevent forced disclosure B) The Internal Review Board of the institution to protect the participant C) The principle researcher to avoid a breach of confidentiality D) The court to protect a member of a vulnerable group
A
In a qualitative study, process consent is used for which of the following reasons? A) The researcher may need to renegotiate consent to gather more data. B) The researcher needs consent for each of the surveys to be answered. C) The participant may divulge private information and then regret it. D) The participant may forget the risks involved in a study after being initially informed.
A
In a qualitative study, the researcher becomes involved with the research process and must ensure that his or her own preconceived beliefs and opinions do not influence the data that is emerging from the study. The way the researcher does this is by which of the following? A) Bracketing B) Hermeneutics C) Narrative analysis D) Pentadic dramatism
A
In a quantitative research article, a review of prior research on the problem under study is most likely to be found in which section? A) Introduction B) Method section C) Results section D) Discussion
A
In an RCT, the most serious threat to internal validity typically is which of the following? A) Mortality B) Selection C) Maturation D) History
A
In an analysis of variance (ANOVA), which of the following contrasts variation between groups with variation within groups? A) F ratio B) Post hoc tests C) Chi-squared statistic D) Pearson's r
A
In both qualitative and quantitative studies, researchers use debriefing to do which of the following? A) Allow participants to ask questions and give feedback to the researcher B) Allow the researcher to assess the participant before they leave the study site C) Explain to the participant what information they can tell others D) Describe the purpose of the study and the consent form
A
In the following clinical question, what is the Outcome (O component): What is the effect of relaxation therapy versus biofeedback on the functional ability of patients with rheumatoid arthritis? A) Functional ability B) Rheumatoid arthritis C) Biofeedback D) Relaxation therapy
A
The conceptual phase of the research process involves which of the following activities? A) Formulating the problem and reviewing the related literature B) Selecting an appropriate research design for the study C) Finalizing and reviewing the research plan D) Interpreting the results of data analysis of key variables
A
The dependent (outcome) variable in the research question, "Is the quality of life of nursing home residents affected by their functional ability or hearing acuity?" is which of the following? A) Quality of life B) Functional ability C) Hearing acuity D) Residence in a nursing home
A
The dependent variable in the research question, "Is the quality of life of nursing home residents affected by their functional ability or hearing acuity?" is which of the following? A) Quality of life B) Functional ability C) Hearing acuity D) Residence in a nursing home
A
The electronic database that focuses on the nursing and allied health literature is: A) CINAHL B) EMBASE C) Web of Knowledge D) MEDLINE
A
The focus of case study design is which of the following? A) Understanding why an individual thinks or behaves in a particular manner B) Focusing on a story as the object of inquiry C) Emergence of content analysis D) Presentation of pentadic dramatism
A
The hypothesis, "A person's emotional status is not affected by a relocation to a nursing home" is which of the following? A) Null B) Not testable C) Directional D) Nondirectional
A
Which of the following is a non-nursing conceptual model frequently used in nursing research and can be considered a shared theory? A) Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory B) Pender's Health Promotion Model C) Mishel's Uncertainty in Illness Theory D) Beck's Theory of Postpartum Depression
A
Which of the following is an ethical principle cited by the Belmont Report as a standard for research? A) Beneficence B) Philanthropy C) Duty D) Morality
A
Which of the following is an example of research misconduct? A) Fabrication of data B) Concealed observation C) IRB rejection D) A high monetary incentive to study participants
A
Which statement infers the advantage to using cross-over designs for quantitative research? A) Enhances equivalence among participants exposed to different interventions. B) Different levels of the intervention are easily compared. C) Delaying the intervention highlights the effects of persuasion. D) Allows all participants to choose the intervention they will receive.
A
Nurses are most likely to encounter research results in which of the following? Select all that apply. A) Poster sessions B) Journal articles C) Textbooks D) Dissertations
A, B
Which of the following theories are usually adopted by ethnographers in the conduction of qualitative research? Select all that apply. A) Ideational theories B) Materialistic theories C) Substantive theories D) Preexisting theories
A, B
Who may sign the informed consent for a child to participate in a study? Select all that apply. A) Grandmother with legal guardianship B) Parent C) Sibling over 18 years of age D) Child over 7 years old
A, B
A critical researcher is concerned with which of the following? Select all that apply. A) A critique of society and envisioning new possibilities B) An aim to make people aware of contradictions and disparities in beliefs and social practices C) Understanding how individuals construct and narrate stories to make sense of their world D) Fostering enlightened self-knowledge
A, B, D
A true experiment requires which of the following? Select all that apply. A) Control B) Intervention C) Blinding D) Randomization
A, B, D
The five stages of change of the Transtheoretical Model include which of the following? Select all that apply. A) Precontemplation B) Action C) Evaluation D) Maintenance
A, B, D
Vulnerable groups include which of the following? Select all that apply. A) Prisoners B) Pregnant women C) Young adults between 19 and 24 years of age D) Infants and toddlers
A, B, D
Which of the following are key criteria for making causal inferences about the relationship between two variables? Select all that apply. A) Lack of temporal ambiguity about which variable occurred first B) Statistical confirmation that a relationship between the two exists C) The ability to randomly assign study participants to groups D) The ability to rule out other factors as potential causes of the outcome
A, B, D
Which of the following are terms that are considered aspects of trustworthiness within the Lincoln and Guba framework? Select all that apply. A) Transferability B) Confirmability C) Stability D) Dependability
A, B, D
Which of the following are true statements regarding the function of hypotheses in quantitative research? Select all that apply. A) They emerge from a theory. B) They offer direction and suggest explanations for relationships. C) They prove relationships between variables. D) They facilitate the interpretation of data.
A, B, D
Which of the following comprise the three primary ethical principles articulated by the Belmont Report? Select all that apply. A) Beneficence B) Respect for human dignity C) Anonymity D) Justice
A, B, D
Which of the following is a major source of ideas for research problems? Select all that apply. A) Theories or conceptual frameworks B) Personal nursing experience C) Nursing code of ethics D) Nursing literature
A, B, D
Which of the following is a type of purposive sampling? Select all that apply. A) Extreme case sampling B) Maximum variation sampling C) Snowball sampling D) Typical case sampling
A, B, D
Which of the following is an activity involved in qualitative content analysis? Select all that apply. A) Breaking down data into smaller units B) Coding and naming units according to the content they represent C) Collecting information on participants D) Grouping coded material based on shared concepts
A, B, D
Which of the following is an aspect or dimension of the interpretive task? Select all that apply. A) The accuracy or credibility of the results B) The meaning of the results C) The vigor of the results D) The implications of the results
A, B, D
Which of the following is an issue that a qualitative researcher attends to in planning a study? Select all that apply. A) Selecting a site B) Identifying needed equipment for field work C) Selecting research instruments D) Determining the maximum amount of time available for field work
A, B, D
Which of the following is characteristic of qualitative research? Select all that apply. A) It is consistent with the constructivist paradigm of inquiry. B) It generates causal hypotheses. C) It tests hypotheses. D) It involves an iterative process of interpretation and analysis.
A, B, D
Which of the following is characteristic of qualitative research? Select all that apply. A) Uncovering multiple realities B) Finding meaning in an experience C) Generalizing results to a target population D) Using non-random sampling
A, B, D
Which of the following statements are true? Select all that apply. A) Reflexive journals can be used in the bracketing process. B) Hermeneutics focuses on interpreting the meaning of experiences. C) Descriptive phenomenology aims at understanding tacit knowledge. D) Interpretive phenomenologists often supplement in-depth interviews with an analysis of texts (e.g., novels, poetry).
A, B, D
Which of the following is true of an experimental study? Select all that apply. A) It includes an intervention or treatment. B) It is a type of qualitative research. C) It can be called a clinical trial. D) It tests causal relationships.
A, C, D
Which of the following statements about data collection in qualitative research is true? Select all that apply. A) When interviewing participants, qualitative researchers do not tend to ask their questions in any predetermined order. B) Unstructured observational data are often gathered in field settings through participant observation. C) Ethnographers usually gather their data using both observation and self-reports. D) The data for an unstructured interview are most likely to be in the form of field notes that the researcher records immediately after the interview has been completed.
A, C, D
Which of the following are key principles that guide the selection of a sample for a phenomenological study? Select all that apply. A) The participant must be able to articulate what it was like to have lived the experience. B) The participant must have considerable knowledge of the phenomenon being studied. C) The participant must be someone who is closely associated with someone who has experienced the phenomenon. D) The participant must have experienced the phenomenon being studied.
A, D
Which of the following characteristics refers to qualitative nursing research design? Select all that apply. A) The focus is to develop a rich understanding of a phenomenon. B) Researchers strive to eliminate extraneous variables. C) It is critical to maintain constancy of conditions. D) Most studies are retrospective.
A, D
A 95% CI, in parameter estimation, corresponds, in a hypothesis testing framework, to which of the following? A) An alpha of .95 B) An alpha of .05 C) A beta of .95 D) A beta of .05
B
A critical concern for qualitative researchers in their sampling decisions is which of the following? A) Obtaining a sample that is representative of the population under study B) Accessing information-rich sources of data C) Recruiting a sample that can facilitate saturation quickly and efficiently D) Obtaining a sample with high potential for generalizability
B
A grounded theory often has as a theoretical underpinning which of the following? A) An ideational theory B) Symbolic interactionism C) Phenomenology D) The Theory of Human Becoming
B
A group of 150 seniors with type II diabetes consented to a study examining the relationship between self-care and quality of life. Seniors received didactic classes on proper diet, exercise, stress, and medication adherence with 30-minute low-impact exercise sessions once monthly for a period of 6 months. Ordinal level data collected during the study would include which of the following? A) Gender, ethnicity B) Education level, Heart Association classification C) Age, body mass index D) Scores on a self-care index
B
A group of nurse researchers specializing in the care of pediatric oncology patients decides to perform interviews on nurses caring for pediatric oncology patients to determine patterns of nurse caring. After deciding on fifteen interview questions, they submit their draft to five pediatric oncology nurse practitioners for input. This practice illustrates obtaining which of the following? A) Internal consistency B) Content validity C) Face validity D) Equivalency
B
A hypothesis that states there is no relationship between the independent variable(s) and the dependent variable(s) is called which of the following? A) Non-directional hypothesis B) Null hypothesis C) Research hypothesis D) Simple hypothesis
B
A major advantage of closed-ended questions is that they do which of the following? A) Are easy to construct B) Are analyzed in a straightforward manner C) Encourage in-depth responses D) Are not subject to response biases
B
A measure of which of the following traits would be a particularly good candidate for a test-retest reliability assessment? A) Anxiety B) Fear of heights C) Mood D) Fatigue
B
A nurse-midwife conducted a phenomenology study of the lived experience of women in Haiti who gave birth following the 2010 Haitian earthquake. She collected data from 15 women over a 12-month period of time. Which quality-enhancement strategy is described in this example? A) Persistent observation B) Prolonged engagement C) Reflexivity D) Data triangulation
B
A pretest is to a posttest as which of the following? A) The placebo effect is to the Hawthorne effect B) A baseline measure is to a final outcome measure C) Blinding is to matching D) Attrition is to a mortality threat
B
A qualitative researcher identifies trends in the phenomenon being studied, yet several new cases received through a snowball sampling effort have divergent views of the phenomenon. These new cases are referred to as which of the following? A) Confirming cases B) Disconfirming cases C) Purposive cases D) Typical cases
B
A researcher compared the mean anxiety levels of patients in a soothing music group, a massage group, or a control group. The statistical procedure that was likely used to test group differences is which of the following? A) t-test B) ANOVA C) MANOVA D) Chi-squared test
B
A researcher wanted to compare male and female oncology patients in terms of satisfaction with nursing care, controlling for age and severity of illness. The analysis would involve which of the following? A) Multiple regression B) ANCOVA C) Logistic regression D) MANCOVA
B
A researcher wants to investigate the effect of patients' body position on blood pressure. The study would most likely be of which type? A) Qualitative B) Quantitative C) Either quantitative or qualitative (researcher preference) D) Insufficient information to determine
B
To test the significance of differences between the means of two or more groups on two or more outcome variables simultaneously, without controlling for covariates, one would use which of the following? A) Analysis of variance (ANOVA) B) Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) C) Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) D) Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA)
B
Type of college degree (associate's, bachelor's, master's, doctorate) is measured on which of the following scales? A) Nominal B) Ordinal C) Interval D) Ratio
B
Using homogeneity as a strategy for controlling confounding variables can reduce which of the following? A) Construct validity B) External validity C) Intervention fidelity D) Internal validity
B
What mechanism does the MEDLINE database use to provide consistency in information retrieval? A) Textwords B) MeSH terminology C) Boolean operators D) Scopus reviews
B
What term is used to describe accounts of research in the literature prepared by someone other than the researchers who conducted the study? A) Primary sources B) Secondary sources C) Ghost writer studies D) Literature reviews
B
Which of the following can reduce the statistical conclusion validity of a study? A) Low attrition B) Low power C) Low generalizability D) Low maturation
B
Which of the following data collection approaches is most likely to use a topic guide? A) A completely unstructured interview B) A focus group interview C) A critical incidents interview D) Participant observation
B
Which of the following design features can apply to both a qualitative and quantitative study? A) Manipulation of the independent variable B) Cross-sectional versus longitudinal data collection C) Control over confounding variables D) Random assignment of study participants
B
Which of the following is a datum from a quantitative study of the labor and delivery experiences of women over age 40? A) Length of time in labor B) 107 oz C) "I practically slept through the whole thing!" D) Vaginal versus cesarean delivery
B
Which of the following is a probability sampling method? A) Convenience sampling B) Systematic sampling C) Consecutive sampling D) Quota sampling
B
Which of the following is a question that would be asked as part of the process of appraising research evidence? A) What are the P, I, and O components? B) How rigorous and reliable is the evidence? C) What type of trigger should I use? D) Is a relevant systematic review available?
B
Which of the following is an example of a nominal measurement? A) Grams of carbohydrate intake B) Hand dominance (right or left ) C) Emotional intelligence quotients D) Age in years
B
Which of the following is an example of a ratio measurement? A) Fahrenheit scale for measuring temperature B) Body mass index C) Quality of life scale score D) Levels of education
B
Which of the following is an example of a systematic review? A) An RCT study published in the journal Nursing Research B) A meta-analysis from the Cochrane database C) A synopsis published in Evidence-Based Nursing D) A clinical practice guideline from the National Guideline Clearinghouse
B
Which of the following is an example of ratio measurement? A) Likert scale response to questions B) Twenty-four-hour oral cc intake C) Eye color (blue, brown, hazel, green) D) Ability to perform activities of daily living
B
Which of the following is indicated by the "content validity index (CVI)"? A) Internal consistency of the measured items within one measure B) The extent of expert agreement ensuring adequate content coverage C) Equivalence of two separate forms of a measure D) Criterion-related assessment
B
Which of the following is invariably present in quasi-experimental research? A) A control group B) An intervention C) Matching of subjects D) Randomization
B
Which sampling method would be most practical and provide the most reliable data to study the medication errors by registered nurses who work in city, county, and federal prisons? A) Purposive sampling B) Stratified random sampling C) Quota sampling D) Simple random sampling
B
Why does a researcher introduce quasi-statistics? A) As an analytic strategy B) To validate and refine themes C) As a taxonomic analysis D) To provide an overall structure
B
The term trustworthiness in qualitative research parallels which of the following terms used in quantitative research? Select all that apply. A) Generalizability B) Validity C) Reliability D) Correlation
B, C
Steps generally employed in the management and analysis of qualitative data include which of the following? Select all that apply. A) Testing hypotheses B) Searching for recurrent themes and patterns C) Validating themes and patterns D) Developing a category scheme
B, C, D
The research design for a quantitative study involves decisions with regard to which of the following? Select all that apply. 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
B, C, D
Which of the following accurately describes a task that computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software can accomplish? Select all that apply. A) Code interview portions and observational records B) Facilitate examination of relationships between codes C) Inform the researcher of how best to analyze the data D) Allow retrieval of portions of text corresponding to specified codes for analysis
B, D
A survey question asks subjects to respond to the following statement: "The overall hospital experience that I received during my hospital stay considered my needs as an individual." They were asked to identify, on a five-point scale, the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with the statement. This is an example of which scale? A) Social scale B) Likert scale C) Visual analog scale D) Differential scale
B
At what point in the research process do grounded theory qualitative researchers conduct a literature review? A) Prior to data collection B) After beginning to collect data C) At the conclusion of the study D) Prior to sample selection
B
Confirmability in qualitative research refers to which of the following? A) The reliability of data over time B) Objectivity of the interpretation of the data C) Applicability of the data to other groups D) Confidence in the truth value of the data
B
Debriefing sessions are which of the following? A) Discussions with prospective participants to obtain informed consent B) Discussions with participants after a study to explain various aspects of the study and provide a forum for questioning C) Discussions with a human subjects committee before a study to obtain permission to proceed D) Recruitment discussions with prospective participants
B
Diekelmann and colleagues proposed a 7-stage process of hermeneutic analysis that includes the identification of which of the following? A) An appropriate metaphor B) A constitutive pattern C) A hermeneutic circle D) An exemplar
B
Ethnographers seek to learn from members of a cultural group to understand their world view. Ethnographic researchers refer to which of the following two perspectives? A) Ying and yang B) Emic and etic C) Data saturation and generalization D) Significant and nonsignificant
B
Ethnographers use a very specific strategy for making observations of the culture under study while being involved in activities. This is referred to as which of the following? A) Surveys B) Participant observation C) Hermeneutics D) Bracketing
B
Hermeneutics is closely allied with which research tradition? A) Ethnography B) Phenomenology C) Grounded theory D) Symbolic Interaction
B
In a case-control design, a frequently used method of controlling confounding variables is which of the following? A) Using participants as their own controls B) Matching of cases and controls on confounding variables C) Randomization to groups D) Homogeneity of the sample
B
In a nonequivalent control group design, the most serious threat to internal validity is which of the following? A) Testing B) Selection C) Maturation D) History
B
In a normal distribution, 95% of scores fall within approximately how many standard deviations (SDs) from the mean? A) 1 B) 2 C) 3 D) 4
B
In an electronic literature search, the searcher does not necessarily have to know the database's subject headings for retrieving information on a topic because of the capability known as which of the following? A) Searching B) Mapping C) Restricting focus D) Copying
B
In an experiment testing a smoking cessation technique with two groups of smokers, one control and one experimental, what index would measure the proportion of individuals in the control group who may have avoided the undesirable outcome of continued smoking had they been chosen for the experimental group? A) Absolute risk B) Absolute risk reduction C) Odds ratio D) Risk ratio
B
In qualitative data analysis, which element can be used as an analytic strategy? A) Management B) Metaphors C) Conceptualization D) Constructivism
B
In qualitative research, saturation indicates which of the following? A) There are too many subjects B) Themes in the data are repeating C) Too many variables are included in a study D) The quality of the data is excellent
B
In the following CINAHL citation, to what does the "6" refer? Nursing Research 2012 Nov/Dec; 61(6): 405-411. A) Journal volume B) Journal issue in a given year C) Month of issue D) A page number
B
In the following statement, what would the number 60 be called: 95% CI for the mean of 60 = 50 to 70? A) The probability value B) The point estimate C) The lower confidence limit D) The effect size
B
In which section of the research report might the research problem be stated? A) Abstract B) Introduction C) Methods section D) Results section
B
In which section would the following sentence most likely appear: "The study sample consisted of 135 mother-infant dyads from an inner-city neighborhood"? A) Introduction B) Method section C) Results section D) Discussion
B
Information about the magnitude or importance of results typically takes the form of which of the following? A) Significance levels B) Effect size estimates C) Correlation coefficients D) Confidence intervals
B
It is important that researchers design rigorous study methods to prevent which of the following? A) Making inferences B) Biases C) Rejection of null hypothesis D) Internal audit
B
Most evidence hierarchies put which of the following at the pinnacle? A) Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) B) Systematic reviews of multiple studies C) Quality improvement projects D) It depends on the research question
B
Nursing theories that are more restricted in their generality and set out to explain a smaller focus of the human experience are known as which of the following? A) Grand theories B) Middle-range theories C) Classical theories D) Propositions
B
One of the characteristics of a normal distribution is which of the following? A) It is bimodal B) 95% of the values are within two standard deviations above and below the mean C) The values are positively skewed D) The mean is 100
B
Qualitative researchers often count on recruiting by referral, which is called which of the following? A) Convenience sampling B) Snowball sampling C) Volunteer sampling D) Purposive sampling
B
Quasi-statistics are essentially a method of which of the following? A) Statistical analysis B) Validation C) Thematic generation D) Constant comparison
B
Questions such as "What were the research questions?" and "What were the findings?" and "What methods were used to address those questions?" can all be answered in which of the following sections? A) Discussion B) Abstract C) Introduction D) Results
B
Research findings that are organized by categories or labels can be found in which type of study? A) Clinical trial B) Qualitative C) Quantitative D) Quasi-Experimental
B
Sampling may be defined as which of the following? A) Selection of an accessible population for a study B) Selection of a subset of a population to represent the entire population C) Assignment of study participants to treatment groups D) Technique for ensuring that every element in the population has an equal chance of being included in the study
B
Stages of change is a construct that was developed within which of the following? A) The Health Belief Model B) The Transtheoretical Model C) Health as Expanding Consciousness Model D) The Theory of Planned Behavior
B
Studies that collect data at one point in time are called which of the following? A) Time series B) Cross-sectional studies C) Longitudinal studies D) Crossover studies
B
Suppose a researcher found a multiple correlation of .40 (R = .40) between candy intake, age, income on the one hand and dental caries on the other. The amount of variability that could be accounted for in dental caries by candy intake, age, and income is which of the following? A) 4% B) 16% C) 40% D) Cannot be determined
B
The Results section of a research article summarizes results of which of the following? A) Study conclusions B) Statistical analyses C) Inferences D) Interpretation of study findings
B
The accuracy and consistency of information that is obtained from a study is which of the following? A) Credibility B) Reliability C) Validity D) Trustworthiness
B
The aggregate of those to whom a researcher wishes to generalize study results is which of the following? A) Gatekeepers B) Population C) Sample D) Sampling plan
B
The belief that a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder will learn appropriate behaviors from continued positive reinforcement of acceptable behavior patterns can generate a research hypothesis. This generalization of the relationship between phenomena is known as which of the following? A) Null Hypothesis B) Theory C) Model D) Framework
B
The criterion used by quantitative researchers involving the soundness of the evidence is which of the following? A) Reliability B) Validity C) Credibility D) Generalizability
B
The hypothesis, "Women who live in rural areas are unlikely to practice breast self-examination" is which of the following? A) Null B) Not testable C) Directional D) Nondirectional
B
The level of measurement that classifies and ranks people in terms of the degree to which they possess the attribute of interest is which of the following? A) Nominal B) Ordinal C) Interval D) Ratio
B
The major difference between quantitative and qualitative research is that qualitative research seeks to find answers based on which of the following? A) Solid factual data B) Experiences or descriptions C) Etiology D) Systematic process
B
The mode is an index of which of the following? A) Bivariate relationships B) Central tendency C) Risk D) Variability
B
The nurse is designing a research study to assess the effectiveness of two wound healing dressings. What key design feature will be most important to address in this type of study? A) Intervention B) Comparisons C) Blinding D) Location
B
Theoretical sampling is most likely to be used by which of the following? A) Ethnographers B) Grounded theory researchers C) Phenomenologists D) Qualitative descriptive researchers
B
Grounded theory tries to account for people's actions from the perspective of those involved. It seeks to discover this main concern or problem and the behavior that is designed to resolve it. The manner in which people resolve this main concern is known as which of the following? A) Participatory action research B) Constant comparison C) The core variable D) A single entity
C
If a researcher calculated a t-statistic to be -2.5 and the theoretical t value (for df = 60 and alpha = .05) is 2.0, the researcher would do which of the following? A) Conclude that a Type II error had been made B) Accept the null hypothesis C) Reject the null hypothesis D) Use a different level of significance
C
If a researcher unobtrusively studies interactions among patients in a psychiatric hospital, what might this be called? A) Research misconduct B) Breach of confidentiality C) Covert data collection D) Deception
C
If a target population contains 10,600 elements and the researcher seeks a systematic random sample of 50, the sampling interval would be which of the following? A) 116 B) 600 C) 212 D) 53
C
If the problem statement from a proposed research study indicates the need to generate a theory relating to social processes (e.g., how persons within a social group interact with one another), the study design will most likely be which of the following? A) Quantitative study B) Ethnography C) Grounded theory D) Phenomenology
C
In a qualitative research article, the thematic analysis of the data would be presented in which section? A) Introduction B) Method section C) Results section D) Discussion section
C
In a qualitative study that involves multiple contacts between the researcher and study participants, the researcher may negotiate which of the following? A) Implied consent B) Stipend C) Process consent D) Risk/benefit ratio
C
In a research report, the statement of purpose is normally found where? A) In the abstract B) In the first paragraph of the report C) At the end of the introduction D) At the beginning of the method section
C
In conducting a subject search in an electronic database, you would most likely initiate the search by typing in which of the following? A) An author's name B) Restrictions to the search C) A topic or keyword D) An ancestor or descendant
C
In qualitative research, investigator triangulation is comparable to which quantitative research concept? A) Content validity B) Construct validity C) Inter-rater reliability D) Internal consistency
C
In qualitative research, theory is which of the following? A) A method to test hypotheses B) A tool to direct the research project C) A product of the research D) A way to test relationships between two different groups
C
A phenomenological researcher is interviewing a participant who has lived through a hurricane. Which of the following is the best example of a grand tour question appropriate to ask this participant? A) Why did you not evacuate the area when instructed to do so? B) What kind of damage did your home sustain? C) What was it like to live through a hurricane? D) How many fatalities occurred in your state due to the hurricane?
C
A research hypothesis indicates the expected relationship between which of the following? A) The functional and causal nature of the variables B) The statement of purpose and the research questions C) The independent variable and the dependent variable D) Statistical testing and the null hypothesis
C
An objective assessment of a research study's strengths and limitations is called which of the following? A) Evidenced-based practice B) Peer review process C) Research critique D) Literature review
C
In quantitative studies, the most basic distinction is between which of the following? A) Grounded theory and phenomenological research B) Empirical and nonempirical research C) Experimental and nonexperimental research D) Population-based and sample-based research
C
In the Strauss and Corbin approach to grounded theory, the initial process of breaking down, categorizing, and coding the data is often referred to as which of the following? A) Axial coding B) Core coding C) Open coding D) Selective coding
C
In the following clinical question, what is the Intervention/influence/exposure (I component): Does taking antidepressants affect the risk of suicide in cognitively impaired adolescents? A) Adolescence B) Suicide C) Antidepressant use D) Cognitive impairment
C
In the following statement, what would the number 50 be called: 95% CI for the mean of 60 = 50 to 70? A) The probability value B) The point estimate C) The lower confidence limit D) The effect size
C
In which section of a research report would the following sentence most likely appear: "Patients who coughed were significantly more likely to have spontaneous dislodgement of small-bore nasogastric tubes than patients who did not"? A) Introduction B) Method section C) Results section D) Discussion
C
Interviews are usually preferable to questionnaires because of which of the following? A) They are less expensive B) They yield data that are easier to analyze C) The quality of the data tends to be higher D) They require less training of research personnel
C
It is not meaningful to calculate an arithmetic average with data from which of the following? A) Nominal measures B) Ordinal measures C) Nominal and ordinal measures D) All measures can be meaningfully averaged
C
Lazarus and Folkman's Theory of Stress and Coping has been used in nursing research to correlate the relationship between stress and anxiety in primary caregivers of patients with dementia. This is an example of which of the following? A) Conceptual model B) Framework C) Shared theory D) Grounded theory
C
Non-research-based evidence includes which of the following? Select all that apply. A) Unit culture B) Nurse's experience C) Qualitative studies D) Trial and error
C
The d statistic approximates effect size by measuring the difference between the experimental group mean and the control group mean, normed to the standard deviation. If the effect size is moderate, which of the following values of d would one expect to calculate? A) d = 0 B) d = .20 C) d = .50 D) d = .80
C
The discussion of the central phenomena or variables of a study, along with the theoretical or conceptual framework of the study, is found in which section of the study? A) Discussion B) Abstract C) Introduction D) Results
C
The fact that research study findings are statistically significant indicates which of the following? A) Intervention was effective B) Methods were valid C) Results were unlikely due to chance D) Sample size was adequate
C
The hypothesis, "Women who jog regularly are more likely than those who do not to have amenorrhea" is which of the following? A) Null B) Not testable C) Directional D) Nondirectional
C
The independent variable in the research question, "What is the effect of noise levels on postoperative pain and blood pressure fluctuations in ICU patients?" is which of the following? A) Blood pressure B) ICU patients C) Noise levels D) Postoperative pain
C
The independent variable in the research question, "What is the effect of noise levels on postoperative pain in ICU patients?" is which of the following? A) Surgery B) ICU patients C) Noise levels D) Postoperative pain
C
The measure of central tendency that is most stable is which of the following? A) Mode B) Median C) Mean D) They are all equivalent
C
The nurse-theorist Roy developed which of the following? A) Uncertainty in Illness Model B) Health Promotion Model C) Adaptation Model D) Theory of Stress and Coping
C
The primary goal of ethnography is which of the following? A) To identify and categorize descriptors B) To abstract major themes C) To find patterns in the behavior and thoughts of participants D) To collect, describe, and record data
C
The process referred to as constant comparison involves which of the following? A) Comparing two researchers' interpretation of the data B) Comparing the researchers' interpretation of the data against study participants' interpretation C) Comparing elements present in one data source with those in another D) Comparing data from the study with data and categories from other similar studies
C
The purpose of ethnographic research is to do which of the following? A) Study situations to aid in theory development B) Describe experiences as they are lived C) Observe and document interactions within a culture D) Examine events of the past
C
The question, "What is the essence of men's experiences of chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer?" is an example of a research question within which of the following traditions? A) Grounded theory B) Ethnography C) Phenomenology D) Qualitative description
C
The regulations affecting the ethical conduct of research sponsored by the U.S. federal government were based on which of the following? A) Nuremberg Code B) Declaration of Helsinki C) Belmont Report D) Code of Ethics of the American Nurses Association
C
The research tradition that focuses on understanding phenomena within a cultural context is which of the following? A) Experimental B) Phenomenologic C) Ethnographic D) Grounded theory
C
The shape of a distribution with three values of high frequency is which of the following? A) Unimodal B) Bimodal C) Multimodal D) A bell-shaped curve
C
The soundness of the evidence collected and the relationship between the variables is known as which of the following? A) Credibility B) Reliability C) Validity D) Trustworthiness
C
The term transferability in qualitative research is similar to which term used in quantitative research? A) Authenticity B) Reliability C) Generalizability D) Correlation
C
Using your knowledge of threats to internal validity, which research design will be most susceptible? A) Pretest-Posttest B) Cross-over C) Correlational D) Factorial
C
What study design flaw may lead to a failure to achieve statistical significance? A) Variables precisely defined B) Adequate exposure to the intervention C) Small sample size D) Cross-sectional data collection
C
What term is given to unique symbols that expand search results and allow for a simultaneous search of numerous words of the same root within an electronic database? A) Textword search B) Keywords C) Wildcard characters D) Expanders
C
When addressing control of confounding variables, which of the following best describes the question to be answered by the researcher? A) Who needs to know sensitive information about the research details? B) When will the data on the variables be collected? C) What other variables may influence the results? D) Where will data collection occur?
C
When doing a computerized search for quantitative studies on a topic, which of the following statements is most accurate? A) The best place to begin is to use a search engine such as Yahoo or Google B) The primary keyword to use in the search typically would be the population C) The keywords to start the search typically would be the independent and dependent variables D) The specific subject headings used in each bibliographic database would have to be learned
C
When is a small sample size appropriate for a research study? A) Many uncontrolled variables are present. B) The population is very homogenous. C) Large differences are expected in members of the population on the variable of interest. D) The population must be divided into subgroups.
C
When little is known about a phenomenon or the phenomenon is not clearly identified, the best type of research suited to uncover this is which of the following? A) Exploration B) Description C) Identification D) Prediction
C
When participants' behaviors are affected not by the treatment per se but by their knowledge of participating in a study, interpretation of the findings is complicated by the influence of which of the following? A) Treatment effect B) History threat C) Hawthorne effect D) Selection threat
C
Which aspect of reliability does the "Cronbach's alpha'' indicate? A) Measurement stability performance over time B) Equivalence of two separate forms of a measure C) Internal consistency of the measure items within one measure D) The extent of expert agreement ensuring adequate content coverage
C
Which measure of central tendency is the most stable? A) Mode B) Median C) Mean D) Average
C
Which of the following activities is part of an organizational—but not an individual—EBP endeavor? A) Asking a good question/identifying a problem B) Searching for evidence C) Assessing implementation potential D) Synthesizing and appraising evidence
C
Which of the following can be used to critically appraise clinical practice guidelines? A) A systematic review from the Cochrane Collaboration B) The Iowa model C) The AGREE instrument D) An evidence hierarchy
C
Which of the following is a datum from a qualitative research study on the labor and delivery experiences of women over age 40? A) 14.6 hours in labor B) 60-minute interviews one day after delivery C) "It was a nightmare—much more painful than I ever imagined." D) 15 women with a vaginal delivery
C
Which of the following is a fundamental belief of those who hold to the constructivist paradigm? A) A fixed reality exists in nature for humans to understand B) The nature of reality has changed over time C) Reality is multiply constructed and multiply interpreted by humans D) Reality cannot be studied empirically
C
Which of the following is a significant challenge in qualitative analysis? A) Mastering the standard procedures for analyzing qualitative data B) Lack of narrative materials to analyze C) Reducing data for reporting purposes D) Deducing particulars from a universal
C
Which of the following is an example of an ordinal measurement? A) Gender (male or female) B) Milligrams of a medication dosage C) Levels of education (associate's degree, bachelor's degree, master's degree) D) Score on the HESI preadmission or first year examination for nursing
C
Which of the following is most likely to be at "center stage" in a case study? A) A phenomenon such as attempted suicide B) The culture within an organization such as a diabetic clinic C) A person, such as a person who repeatedly self-harms D) A story, such as the life story about chronic health problems of political refugees
C
Applying your knowledge of random assignment, which statement is correct? 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 ensures that the study is a true experiment. D) Recruiting participants from significantly different neighborhoods results in random assignment.
C
Asking a clinical question is the first step in evidence-based practice. What are the four components of a PICO clinical question? A) Population, implication, comparison, outcome B) Population, intervention, clinical, outcome C) Population, intervention, comparison, outcome D) Population, implication, clinical, outcome
C
At what point does a qualitative researcher typically make a lot of decisions about data collection and sampling? A) While reviewing the literature B) During the development of a research report C) While the study is in progress in the field D) After developing an intervention protocol
C
Constructivist qualitative research typically does which of the following? A) Involves deductive processes B) Attempts to control the research context to better understand the phenomenon being studied C) Involves gathering narrative, subjective materials D) Focuses on numeric information
C
Cross-sectional designs work best under what research conditions? A) Data collection over an extended period B) Multiple points of data collection C) Describing phenomena at a fixed point D) For follow-up studies
C
Data saturation occurs when which of the following happens? A) Researchers can find no new participants that fit the criteria B) All the research questions are answered C) No new information is obtained and redundancy is achieved D) Participants are describing new concepts
C
Dependability in qualitative research is considered the analog of which criterion in quantitative research? A) Internal validity B) Construct validity C) Reliability D) Specificity
C
Emergent design is used in qualitative research and is described as a research design that does which of the following? A) Is specified before data is collected B) Tends to be reductionistic C) Evolves during the study D) Involves a short period of time to collect data
C
Empiricism refers to which of the following? A) Making generalizations from specific observations B) Articulating a study purpose in terms of an appropriate classification system C) Gathering evidence about real-world phenomena through the senses D) Verifying the assumptions on which the study was based
C
Every study has which of the following? A) Theory B) Schematic model C) Framework D) Conceptual model
C
Evidenced-based nursing primarily uses which of the following to answer clinical questions? A) Consulting an authority B) Using intuition C) Obtaining the newest research D) Relying on experience
C
A researcher wants to explore the process by which men make decisions about treatment for prostate cancer. The researcher's paradigm is most likely which of the following? A) Positivism B) Determinism C) Empiricism D) Constructivism
D
A researcher who used Burke's pentadic dramatism approach would be undertaking which of the following? A) Historical research B) Qualitative description C) A case study D) A narrative analysis
D
In a research report, limitations of the study are normally discussed in which section? A) Introduction B) Method section C) Results section D) Discussion section
D
When a research report undergoes a "blind" review for a journal, it means which of the following? A) The journal editors do not know who submitted the report. B) The authors of the report do not know who the editor of the journal is. C) The report is published without indicating the authors' names. D) The reviewers making recommendations about publication are not told who the authors are.
D
When a researcher obtains significant results that are opposite to what was originally hypothesized, it is likely that this occurred because of which of the following? A) Inadequate sample size B) Unreliable data collection instruments C) A flawed statistical analysis D) Faulty reasoning
D
When collecting data through interviews, qualitative researchers rely primarily on which of the following? A) A priori ideas B) Structured questions C) Supplemental physiological data D) Self-report
D
When considering the evidence that men in nursing had an important role in the evolution of nursing as a profession, what qualitative research design is appropriate to study this phenomenon of interest? A) Phenomenology B) Grounded theory C) Ethnography D) Historical
D
When developing a theory, a nurse researcher uses theoretical sampling to do which of the following? A) To find cases that meet a predetermined criterion of importance B) To learn from the most unusual and extreme informants C) To gain new informants via referrals from other informants D) To choose sampling groups that will further the emerging conceptualization
D
When nurses rely primarily on tradition, they are most likely to do which of the following? A) Produce a precise range of answers B) Increase new knowledge C) Maintain an unbiased perspective D) Undermine effective problem solving
D
When testing multiple independent variables, the proportion of variability in the outcome variable that is explained by the predictors is measured as which of the following? A) Paired t-test B) The product-moment correlation coefficient C) R D) R2
D
Which following level of evidence includes systematic reviews of multiple studies? A) Level IV B) Level III C) Level II D) Level I
D
Which of the following attributes is least characteristic of the traditional scientific method? A) Control over external factors B) Systematic measurement and observation of natural phenomena C) Testing of hunches deduced from theory or prior research D) Emphasis on a holistic view of a phenomenon, studied in a rich context
D
Which of the following data collection approaches is conducted with a group of 5 to 10 people simultaneously? A) Photo elicitation interview B) Focused interview C) Critical incidents interview D) Focus group interview
D
Which of the following is a hallmark of the scientific method? A) Rigorous B) Holistic C) Systematic D) Flexible
D
Which of the following is an advantage of observation as a method of data collection in a study? A) Subjects may be anxious because they are being observed. B) Respondents can remain anonymous. C) It is less time consuming than a questionnaire. D) It directly captures an event and behaviors.
D
In a statement of purpose, the researcher often communicates information beyond the substantive content through which of the following? A) The specification of the population to be studied B) The operational definition of the research variables C) The prediction of anticipated relationships among variables D) The choice of verbs that suggest the state of knowledge on the topic or the approach to be used
D
In analysis of covariance, a covariate is generally which of the following? A) An independent variable B) The outcome variable C) Either an independent or dependent variable D) A confounding variable
D
Select the best description for the following: "Is there a relationship between elective labor induction and an unintended cesarean delivery?" A) It is a directional hypothesis B) It is a directional research question C) It is a non-directional hypothesis D) It is a non-directional research question
D
Selective coding in Glaserian approach to grounded theory studies begins when which of the following occurs? A) Constant comparison has ended B) Data saturation has occurred C) Memos have been prepared D) A core category has been identified
D
The term emergent design in qualitative inquiry refers to a research design that emerges at which of the following times? A) During the conduct of a literature review B) While the researcher develops a conceptual framework C) Before the study is begun D) While the researcher is in the field collecting data
D
The threat to internal validity that occurs when external co-occurring events or conditions affect outcomes is the threat known as which of the following? A) Maturation B) Selection C) Testing D) History
D
The use of a diverse sample of study participants in multiple sites might affect which of the following? A) Replicability of the study B) The ability to use randomization C) The ability to use blinding as a strategy D) The study's external validity
D
The use of multiple data collection methods to draw conclusions about the area being studied is called which of the following? A) Bias B) Statistical test C) Research control D) Triangulation
D
To study the effects of Healing Touch; what is the best choice to minimize confounding variables? A) Offer a small payment for participants' time. B) Offer all participants a Healing Touch session when data collection is completed. C) Offer to enroll only individuals who do not have any medical conditions. D) Offer another activity that gives similar time and attention to control group participants.
D
To test mean differences among related groups over time with at least three different points of data collection, you would use which of the following? A) Paired t-test B) Chi-squared test C) Analysis of variance (ANOVA) D) Repeated measures ANOVA
D
Visual representation of the relationships among phenomena used in both quantitative and qualitative research is known as which of the following? A) Descriptive theory B) Framework C) Shared theory D) Conceptual map
D
Vulnerable study participants would include which of the following? A) Women hospitalized for a mastectomy B) Members of a senior citizens group C) People who do not speak English D) Pediatric patients
D
What is the most important type of information that should be included in a literature review? A) Clinical anecdotes B) Opinion articles C) Case reports from applicable clinical settings D) Findings from prior studies
D
A parameter is a characteristic of which of the following? A) Population B) Frequency distribution C) Sample D) Normal curve
A
A qualitative researcher who is attempting to provide findings from multiple diverse viewpoints on a phenomenon would most likely subscribe to which of the following? A) Deviant case sampling B) Typical case sampling C) Criterion case sampling D) Confirming case sampling
A
A study is internally valid to the extent that which of the following has taken place? A) All alternative explanations to the independent variable as the cause of outcomes can be ruled out B) A true experimental design was used C) Intervention fidelity was maintained D) A strong counterfactual was established
A
Critical research differs from traditional qualitative research in which of the following? A) Its goal to be transformative B) Its use of interviews as a data source C) Its use of reflexivity D) Its desire to gain an in-depth understanding of phenomena
A
Cronbach's alpha is used to assess which of the following attributes of an instrument? A) Internal consistency B) Stability C) Equivalence D) Sensitivity
A
Ethnographers strive to do which of the following? A) Understand human cultures B) Develop an etic perspective C) Link the etic and emic perspectives into a unified whole D) Understand the essence of a phenomenon
A
Testing the significance of difference in two group means is done with which of the following? A) Independent groups t-test B) Paired t-test C) Dependent groups t-test D) Chi-squared test
A
The nurse-theorist Mishel developed which of the following? A) Uncertainty in Illness Theory B) Health Promotion Model C) Adaptation Model D) Transtheoretical Model
A
An especially important goal for the nursing profession is to do which of the following? A) Conduct research to better understand the context of nursing practice B) Establish a solid base of evidence for practice through disciplined research C) Document the role nursing serves in society D) Establish research priorities
B
The proper rationale for searching for and including disconfirming evidence is which of the following? A) To eliminate confounding cases from data analysis B) To refine a hypothesis or theory C) To confirm saturation of the data D) To formulate a conclusion based on existing data
B
The qualitative method that uses an inductive approach using a systematic set of procedures to create a theory about social processes is known which of the following? A) Phenomenology B) Grounded Theory C) Ethnography D) Historical Method
B
Validation of themes by conferring with study participants was specifically considered inappropriate by whom? A) Colaizzi B) Giorgi C) Glaser D) Strauss
B
What is the primary outcome of Strauss and Corbin's (2008) approach to grounded theory? A) A theory of how a social problem is processed B) A full conceptual description C) A central category D) A core category
B
What is the primary purpose in documenting the literature retrieval process? A) Ensuring approval by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) B) Preventing duplication of located references C) Providing a history of useful search words D) Simplifying preparation of the reference list
B
What is the strongest method of controlling for intrinsic (subject) factors? A) Statistical control B) Randomization C) Matching D) Homogeneity
B
When a finding is statistically reliable, it means which of the following? A) The finding is very important B) The same results are likely to occur with a new sample of subjects C) The researcher's hypothesis is correct D) Changes in nursing procedures are needed
B
When both the independent and outcome variables are measured on a ratio scale, the appropriate bivariate test statistic is which of the following? A) t B) r C) F D) X2
B
Which of following study types is a systematic review used for integration of statistical quantitative research findings? A) Meta-synthesis B) Meta-analysis C) Randomized controlled trial D) Quasi-experiment
B
Which of the following are advantages to biophysiologic measures? A) Biophysiologic measurements are subjective and accurate. B) Patients cannot distort the measurements and have objective measures. C) Biophysiologic measurements are self-reported. D) Biophysiologic measurements effectively indicate pain levels.
B
Which of the following limits the capacity of the scientific method to answer questions about humans? A) The necessity of departing from traditional beliefs B) The difficulty of accurately measuring complex human traits C) The lack of funding for research D) The shortage of theories about human behavior
B
Which of the following research designs is weakest in terms of the researcher's ability to establish causality? A) Experimental B) Retrospective case-control C) Prospective cohort D) Quasi-experimental
B
What is the purpose of choosing key informants in ethnographic research studies? Select all that apply. A) To facilitate recruiting more participants to the study B) To guide the researcher culturally C) To identify important events D) To provide a knowledgeable link to the culture
B, C, D
Which of the following is an effect size index? Select all that apply. A) t B) r C) d D) OR
B, C, D
In quantitative studies a basic distinction is between which of the following? A) Grounded theory and phenomenological research B) Empirical and nonempirical research C) Experimental and nonexperimental research D) Population-based and sample-based research
C
A study that focused on the meaning of sacrifice among wounded military personnel during war time would likely use which of the following? A) A descriptive phenomenological approach B) A grounded theory approach C) An ethnography D) A hermeneutic approach
D
In the following clinical question, what is the Comparison (C component): Does chronic stress affect inflammatory responses in older men with atherosclerotic disease? A) Chronic stress B) Inflammatory response C) Atherosclerotic disease D) There is no "C" component
D
If a researcher studying family response to adolescent suicide interviewed parents and siblings independently, the triangulation approach method would be called which of the following? A) Data triangulation B) Investigator triangulation C) Theory triangulation D) Method triangulation
A
"Does maternal stress during the first trimester of a pregnancy affect the infant's birth weight?" is which of the following? A) A research question B) A portion of a problem statement C) A statement of purpose D) A hypothesis
A
"Male" is which of the following? A) Not a variable B) An independent variable C) A dependent variable D) An outcome variable
A
A main purpose of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) flow diagram is which of the following? A) Track the progress of study participants B) Present accurate statistical analyses C) Compare and contrast current study findings D) Summarize previous study findings
A
A narrative integrated review of qualitative studies focuses on interpretation of the studies. Which of the following study types would be considered an systematic integrated review of qualitative studies? A) Meta-synthesis B) Meta-analysis C) Randomized controlled trial D) Quasi-experiment
A
A quality-enhancement strategy about which there is considerable controversy is which of the following? A) Member checks B) Stepwise replications C) Negative case analysis D) Inquiry audits
A
A researcher plans to use a proxy variable to measure the concept of patient outcome. Which of the following would be an appropriate variable to use? A) Length of stay in hospital B) Medicare eligibility C) Falls risk D) Staffing ratios
A
A researcher wants to explore the ways in which gender issues are evident in the day-to-day interactions between male and female nurses and their patients in an acute-care inpatient unit. The purpose statement of her research study indicates that she wants to study whether and how gender issues influence the culture and behaviors of nurses as they interact with patients. Of the following, which type of study design would be most appropriate to use? A) Qualitative ethnography B) Qualitative phenomenology C) Quantitative descriptive D) Quantitative Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)
A
A researcher's expectations about the relationships between variables in a quantitative study are generally formulated as which of the following? A) Hypotheses B) Frameworks C) Research questions D) Conceptual definitions
A
A review of research reveals two articles that have conflicting results. A national randomized controlled trial found that annual brain scans will allow early detection and treatment of brain cancers, reducing mortality by 65%. An international quasi-experimental trial reported no significant reduction in mortality with annual scans. Based on your review, propose the best recommendation. A) Recommendations from the national study should be followed. B) Recommendations from the international study should be followed. C) There is no rigorous research that can support a recommendation. D) Recommendations should be stratified according to where the research was conducted.
A
A study reports a 60% rate of attrition among the participants. This finding suggests which of the following? A) A threat to internal validity B) Lack of recruitment C) Appropriate compensation/incentives D) Invalid measurements
A
An alternative to Spradley's approach to produce and analyze ethnographic data was developed by whom? A) Leininger B) Van Manen C) Colaizzi D) Giorgi
A
Before the advent of computer software for qualitative analysis, the main procedure for managing qualitative data was the development of which of the following? A) Conceptual files B) Core categories C) Memos D) Themes
A
Blood type is measured on which of the following? A) Nominal scale B) Ordinal scale C) Interval scale D) Ratio scale
A
Confidentiality of study participants can be most effectively protected by which of the following? A) Avoiding the collection of any identifying information B) Performing a risk/benefit assessment C) Placing all identifying information on computer files rather than manual files D) Obtaining informed consent from participants before the study
A
Constancy of conditions is often enhanced through which of the following? A) Collect data at the same time every day B) Using a crossover design C) Maximizing the external validity of the study D) Avoiding carryover effects
A
Constructivist grounded theory is an approach developed by whom? A) Charmaz B) Glaser C) Strauss D) Corbin
A
For which of the following pairs of variables is there most likely to be a relationship that could be described as causal? A) Degree of physical activity and heart rate B) Stress and coping style C) Age and health beliefs D) Gender and depression
A
Gaining entrée in a qualitative project usually requires negotiation with one or more of which of the following? A) Gatekeeper B) Researcher C) Informant D) Consultant
A
Identify the type of research that often fails to formally acknowledge the conceptual underpinnings or framework of the study since it is not necessarily part of the research tradition. A) Quantitative research B) Qualitative research C) Pilot study D) Mixed method research
A
In which of the following clinical questions is fatigue the "I" component? A) Does fatigue affect agitation in cognitively impaired elders? B) Does a physical activity intervention affect fatigue in patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation? C) What is the meaning of fatigue among patients with sleep apnea? D) Does the level of depression of patients suffering from chronic fatigue improve by participating in an exercise intervention?
A
Key variables and the population of the study are most likely to be communicated in which of the following? A) Title B) Abstract C) Introduction D) Methods
A
Offering prisoners a $50.00 payment for participation in a clinical trial for toothpaste violates which of the following? A) The right to self-determination B) The right to full disclosure C) The right to protection from exploitation D) The right to privacy
A
One source of measurement error in social-psychological scales is which of the following? A) Response-set bias B) Nonresponse bias C) Attrition bias D) Selection bias
A
Participant observation is a data collection strategy used in almost all of which of the following? A) Ethnographic studies B) Case studies C) Phenomenological studies D) Descriptive qualitative studies
A
Putting evidence into practice is in which phase of the quantitative research process? A) Dissemination B) Analytic C) Empirical D) Conceptual
A
Questionnaires have the advantage of which of the following? A) Offering the possibility of anonymity B) Having high response rates C) Reducing the possibility of response set biases D) Being suitable for all types of study participants
A
Samples of ten or fewer study participants would be most likely to be found in which of the following? A) Phenomenological study B) Grounded theory study C) Ethnography D) Participatory action study
A
Select the best description for the following: "Children who watch an average of 2 or more hours of television per day will have higher BMIs than children who watch less than 2 hours of TV per day." A) It is a directional hypothesis B) It is a directional research question C) It is a non-directional hypothesis D) It is a non-directional research question
A
The Iowa Model identifies several knowledge-focused triggers for implementing an EBP project. Which following statement is considered a knowledge-focused trigger in the Iowa Model? A) A report in the New England Journal of Medicine regarding a potential flu epidemic B) Readmission rate of heart failure patients C) Poor patient survey results D) Increase in pediatric falls
A
The alpha level of significance refers to the probability of which of the following? A) A Type I error B) A Type II error C) A null hypothesis D) Multiple regression
A
The classic scientific method has its intellectual roots in which of the following? A) Positivism B) Determinism C) Constructivism D) Empiricism
A
The nurse researcher protects study participants by which of the following? A) Performing a risk/benefit assessment to evaluate the cost compared with the benefit of participation. B) Keeping painful procedure information from the study participant until the study is completed. C) Preventing psychological discomfort during and after the study. D) Proposing a study that ultimately benefits society despite the risk to the participants.
A
The presentation of the study's conclusions and implications for further study are found in which section? A) Discussion B) Introduction C) Methods D) Results
A
The purpose of a study was to determine the effectiveness of two different analgesic agents in controlling pain during menstruation in females ages 18 to 21 years. Researchers administer a self-reported pain scale on days 2 and 3 of the menses. You infer that this procedure is an example of which of the following? A) Test-retest reliability B) Random sampling procedures C) Internal validity of the study D) Construct validation
A
The question, "What are the basic social processes women use to maintain balance through their menopausal transition?" is an example of a research question within which of the following traditions? A) Grounded theory B) Ethnography C) Phenomenology D) Qualitative description
A
The sampling design that would be especially likely to yield a representative sample is which of the following? A) Consecutive B) Convenience C) Purposive D) Quota
A
The social desirability response set bias is least likely to be a problem on scales incorporated into which of the following? A) Mailed anonymous questionnaires B) Face-to-face interviews C) Telephone interviews D) All options are equally susceptible
A
The term validity refers to which of the following? A) Truth of an inference B) Honesty of the report C) Accuracy of the measurement D) Preparation of the researcher
A
The type of validity that employs primarily judgment in its assessment is which of the following? A) Content B) Concurrent C) Predictive D) Construct
A
The use of a random numbers table for assigning subjects to groups eliminates which of the following? A) Selection threat B) Intervention fidelity C) Attrition D) Carryover effects
A
The use of inferential statistics permits a researcher to do which of the following? A) Draw conclusions about a population based on information gathered from a sample B) Describe information obtained from empirical observation C) Interpret descriptive statistics D) Estimate risk and relative risk
A
Theories are created and invented as opposed to being discovered. Theories are built inductively from which of the following? A) Observations B) Correlations C) Research questions D) Research problems
A
To protect the right to fair treatment, the researcher who seeks federal grant funding for research is required to do which of the following? A) Include minority populations in their research study B) Disclose the benefits of the research to participants C) Offer participants a stipend for participation in the study D) Obtain informed consent from participants
A
Use of nonexperimental designs in research fulfills what purpose? A) Describing B) Predicting C) Controlling D) Blinding
A
What is the first step in writing a review of literature? A) Determine the question to be addressed B) Select the bibliographic database to use C) Specify the medical subject headings to use D) Conduct an Internet search engine search
A
What is the primary purpose of the review of literature in a research report? A) Reporting on the state of the current evidence about the problem under study B) Demonstrating the research capabilities of the authors C) Focusing on the gaps in research related to the problem under study D) Making recommendations about future study designs
A
What is the primary question that should be addressed when evaluating published research reports in a literature review? A) To what extent do the findings reflect the truth (the true state of affairs)? B) Have the authors conducted an adequate literature review in their research report? C) Did the authors cite appropriately from the previously published literature related to the problem under study? D) Was the research question appropriate considering the available evidence at the time of the study?
A
When an observer is not concealed, the findings may be biased because of which of the following? A) Reactivity B) Ethical problems C) Lack of mobility D) Acquiescence response set bias
A
Which characteristic of qualitative research design is similar to quantitative research design? A) Use of both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs to observe the evolution of a phenomenon B) Generalizing the finding of a study C) Use of power analysis for determining sample size D) Avoidance of using field notes during the data collection process, to prevent bias
A
Which correlation coefficient shows the strongest relationship between two variables? A) -0.821 B) -0.653 C) 0 D) 0.759
A
Which criterion is considered analogous to internal validity in the Lincoln & Guba framework? A) Credibility B) Transferability C) Dependability D) Confirmability
A
Which electronic database would you first use to access nursing and allied health literature? A) CINAHL B) MeSH C) Google D) MEDLINE
A
Which group represents a convenience sample? A) The patients with a diagnosis of URI seen in the clinic on one afternoon in February B) One hundred male BSN nurses recruited by the original study subjects who are currently in leadership roles C) Middle-class Caucasian females chosen as representatives of the accessible population D) Twenty male subjects and twenty female subjects chosen for a study on gender differences
A
Which of the following approaches involves the use of a procedure known as constant comparison? A) Grounded theory B) Ethnography C) Phenomenology D) Historical
A
Which of the following best describes an assent form? A) The assent form allows a child to agree to be part of a research study. B) The assent form is read by the researcher for those who do not speak or read English. C) The assent form protects study participants from discrimination due to cultural diversity. D) The assent form allows the child over 7 years of age to give informed consent to participate in a study.
A
Which of the following best describes the purpose of constant comparison? A) To identify commonalities among elements present in one data source with those in another B) To describe the essential nature of an experience C) To find patterns in the behavior and thoughts of participants D) To fit concepts with the incidents they are representing
A
Which of the following can best facilitate researchers' search for themes? A) Charting devices B) Detailed coding C) Quasi-statistics D) Computer software
A
Which of the following is a barrier that qualitative researchers face in demonstrating the trustworthiness of their studies to readers? A) Page limitations imposed by journals B) Reflexivity C) Lack of generalizability D) Small sample sizes
A
Which of the following is a descriptive question that a qualitative researcher most likely would ask? A) What is the nature of this phenomenon? B) What is the average intensity of this phenomenon? C) How frequently does this phenomenon occur? D) What is the average duration of this phenomenon?
A
Which of the following is a fundamental belief of those who hold to the positivist paradigm? A) The researcher is objective and independent of those being studied B) The researcher cannot interact with those being studied C) The researcher instructs those being studied to be objective in providing information D) The distance between the researcher and those being researched is minimized to enhance the interactive process
A
Which of the following terms is used by both qualitative and quantitative researchers to refer to the abstractions under study? A) Concept B) Theory C) Phenomenon D) Variable
A
Which of the following is true regarding qualitative and quantitative research? A) Quantitative research and qualitative research both develop eligibility criteria before consenting study participants. B) Quantitative research and qualitative research both use random samples whenever possible, to enhance the ability to predict within a wider population. C) Quantitative research and qualitative research both determine sample size in the same manner. D) Quantitative research and qualitative research both prefer a large sample to a small one, because it produces stronger statistical results.
A
Which of the following names does not belong with the others? A) Heidegger B) Corbin C) Strauss D) Glaser
A
Which of the following quality-enhancement strategies has the greatest potential for leading to erroneous conclusions about the data? A) Member checking B) Audit trail C) Reflexivity D) Data triangulation
A
Which of the following results from a sample size that is too small? A) Low power to detect a difference in the outcomes of the two groups B) Lack of control over extraneous variables C) Limits to random sampling D) A weak questionnaire survey tool
A
Which of the following signifies the strongest relationship? A) r = -.64 B) M = .99 C) t = 1.44 D) r = .57
A
Which of the following situations illustrates control over an external confounding variable? A) Using a script to relay information about the study. B) Randomizing assignment to control treatment groups. C) Allowing for maximum flexibility over where data is collected. D) Choosing a heterogeneous sample of subjects.
A
Which of the following statements about sampling is true? A) Convenience sampling is used by both qualitative and quantitative researchers. B) Quantitative researchers establish eligibility criteria, but qualitative researchers do not. C) Extreme case sampling is a type of theoretical sampling. D) Focus groups would not be used in qualitative descriptive studies.
A
Which of the following statements describes a population? A) All traumatic brain injury clients hospitalized in an intensive care unit during January 2012 B) Four hundred nurses selected from a membership list of American Nurses' Association (ANA) members C) Selected members of families of clients undergoing surgery D) A sample of clients diagnosed with COPD and who currently smoke
A
Which of the following statements is true of confidentiality and anonymity? A) Confidentiality is implemented when a researcher cannot guarantee anonymity. B) Confidentiality of participant information may occur during a research study whereas anonymity is required. C) Confidentiality is a sign of respect for the participant by the researcher but anonymity is a legal issue. D) Confidentiality procedures require a researcher to disclose illegal behavior whereas anonymity protects the researcher from disclosing a participant's illegal behavior.
A
Which of the following statements of purpose is most likely to be from a qualitative study? A) Explore lived experiences of refugee women and children from Afghanistan living in the United States B) Investigate the effectiveness of music therapy for decreasing pain in post-operative adolescents C) Compare the effectiveness of effleurage to therapeutic touch in decreasing maternal anxiety during an un-medicated vaginal birth D) Evaluate the relationship between insurance status and number of emergency department (ED) visits
A
Which of the following terms does not belong with the other three? A) Face validity B) Criterion-related validity C) Predictive validity D) Concurrent validity
A
Which verbiage is most likely found in a well-written research review? A) "The hypothesis in this study was supported by the research findings." B) "Results from this study proved that nursing actions were instrumental to improved patient outcomes." C) "All of these studies verify that levels of understanding cannot be changed easily." D) "It is clear that the presence of nurses improves the health status of patients in the clinical setting."
A
With screening or diagnostic instruments, the concept indicating the instruments' ability to correctly identify a "case" (i.e., to screen in or diagnose a condition correctly) is which of the following? A) Sensitivity B) Stability C) Specificity D) Sensibility
A
Which of the following concepts are central to nursing models? Select all that apply. A) Human beings B) Environment C) Health D) Nutrition
A, B, C
Based on what we know from this chapter, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study violated which of the following? Select all that apply. A) Freedom from harm B) Right to self-determination C) Right to fair treatment D) Privacy rule
A, B, C
Conceptual models of nursing are used by nurse researchers as an inspiration in formulating research questions and directing research hypotheses. Some of the concepts that form these models include which of the following? Select all that apply. A) Health promotion B) Unified whole C) Adaptation D) Self-efficacy
A, B, C
In which of the following types of studies would the principle of data saturation be used? Select all that apply. A) Grounded theory study B) Ethnography C) Phenomenological study D) Clinical trial
A, B, C
Participatory action research aims to produce which of the following? Select all that apply. A) Knowledge B) Action C) Empowerment D) Stability
A, B, C
Spradley's method includes which type of data analysis? Select all that apply. A) Domain analysis B) Taxonomic analysis C) Componential analysis D) Statistical analysis
A, B, C
The steps involved in using test statistics include which of the following? Select all that apply. A) Determining the appropriate statistic to be used B) Selecting a level of significance C) Calculating the degrees of freedom D) Calculating the theoretical distribution for the test statistic
A, B, C
When a researcher makes a Type II error (concludes that no relationship between the independent and dependent variable exists when in fact it does), this could occur because of which of the following? Select all that apply. A) An anomalous sample B) Unreliable data collection instruments C) Problems with adequately implementing the intervention D) A large sample size
A, B, C
Which of the following are distinctive characteristics of a true experimental design? Select all that apply. A) Intervention B) Control C) Randomization D) Correlation
A, B, C
Which of the following are overall objectives of the use of theories in research? Select all that apply. A) To provide a mechanism for deducing hypotheses B) To stimulate new research C) To explain relationships among phenomena D) To determine the research design and methods of data collection
A, B, C
Which of the following are potential benefits from participating in a study? Select all that apply. A) Monetary gains B) Access to a new and potentially beneficial treatment C) Opportunity to discuss personal feelings and experiences with an objective listener D) Opportunity to help determine the research question that the study is based on
A, B, C
Which of the following components are usually included in a well-structured problem statement for nursing research? Select all that apply. A) Knowledge gap (what information do we currently know and what is lacking?) B) Problem identification (what is the overall problem? What is not working in the current situation?) C) Proposed solution (how will information gained from the proposed study contribute to the solution of this problem?) D) Sustainability (how long will we be able to sustain any changes made to the current status quo?)
A, B, C
Which of the following statements made by a new nurse researcher indicate that he correctly understands the purpose of using statistical analysis in quantitative research? Select all that apply. A) "Statistical analysis allows the formal testing of hypotheses." B) "Statistical analysis might lead a researcher to reject a hypothesis." C) "Statistical analysis provides proof of the relationships between variables." D) "Statistical analysis supports inferences that a hypothesis is most likely correct (or most likely not correct)."
A, B, D
Identify the independent variable(s) from the following research question: "What is the effect of acetaminophen and ibuprofen on liver function in female adolescents with hepatitis?" Select all that apply. A) acetaminophen B) female adolescents with hepatitis C) ibuprofen D) liver function
A, C
In reporting the results of a statistical test in a research article, which of the following would be reported? Select all that apply. A) The computed value of the test statistic B) The theoretical value of the test statistic C) Degrees of freedom D) The probability (p) value
A, C, D
Quantitative and qualitative research share which of the following features? Select all that apply. A) A desire to understand the true state of human affairs B) An emphasis on formal measurement C) A reliance on external evidence collected through the senses D) Utility to the nursing profession
A, C, D
Which of the following are advantages of using biophysiologic measures in nursing studies? Select all that apply. A) They are relatively accurate and precise B) They effectively measure subjective experiences such as pain and fatigue C) They are objective, requiring minimal inference D) They are typically cost effective because they are available for clinical purposes
A, C, D
Which of the following are central concepts in conceptual models of nursing? Select all that apply. A) Human beings B) Social support C) Health D) Environment
A, C, D
Which of the following are types of notes maintained by a participant observer? Select all that apply. A) Descriptive notes B) Participatory action notes C) Reflective notes D) Methodologic notes
A, C, D
Which of the following is a step in descriptive phenomenology? Select all that apply. A) Bracketing B) Inferring C) Analyzing D) Describing
A, C, D
Which of the following is a type of research with an ideological perspective? Select all that apply. A) Critical ethnography B) Symbolic interaction C) Participatory action research D) Feminist research
A, C, D
The nurse wishes to study the opinions of high school students concerning the availability of health care services at XYZ High School during the past school year. What research design best fits with the study objective? A) Trend study B) Cross-sectional study C) Longitudinal study D) Follow-up study
B
The purpose of an operational definition in a quantitative study is to do which of the following? A) Assign numeric values to variables B) Specify how a variable will be measured C) State the expected relationship between the variables under investigation D) Designate the conceptual underpinnings of a variable
B
The purpose of an operational definition in a quantitative study is to do which of the following? A) Assign numeric values to variables B) Specify how a variable will be measured C) State the expected relationship between the variables under investigation D) Designate the conceptual underpinnings of the variable
B
The research question, "What is the decision-making process among intensive care unit nurses who decide to discuss spiritual issues with patients?" is which of the following? A) Most likely to be addressed using a quantitative approach B) Most likely to be addressed using a qualitative approach C) Not researchable D) Not appropriately worded
B
The research tradition that is an approach to understanding people's experiences as they are lived is which of the following? A) Experimental B) Phenomenologic C) Ethnographic D) Grounded theory
B
The researcher does not have to know in advance which confounding variables have to be controlled for which of the following procedures? A) Matching B) Randomization C) Statistical control D) Homogeneity
B
The safeguard mechanism by which even the researcher cannot link the participant with the information provided is called which of the following? A) Confidentiality B) Anonymity C) Informed consent D) Right to privacy
B
The standard deviation of a sampling distribution is called which of the following? A) Sampling error B) Standard error of the mean C) Variance D) Parameter
B
The symbol represents which of the following? A) An effect size B) A mean C) Total sample size D) An individual score
B
Which of the following is the best resource to use when beginning the search for evidence necessary for an individual EBP project? A) Hayat, M. (2010). Understanding statistical significance. Nursing Research, 59(3), 219-223. B) Durbin, C. R., Fish, A. F., Bachman, J. A., & Smith, K. V. (2010). Systematic review of education intervention for improving advanced directive completion. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 42, 234-241. C) Polit, D. R., & Beck, C. T. (2014). Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice (8th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer| Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. D) Aggarwal, B., Liao, M., & Mosca, L. (2010). Predictors of physical activity at 1 year in a randomized controlled trial of family members of patients with cardiovascular disease. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 29(6), 444-449.
B
Which of the following is the most widely used data collection method by nurse researchers? A) Records B) Self-reports C) Observation D) Biophysiologic measures
B
Which of the following statements about controversies in qualitative research is true? A) Unlike quantitative research methods, qualitative research methods do not require rigorous study designs. B) There is lack of consensus regarding the quality criteria for qualitative inquiry. C) There is no "gold standard" in qualitative research criteria. D) There is no comparable criterion in qualitative research for the positivists' criterion of internal validity.
B
Which of the following statements best illustrates causality? A) Individuals who have suffered a myocardial infarction (MI) are at higher risk for a second MI within the next 5 years. B) Prolonged sun exposure is associated with higher rates of skin cancer. C) Hiatal hernias are diagnosed more frequently in elderly individuals. D) Taking time away from work leads to fewer stress-related illnesses.
B
Which of the following statements is true? A) The MEDLINE database can only be accessed through subscriptions with a commercial vendor B) PubMed provides access to MEDLINE free of charge C) PubMed does not allow users to find "related citations" for a previously identified record in MEDLINE D) A search in MEDLINE and CINAHL for a given keyword would yield identical results
B
Which of the following statements is true? A) The results of statistical testing have direct meaning. B) Evaluating the credibility of a study typically involves a careful assessment of methodologic decisions. C) Support of a researcher's hypothesis through statistical testing offers proof of its veracity. D) A correlation between two variables indicates that the independent variable caused the dependent variable.
B
Which of the following statements of purpose is least likely to demonstrate a bias on the part of the researcher? A) Demonstrate B) Compare C) Prove D) Show
B
Which of the following statements, if used in a hypothesis, is not readily testable by empirical means? A) Less than B) Meaning of C) More than D) Related to
B
Which of the following terms is especially controversial among qualitative researchers? A) Dependability B) Validity C) Transferability D) Credibility
B
Which quantitative research design will most strongly support evidence-based practice? A) Factorial Design B) Randomized Control Trial Design C) Correlational Design D) Time-Series Design
B
"This study aimed to explore the meaning of the experience of living with a colostomy" is which of the following? A) A research question B) A portion of a problem statement C) A statement of purpose D) A hypothesis
C
A conclusion drawn from evidence presented in a study is called which of the following? A) Statistically significant B) Valid C) Inference D) Credible
C
A grand tour question is most likely to be used at which time? A) At the beginning of a focus group session B) At the end of a critical incident interview C) At the beginning of an unstructured interview D) At the end of a photo elicitation study
C
A member check involves the researcher reviewing data with which of the following? A) An external auditor B) A peer of the researcher C) A study participant D) A second member of the research team
C
A nurse in the United States is scheduled to care for a child with an ostomy. Which of the following resource would best assist the nurse with specific guidelines for evidence-based decision making for this patient? A) MEDLINE B) TRIP C) www.guidelines.gov D) www.rnao.org/bestpractices
C
A one-group pretest-posttest design is an example of which of the following? A) A crossover design B) A true experimental design C) A quasi-experimental design D) A retrospective design
C
A p-value is a measure of the likelihood that the statistical results were obtained in error. A confidence interval, on the other hand, provides which of the following? A) The range of the measured values in the sample reported in the research report B) The probability that similar results will be obtained in error, in the future C) The range of probable values of the variable in the population D) The likelihood that the results will be useful in practice
C
A research proposal states that the objective is to, "explore the incidence of homeopathic health practices on Iowa Native Reserves in Oklahoma." In describing the design to be used for conducting the study, the researchers plan to use a nonexperimental design. What can you conclude from this proposal? A) The choice of a nonexperimental design is appropriate for the research objective. B) Researchers should consider using a quasi-experimental design to meet their objective. C) This research may not be answered completely if a quantitative design is used. D) The population to be studied needs to be expanded to include all Native Americans in Oklahoma to avoid a small sample size.
C
A researcher conceptualizes pain as "the subject's statement of intensity of pain." What operational definition is consistent with this conceptualization? A) Measurement of subject's pulse and blood pressure B) Nurse's observation of subject's pain behavior C) Subject's score on self-reported pain rating scale D) Frequency of subject's use of pain medication
C
A researcher includes a statement of purpose that indicates that the goal of the study is to understand the lived experiences of family members caring for a terminally ill child with cancer. What type of research design would most likely be used? A) Ethnography B) Grounded theory C) Phenomenology D) Quasi-experimental
C
A researcher must select a sample that is representative of the population. Which of the following venues would be most practical for recruitment of patients with primary hypertension? A) Prenatal clinic B) High school clinic C) Primary care clinic D) Acute care hospital
C
A researcher used a systematic sampling plan. The sample size was 200. The sampling interval was 250. The first element drawn was 196. The second element would be: A) 396 B) 45 C) 446 D) 646
C
A researcher wanted to predict whether nursing home residents would or would not experience a fall based on 10 characteristics (e.g., age, presence of absence of dementia, etc.). The analysis would involve which of the following? A) Multiple regression B) ANCOVA C) Logistic regression D) MANOVA
C
A self-report method used to measure subjective experiences such as pain and fatigue is which of the following? A) Observation B) In vivo measurements C) Visual analog scales D) Likert scales
C
A set of logically interrelated propositions is associated with which of the following? A) Schematic model B) Conceptual model C) Classical theory D) Descriptive theory
C
A study is investigating the rate of immunization at a community-based clinic. Selection bias is most likely to be present in which of the following samples? A) Random sample of clients accessing an urgent care clinic B) Random sample of records of school clinic vaccination rates C) Convenience sample of mothers who bring children to clinic for vaccinations D) Convenience sample of high school students who have received required vaccinations
C
A study that followed, over a 20-year period, 500 users and 500 non-users of oral contraceptives to determine if there were any long-term side effects would be which of the following? A) Time series B) Retrospective study C) Prospective study D) Crossover study
C
A study's purpose was to note maternal responses to infant cues within the first 48 hours after birth. The investigator and research assistant simultaneously but independently observed and scored the new mothers' behaviors while holding their infants en face. The agreement between the two raters can be described as which of the following? A) Content validity of the scoring instrument B) Internal validity of the research design C) Reliability of the scoring instrument D) External validity of the research design
C
A widely used index of risk used among practitioners of evidence-based practice is which of the following? A) The t statistic B) The F ratio C) The odds ratio D) Pearson's r
C
An ethnographic study of a clinic that specialized in abortion services by someone from outside that culture would most likely be an example of which of the following? A) An auto-ethnography B) A critical ethnography C) A microethnography D) A macroethnography
C
On a 20-item Likert scale with five response categories, the range of possible scores is which of the following? A) 0 to 100 B) 20 to 80 C) 20 to 100 D) 0 to 50
C
One weakness associated with cause-probing correlational research is which of the following? A) Artificiality of the settings in which it occurs B) Difficulty in linking the research to a theoretical framework C) Problem of self-selection into groups D) Inability to generalize the findings beyond the sample
C
Quasi-experimental research designs lack what feature found in true experimental research? A) Control groups B) Pretests C) Randomization D) Placebos
C
Research utilization is a process that begins with which of the following? A) A clinical problem that needs to be solved B) A problem-focused trigger C) A knowledge-focused trigger or research finding D) A well-worded clinical question
C
Self efficacy is a widely-used construct that was originally developed within which of the following? A) The Health Belief Model B) The Health Promotion Model C) Social Cognitive Theory D) The Uncertainty in Illness Theory
C
Statistically significant means which of the following? A) The study findings are important. B) The study results are meaningful. C) It is unlikelihood that the results are due to chance. D) The hypothesis has been proven.
C
Strata are incorporated into the design of which of the following sampling approaches? A) Systematic B) Purposive C) Quota D) Consecutive
C
The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) consists of 20 items describing depressive symptoms. Subjects respond to a Likert-type scale, rating each item (0 = no symptom to 3 = persistent or severe symptom presence). Previous research indicates that test-retest scores of the BDI ranged from 0.60 to 0.90. Critiquing the above statements you conclude which of the following? A) Evidence of the stability aspect of validity of the BDI is supported B) Conceptual and operational definitions of depression are not consistent C) Evidence of the stability aspect of reliability is supported D) The BDI will yield high amounts of error with obtained scores
C
The Duquesne School of Phenomenology is based on the philosophy of which of the following? A) Colaizzi B) Van Kaam C) Husserl D) Giorgi
C
The Iowa Model identifies problem-focused triggers for implementing an EBP project. Which of the following is a problem-focused trigger in the Iowa Model? A) A finding published recently in a nursing journal B) A new clinical guideline issued by a federal agency C) An increase in latex allergy among emergency room nurses D) Questions from hospital committee
C
The Theory of Stress and Coping is an example of which of the following? A) A nursing model B) A grand theory C) A borrowed theory D) A grounded theory
C
The aspect of reliability for which interobserver reliability is appropriate is which of the following? A) Stability B) Internal consistency C) Equivalence D) Specificity
C
The best-known early research utilization (RU) project sought to bridge the gap between research and practice. Which following is the name of that well-known project? A) Cochrane Collaboration B) Stetler Model of Research Utilization C) Conduct and Utilization of Research in Nursing (CURN) Project D) Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services
C
The building blocks of theory are which of the following? A) Frameworks B) Relationships C) Concepts D) Hypotheses
C
The connection of phenomena through a loosely structured approach not directly linking them in a logically deductive manner is which of the following? A) Middle range theory B) Theoretical framework C) Conceptual model D) Research question
C
Which of the following is the correct order of tasks in organizing and managing narrative data for qualitative analysis? A) 1. Organize the data; 2. develop a category scheme; 3. read and code the data; 4. check the accuracy of transcribed data B) 1. Develop a category scheme; 2. check the accuracy of transcribed data; 3. read and code the data; 4. organize the data C) 1. Check the accuracy of transcribed data; 2. develop a category scheme; 3. read and code the data; 4. organize the data D) 1. Read and code the data; 2. develop a category scheme; 3. check the accuracy of transcribed data; 4. organize the data
C
Which of the following is the first stage of Diekelmann, Allen, and Tanner's (1989) process of data analysis in hermeneutics? A) Interpretive summaries of each interview are written. B) A team of researchers analyzes selected transcribed interviews or texts. C) All the interviews or texts are read for an overall understanding. D) Common meanings and shared practices are identified by comparing and contrasting the text.
C
Which of the following is true of thick description in qualitative research? A) It should not include verbatim quotes from participants. B) It should not include information that can be interpreted as controversial. C) It should be implicit in the description of the research context. D) It should avoid emotional impact.
C
Which of the following most accurately describes the relationship between reliability and validity? A) If a measure is reliable, it will be valid. B) As reliability increases, validity decreases. C) If a measure is not reliable, it cannot be valid. D) There is no direct relationship between the two.
C
Which of the following statements about participant observation is true? A) Participant observers must maintain the same level of participation throughout the study. B) In a participant observation study, participants are observed but not questioned. C) Participant observers may use single, multiple, or mobile positioning. D) Participant observers most commonly record their observations by videotaping all events and transactions that they observe.
C
Which of the following statements about qualitative research methods is true? A) Peer debriefings in qualitative research provide proof that interpretations are correct. B) Qualitative research attempts to test hypotheses generated from quantitative research. C) Interpretation and analysis of qualitative data typically occur simultaneously. D) Qualitative research methods are best suited to study well-known phenomenon.
C
Which of the following statements is true? A) Narrative materials tend to be linear, which simplifies the coding process. B) Qualitative researchers typically develop a category scheme before they collect their data. C) CAQDAS is available for coding, organizing, and retrieving qualitative data. D) Content analysis is the analytic method used in phenomenologic studies.
C
Which of the following would be a primary source for a research literature review? A) A meta-analysis appearing in the Cochrane Reviews B) A metasynthesis published in the journal Qualitative Health Research C) An experimental study published in the journal Research in Nursing & Health D) A systematic review published in the journal Nursing Research
C
Which of the following would be most likely called a construct? A) Gender B) Body temperature C) Self-care D) Blood type
C
Which search strategy selects an important early study and locates subsequent citations in the literature? A) Ancestry approach B) Database search C) Descendancy approach D) Footnote chasing
C
Which statement accurately reflects a characteristic of a well-written literature review? A) Only a few key reports by the same author should be included if that author has published extensively on the topic under study. B) The review should primarily contain reports supportive of your general hypothesis about the problem under study. C) The review should include reports that both support and contradict your own ideas. D) The review should clearly identify points that have been proven by previous research.
C
Nursing has experienced constant change over the past decades as a result of increased research. When determining best practices, nursing decisions should do which of the following? Select all that apply. A) Be based on tradition B) Include holistic approaches C) Be clinically appropriate D) Be cost effective
C, D
The mean is usually the statistic reported for which type or types of measure? Select all that apply. A) Nominal measures B) Ordinal measures C) Interval measures D) Ratio measures
C, D
Which of the following groups would be best served by the development of a scientific base for nursing practice? A) Nursing administrators B) Practicing nurses C) Nurses' clients D) Health care policymakers
C.
In a qualitative study, the people cooperating in the study are called which of the following? A) Subjects B) Investigators C) Researchers D) Informants
D
A difficulty identified with convenience sampling is which of the following? A) The participants do not meet the conceptual needs of the study B) It is not economical C) It is not efficient D) The participants may not produce the depth of information needed
D
A frequency distribution for height would most likely be represented by which of the following? A) A symmetric distribution B) A positive skew C) A negative skew D) A normal distribution
D
A group of 100 students took a test. The mean was 85, the standard deviation was 5, and the scores were normally distributed. About how many of the 100 scores fell between 80 and 90? A) 34 B) 68 C) 95 D) Impossible to determine
D
A nurse is observing how the time of feeding impacts an inpatient's gastric reflux. In which of the following steps of the EBP process would the nurse determine whether a specific feeding time alleviated the patient's gastric reflux symptoms? A) Searching for and collecting evidence that addresses the question B) Appraising and synthesizing the evidence C) Integrating the evidence with own clinical expertise, patient preferences, and local context D) Assessing the effectiveness of the decision, intervention, or advice
D
A nurse researcher compared men's and women's level of stress following cardiac surgery and made sure that both groups were comparable with regard to length of stay in hospital. Length of stay in hospital is which of the following? A) Independent variable B) Dependent variable C) Mediating variable D) Confounding variable
D
A nurse researcher is evaluating a revised self-esteem questionnaire to determine whether all of the items on the questionnaire actually effectively measure self-esteem. Which aspect of reliability is she evaluating? A) Equivalence B) Validity C) Stability D) Internal consistency
D
A nurse working in an adolescent health clinic conducted a grounded theory study related to contraceptive decision-making in Latina youth. She collected data from individual interviews and focus groups. Which of the following quality-enhancement strategies is described in this example? A) Persistent observation B) Prolonged engagement C) Reflexivity D) Data triangulation
D
A nurse working in an inner-city clinic conducted an ethnographic study of sex workers to gain understanding of factors related to HIV risk for these women. After she completed her data collection, she gave three participants feedback about her findings for their review and commentary. Which of the following quality-enhancement strategies is described in this example? A) Audit trail B) Data triangulation C) Reflexivity D) Member checking
D
A person who marked "strongly agree" to all or most items on a Likert scale would best be described as which of the following? A) Socially desirable respondent B) Biased participant C) Nay-sayer D) Yea-sayer
D
A research nurse understands that evidenced-based practice in nursing does which of the following? A) Relies on tradition B) Consults recognized authorities C) Depends primarily on textbooks D) Is based on the latest research
D
A researcher at a school of nursing decides to investigate the correlation between a pre- admission HESI examination, high school GPA, and SAT scores as a predictor of success in completing first year study. These admission variables will be reviewed again with grades achieved after the first year is completed. This use of data is known as which of the following? A) Construct validation B) Known-groups technique C) Concurrent validity D) Predictive validity
D
A researcher would like to test the significance of differences in the means of three age groups of baseball pitchers for the outcome variables of speed and accuracy. She realizes that she will need to control for the potential confounding variable of base skill of the individual subjects in all three groups. Which type of analysis should she use? A) Analysis of variance (ANOVA) B) Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) C) Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) D) Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA)
D
After an institutional project has been developed, the next step is to conduct a pilot study (a trial study). Based on the Iowa Model, which step would identify the success or failure of a pilot study? A) Developing an evaluation plan B) Measuring client outcomes prior to implementation C) Training relevant staff in the use of the new guideline D) Evaluating the project in terms of both the process and the outcomes
D
An important function of a rigorous research design in a quantitative study is to have control over which of the following? A) Outcome variables B) Mediating variables C) Carryover variables D) Confounding variables
D
As a nurse, you must understand the difference between research utilization and evidence-based nursing practice. Which of the following best defines evidence-based practice? A) Begins with research itself, clinical expertise, and patient preference B) Uses new evidence and translates research findings into real-world applications C) Uses findings from disciplined research in practical application unrelated to original research D) Integrates best research evidence, with clinical expertise, patient preference, and a particular clinical situation
D
Bias in a sample for a quantitative study refers to which of the following? A) Lack of heterogeneity in the population on the attribute of interest B) Sample selection using nonprobability-type sampling methods C) The margin of error in the data obtained from samples D) Systematic over- or underrepresentation of a key attribute vis-a-vis the population
D
Consumers of research do which of the following? A) Design studies B) Undertake studies C) Produce research D) Read research
D
Credibility in qualitative research refers to which of the following? A) The reliability of data over time B) Objectivity of the interpretation of the data C) Applicability of the data to other groups D) Confidence in the truth value of the data
D
For which of the following levels of significance is the risk of making a Type I error lowest? A) .10 B) .05 C) .01 D) .001
D
Identifying patterns, regularities, and irregularities in the published literature about the problem under study when constructing a literature review is a process called which of the following? A) Structuring B) Sorting C) Content organizing D) Thematic analysis
D
If a researcher wanted to assess whether an experimental group differed significantly from a control group in terms of proportion with a post-discharge readmission, the test statistic would be which of the following? A) t B) r C) F D) X2
D
If both in-depth interviews and participant observations were used to collect data on a phenomenon in a study, this would be referred to as which of the following? A) Data triangulation B) Investigator triangulation C) Theory triangulation D) Method triangulation
D
If the bulk of scores on a test occurred at the upper end of the distribution, the distribution could be described as which of the following? A) Normal B) Bimodal C) Positively skewed D) Negatively skewed
D
In the following clinical question, what is the Population (P component): Do stress and depression affect dyspnea in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)? A) Patients who are stressed B) Patients who are depressed C) Patients who experience dyspnea D) Patients with COPD
D
In the question, "Do Baccalaureate degree-prepared nurses practice more rehabilitative nursing procedures on a client in an ICU than associate degree-prepared nurses?" the independent variable is which of the following? A) Associate degree-prepared nurses B) Baccalaureate degree-prepared nurses C) Rehabilitative nursing measures D) Type of educational background of nurse
D
In what situation is informed consent not needed? A) The researcher pays the participants a stipend B) The risk/benefit ratio is low C) A Certificate of Confidentiality has been obtained D) Informed consent is always needed
D
In which section would the following sentence most likely appear: "The results may have been influenced by the patients' desire to please the researchers and the hospital staff"? A) Introduction B) Method section C) Results section D) Discussion
D
Information about the precision of results typically is communication in the form of which of the following? A) Significance levels B) Effect size estimates C) Correlation coefficients D) Confidence intervals
D
Level III codes, in the Glaser and Strauss approach to grounded theory, are which of the following? A) Axial codes B) In vivo codes C) Open codes D) Theoretical constructs
D
Near the end of data collection, qualitative researchers may employ the technique of sampling which of the following? A) Criterion cases B) Deviant cases C) Typical cases D) Disconfirming cases
D
On a five-point Likert scale, a person who strongly agreed with a statement would be scored as which of the following? A) 1 B) 3 C) 5 D) Cannot be determined
D
Phenomenology most fundamentally involves a search for which of the following? A) A core category from open coding B) Intersubjective agreement among judges C) Thematic descriptions from artistic sources D) Common patterns shared by particular instances
D
Research design in qualitative studies is often described as: A) Experimental B) Narrative C) Interpretive D) Emergent
D
Research on the recovery process of young adults following post-traumatic amputation of a lower extremity would best be furthered by using which of the following conceptual models of nursing? A) Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory B) Prochaska's Transtheoretical Model C) Becker's Health Belief Model D) Sister Callista Roy's Adaptation Model
D
Researchers conducting an exercise intervention study with overweight adults recruited a sample of 250 adults from a primary care clinic. Of the 250 adults, 82 participants completed the study. The 82 participants represent what type of sample? A) Target population B) Accessible population C) Recruited sample D) Actual sample
D
Some EBP models recommend a formal assessment of organizational "fit," known as implementation potential, when an organization is considering undertaking an EBP project. Which following issue is of particular importance to address to determine the implementation potential of the EBP project for the organization? A) Effectiveness of the innovation B) Nurses' attitude toward the innovation C) Patient benefit of the innovation D) Transferability of the innovation
D
Suppose a researcher were interested in assessing the adequacy of an instrument to measure the theoretical concept of hopefulness. The most appropriate type of validation procedure would be which of the following? A) Content B) Concurrent C) Predictive D) Construct
D
The Health Promotion Model would best be described as which of the following? A) Descriptive theory B) Borrowed theory C) Grounded theory D) Middle-range theory
D
The SEM gets smaller as which of the following occurs? A) The mean gets smaller B) The sample size gets smaller C) The mean gets larger D) The sample size gets larger
D
The criterion that refers to neutrality or objectivity in qualitative inquiry is which of the following? A) Credibility B) Transferability C) Authenticity D) Confirmability
D
The difference between a true score and an obtained score is referred to as which of the following? A) Internal inconsistency B) Non-equivalence C) Interobserver disagreement D) Error of measurement
D
The first major step that a researcher must undertake in a qualitative analysis is which of the following? A) A search for major themes B) A search for appropriate metaphors C) The use of quasi-statistics D) Developing a system for organizing and indexing the data
D
The level of significance of the findings in a research study can be found in which section? A) Discussion B) Introduction C) Methods D) Results
D
The maintenance of good, thorough documentation and a decision trail is especially critical in which of the following? A) Member checks B) Stepwise replications C) Negative case analysis D) Inquiry audits
D
The measure of variability that takes into account all score values is which of the following? A) Range B) Median C) Mean D) Standard deviation
D
The nurse plans a study comparing the occurrence of anxiety disorders in military personnel deployed overseas with those who served strictly within the borders of the United States. What research design should be selected for this study? A) Experimental B) Quasi-Experimental C) Cohort D) Nonexperimental
D
The nurse researcher is conducting a study on a nonpharmacologic nursing intervention for the treatment of pain. Which data collection instrument would provide the most sensitive measurement of pain? A) Differential scale B) Physiologic measures C) Likert scale D) Visual analog scale
D
The nurse-theorist Pender developed which of the following? A) Adaptation Model B) Social Cognitive Theory C) Health Belief Model D) Health Promotion Model
D
The overall plan for answering a research question—the architectural backbone of a study—is called which of the following? A) Sampling plan B) Proposal C) Hypothesis D) Research design
D
The power of theories lies in their ability to do which of the following? A) Explain large segments of human experience B) Minimize the number of words required to explain phenomena and, thereby, eliminate semantic problems C) Prove conclusively that relationships exist among the phenomena studied D) Articulate the nature of relationships among phenomena
D
The purpose of evaluating the evidence that emanates from research articles is to do which of the following? A) Maintain licensure as a professional nurse B) Implement protocols already established in one's clinical area C) Improve one's clinical assessment skills D) Decide whether recommendations might be implemented
D
The statement "the results of this study are statistically significant" means which of the following regarding the findings? A) Passed a Chi test B) Are clinically important C) Are the strength of the study D) Are probably true and replicable
D
Which of the following is an appropriately worded sentence for a research review? A) Five recent studies have proved that men are less well able to cope with the loss of a spouse than women. B) The HIV-epidemic has been the cause of considerable anxiety in the gay community. C) Nurses and physicians struggle with the decision about whether to work in environments where abortion services are offered. D) Research has consistently found that infant's sleeping position is related to the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
D
Which of the following is an aspect of trustworthiness used in evaluating the strength of evidence in a qualitative study? A) Triangulation B) Reflexivity C) Reliability D) Credibility
D
Which of the following is an important characteristic of a high-quality literature review? A) Restricted to articles written in nursing journals B) Restricted to recent studies C) Full of opinions D) Reproducible, with justifiable decision rules
D
Which of the following is the most effective method for controlling participant factors? A) Using a homogeneous sample B) Statistical control C) Matching subjects D) Randomization
D
Which of the following models was explicitly developed with the idea that individual nurses could engage in RU-type activities? A) Iowa Model B) Johns Hopkins Model C) Cochrane Model D) Stetler Model
D
Which of the following research focuses is qualitative? A) Weekend and night outcomes of patients admitted to a specific hospital system's trauma departments B) Trends in hospitalizations of patients with antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis C) Predicting risks for serious complications with abdominal surgery D) Needs of nursing students living with chronic illness
D
Which of the following statements about sampling in qualitative research is true? A) Convenience sampling is considered the most appropriate method of selecting sample members. B) Larger samples are considered more rigorous than smaller samples. C) Using randomness in the sampling process is desirable. D) The type of sampling approach can change and evolve over the course of data collection.
D
Which of the following statements is true? A) The CINAHL database includes only journals B) The CINAHL database includes about 15 million records C) The CINAHL database uses the controlled vocabulary called MeSH to index entries D) Subject headings in CINAHL include substantive and methodologic topics
D
Which of the following would be most strongly associated with cause-probing research? A) Identification B) Description C) Exploration D) Explanation
D
Which of the graphic representations illustrates a randomized experimental interventional design with pre- and posttest? A) R X O X B) R O R X C) R X O O D) R O X O
D
Which of the statements below best illustrates the temporal criterion needed for a causal relationship? A) Skin cancer occurs because of genetic predisposition. B) Kidney disease develops as a result of pesticide exposure. C) Hepatitis C occurs in populations with substance abuse histories. D) Following vaccination for varicella, rates of varicella infection are lower.
D
Which procedure describes a probability sampling method? A) Identification of community organizations and churches in an urban setting and recruiting participants B) Identification of individuals demonstrating the variable(s) of interest to the researcher and recruiting participants C) Identification of the accessible population and selecting study participants based upon the researcher's belief that the participant is representative of the accessible population D) Identification of a sampling frame for an accessible population, writing element names on paper, placing the written names in a bowl, and drawing a select number of names from the bowl
D
Which situation best reflects "attrition" in quantitative research? A) Control and intervention groups are very different in age ranges. B) Subjects receive promotional materials about the benefits of the intervention. C) Adolescent subjects improve in body hygiene practices over 4 years. D) Control group subjects drop out of the study when their disease process does not improve.
D
Which statement regarding sampling error and sampling bias is accurate? A) Sampling bias may be defined as the difference between data obtained from a simple random sample and the data that would be obtained if an entire population were measured. B) Sampling bias occurs by chance. C) Sampling error and sampling bias are synonymous. D) Sampling error may be contained in sample data even when the most careful random sampling procedure has been used to obtain the sample.
D
You have identified 66 potential references through electronic database searches for your review of literature. Which action in the screening process would be the most appropriate next step in identifying the most useful articles? A) Comparing databases for duplicate-referenced reports B) Evaluating the heading terms C) Reading each article in detail D) Reviewing the abstracts
D
