Research Final Exam review
Research utilization is a process that begins with which of the following?
A knowledge-focused trigger or research finding Rationale: Research utilization (RU) is the use of findings from disciplined research in a practical application that is unrelated to the original research. Evidence-based practice is broader than RU because it integrates research findings with other factors. Several models of EBP, such as the Iowa Model, have distinguished two types of stimulus ("triggers") for an EBP endeavor—(1) problem-focused triggers—the identification of a clinical practice problem in need of solution, or (2) knowledge-focused triggers—readings in the research literature. A second catalyst for an EBP project is the research literature—knowledge-focused triggers, which is the origin akin to research utilization.
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 report in the New England Journal of Medicine regarding a potential flu epidemic Rationale: Several models of EBP, such as the Iowa Model, have distinguished two types of stimulus ("triggers") for an EBP endeavor—(1) problem-focused triggers—the identification of a clinical practice problem in need of solution, or (2) knowledge-focused triggers—readings in the research literature. A report in a medical journal regarding a potential flu epidemic is an example of a reading in a research literature, and thus would be a knowledge-focused trigger. The other answers are examples of problem-focused triggers.
Incorporating research findings into nursing practice is an activity to engage in
as a critical element of professional practice.
Empirical data are data that
can be verified through experiment, not observation
One of the research competencies needed by baccalaureate-prepared nurses in order to have an evidence-based practice is the ability to
locate, read, and critically evaluate research studies
The focus of research is to
refine and validate existing knowledge.
Which of the following is a datum from a qualitative study of the labor and delivery experiences of women over age 40?
"I practically slept through the whole thing!"
Which of the following best explains why nurses tend to rely on other sources of information rather than research data?
Research requires time and is complicated to understand and implement
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?
An increase in latex allergy among emergency room nurses Rationale: Several models of EBP, such as the Iowa Model, have distinguished two types of stimulus ("triggers") for an EBP endeavor—(1) problem-focused triggers—the identification of a clinical practice problem in need of solution, or (2) knowledge-focused triggers—readings in the research literature. A second catalyst for an EBP project is the research literature—knowledge-focused triggers, which is the origin akin to research utilization. The catalyst might be a new clinical guideline or a research article discussed in a journal club.
What type of research generates knowledge to directly influence clinical practice?
Applied research
Which of the following terms is used by both qualitative and quantitative researchers to refer to the abstractions under study?
Concept Rationale: Researchers investigate concepts and phenomena, which are abstractions inferred from people's behavior or characteristics. In quantitative studies, concepts are called variables. A variable is a characteristic or quality that takes on different values. The term phenomena is also more associated with qualitative studies than with quantitative studies, whereas concept is used for both. A theory is an explanation of some aspect of reality, not an abstraction inferred from people's behavior or characteristics.
In quantitative studies a basic distinction is between which of the following?
Experimental and nonexperimental research Rationale: A basic distinction in quantitative studies is the difference between experimental and nonexperimental research. In experimental research, researchers actively introduce an intervention or treatment, most often to address therapy questions. In nonexperimental research, researchers are bystanders; they collect data without introducing treatments or making changes. Grounded theory and phenomenological research are types of qualitative, not quantitative, research. The empirical phase is the third phase of quantitative studies. Identifying the population of a study and determining the study sample (a subset of the population) are steps in carrying out a quantitative studies.
Research that addresses "why" questions by examining factors that could explain variations is known as what type of research?
Explanatory
Gaining entrée in a qualitative project usually requires negotiation with one or more of which of the following?
Gatekeeper Rationale: Gaining entrée typically involves negotiations with gatekeepers who have the authority to permit entry into their world. Researchers are the ones who conduct the research study. The people who provide information to the researchers in a study are referred to as subjects or study participants in quantitative research, or study participants or informants in qualitative research; collectively they comprise the sample. A consultant would be an expert in some field who would provide guidance for some aspect of the study.
The ability to control a phenomenon builds on explanatory and predictive information that involves intentionally manipulating a situation to see if this manipulation will cause a desired outcome. This type of study has what type of focus?
If-then
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?
Informants Rationale: The people who provide information to the researchers in a study are referred to as subjects or study participants in quantitative research, or study participants or informants in qualitative research; collectively they comprise the sample. The person who conducts the research is the researcher or investigator.
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?
Integrates best research evidence, with clinical expertise, patient preference, and a particular clinical situation Rationale: Advocates of EBP do not minimize the importance of clinical expertise. Rather, they argue that evidence-based decision-making should integrate best research evidence with clinical expertise, patient preferences, and local circumstances. Research utilization (RU) is the use of findings from disciplined research in a practical application that is unrelated to the original research. In research utilization, the emphasis is on translating research findings into real-world applications. The starting point in RU is new evidence or a research-based innovation. EBP is broader than RU because it integrates research findings with other factors. Whereas RU begins with the research itself (how can I put this innovation to good use in my clinical setting?), EBP starts with a clinical question (what does the evidence say is the best approach to solving this problem?).
A study that randomly samples and randomly assigns participants to either a control or treatment group, represents which level of evidence?
Level I Rationale: Systematic reviews are at the pinnacle of the hierarchy (Level I), because the strongest evidence comes from careful syntheses of multiple studies. The next highest level (Level II) includes individual randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Going down the "rungs" of the evidence hierarchy for Therapy questions results in less reliable evidence—for example, Level III evidence comes from a type of study called quasi-experiment. In-depth qualitative studies are near the bottom, in terms of evidence regarding intervention effectiveness.
The research tradition that is an approach to understanding people's experiences as they are lived is which of the following?
Phenomenologic Rationale: Qualitative research often is rooted in research traditions that originate in other disciplines. Three such traditions are grounded theory, phenomenology, and ethnography. Grounded theory seeks to describe and understand key social psychological processes that occur in a social setting. Phenomenology focuses on the lived experiences of humans and is an approach to gaining insight into what the life experiences of people are like and what they mean. Ethnography provides a framework for studying the meanings, patterns, and lifeways of a culture in a holistic fashion. A key distinction in quantitative studies is between experimental research, in which researchers actively intervene to test an intervention or therapy, and nonexperimental (or observational) research, in which researchers make observations of existing phenomena without intervening.
The aggregate of those to whom a researcher wishes to generalize study results is which of the following?
Population Rationale: A population is all the individuals or objects with common, defining characteristics (the "P" component in PICO questions). Gaining entrée to a research site for a particular population typically involves negotiations with gatekeepers who have the authority to permit entry into their world. Researchers typically collect data from a sample, which is a subset of the population. Using samples is more practical than collecting data from an entire population, but the risk is that the sample might not adequately reflect the population's traits. The researcher's sampling plan specifies how the sample will be selected and how many subjects there will be.
Asking a clinical question is the first step in evidence-based practice. What are the four components of a PICO clinical question?
Population, intervention, comparison, outcome Rationale: A crucial first step in evidence-based practice (EBP) involves asking relevant clinical questions that reflect uncertainties in clinical practice. Most guidelines for EBP use the acronyms PIO or PICO to help practitioners develop well-worded questions that facilitate a search for evidence. In the acronym PIO, the P stands for population or patients; the I stands for intervention; and the O stands for outcome. The acronym PICO includes these same three components plus a fourth, C, which stands for comparison.
Which of the following would be most likely called a construct?
Self-care Rationale: Researchers sometimes use the term construct, which also refers to an abstraction, but often one that is deliberately invented (or constructed). For example, self-care in Orem's model of health maintenance is a construct. A variable is a characteristic or quality that takes on different values such as body temperature and blood type. Gender can be coded in a quantitative study.
The purpose of an operational definition in a quantitative study is to do which of the following?
Specify how a variable will be measured Rationale: An operational definition indicates what the researchers specifically must do to measure the concept and collect needed information. The operational definition does not assign numeric values to variables, state the expected relationship between the variable under investigation, or designate the conceptual underpinnings of a variable.
A researcher conceptualizes pain as "the subject's statement of intensity of pain." What operational definition is consistent with this conceptualization?
Subject's score on self-reported pain rating scale Rationale: An operational definition indicates what the researchers specifically must do to measure the concept and collect needed information. This conceptualization could be measured by the subject's score on self-reported pain rating scale.
In the following clinical question, what is the Comparison (C component): Does chronic stress affect inflammatory responses in older men with atherosclerotic disease?
There is no "C" component Rationale: In the PICO acronym, P stands for the population or patients (older men with atherosclerotic disease); I stands for the intervention, influence, or exposure (chronic stress); C stands for the component that is needed (there is no intervention or influence of interest contrasted with a specific alternative); and O stands for the outcomes (inflammatory response).