NU631 Scientific Inquiry for Evidence-Based Practice
Week 1 Quiz
Question 1Nurses with a bachelor’s degree in nursing can participate in the implementation of evidence-based protocols in practice. This means that the BSN nurse:
a.develops evidence-based guidelines.
b.designs research studies on which protocols may be based.
c.evaluates and revises evidence-based protocols.
d.contributes practice wisdom when applying protocols in patient settings.
Question 2What is the best explanation of the type of intuition that forms a legitimate source of knowledge in nursing?
a.It is based on knowledge thoroughly incorporated into thought but seldom articulated.
b.It is based on a gift from the universe and should be honored when it arrives.
c.It is never inaccurate.
d.It is the process of examining and critiquing one’s thoughts.
Question 3A researcher investigates the cause-and-effect relationship between the incidence of children’s spinal cord injury and the current state law requiring that all children under the age of eight will ride in special car harnesses. Which form of nursing research should the researcher employ?
a.Control research
b.Mixed-methods research
c.Qualitative research
d.Quantitative research
Question 4A study is designed to test the idea of providing companion dogs to elders in a major hospital in order to determine the effect upon the elders’ level of orientation. This type of study can do which of the following?
a.Control
b.Describe
c.Explain
d.Predict
Question 5What is a concept?
a.The abstract, logical structure of meaning.
b.A term that abstractly describes and names an object, a phenomenon, or an idea, thus providing it with a distinct identity or meaning.
c.An integrated set of defined concepts, existence statements, and relational statements that can be used to describe, explain, predict, or control that phenomenon.
d.A diagram that expresses the interrelationships of concepts and statements.
Question 6What is a framework?
a.The abstract, logical structure of meaning.
b.A concept at a high level of abstraction with a very general meaning.
c.An integrated set of defined concepts, existence statements, and relational statements that can be used to describe, explain, predict, or control that phenomenon.
d.A diagram that expresses the interrelationships of concepts and statements.
Question 7What is a theory?
a.The abstract, logical structure of meaning.
b.A concept at a high level of abstraction with a very general meaning.
c.An integrated set of defined concepts, existence statements, and relational statements that can be used to describe, explain, predict, or control that phenomenon.
d.A diagram that expresses the interrelationships of concepts and statements.
Question 8Which of the following is a variable?
a.Sanctity
b.How many times the experimental monkey rings the bell
c.Déjà vu
d.Darwin’s theory of evolution
Question 9What does GNSA stand for?
a.Graduate Nursing Student Academy
b.Graduate Nurse Schooling Association
c.Gaming Nursing School Academy
d.Greater Nurses Stand Aligned
Question 10Who is considered the first nursing theorist?
a.Florence Nightingale
b.Nola Pender
c.Sister Callista Roy
d.Martha Rogers
NU631 Scientific Inquiry for Evidence-Based Practice
Week 2 Quiz
Question 1In which way did Florence Nightingale contribute most substantially to evidence-based practice?
a.She conducted outcomes research about the power of nursing for creating change.
b.She was the first woman elected to the Royal Statistical Society.
c.She gathered data that changed the care of hospitalized soldiers.
d.She calculated mortality rates under varying conditions.
Question 2In a rehabilitation unit, patients are randomly assigned to high fiber diets versus ordinary fiber diets, in order to measure the effect on constipation. What type of quantitative research is this?
a.Descriptive research
b.Correlational research
c.Quasi-experimental research
d.Experimental research
Question 3A researcher designs a study. The data are collected by means of a questionnaire. The study has a clear purpose statement; the results are presented as a narrative without statistical analysis; and the suggestions made for practice are worded as general suggestions. What type of research is this?
a.Qualitative research
b.Quantitative research
c.Mixed methods research
d.Meta-analysis
Question 4A researcher uses interviews with two or three open-ended questions to study women in the staging phase of breast cancer treatment, in order to understand their experiences and the meanings they attribute to those experiences. What type of research is this?
a.Phenomenological research
b.Grounded theory research
c.Ethnographic research
d.Historicism
Question 5What best characterizes the contribution of qualitative nursing research to evidence-based practice?
a.It presents collective common evidence of healthcare clients’ experiences, which may provide inspirations for individual practice.
b.It provides stories of how healthcare clients feel. This lets nurses know what people in similar circumstances can be expected to experience and feel.
c.It provides evidence that determines how nurses should interact with various cultures. This mandates action.
d.Its purpose is to test theory.
Question 6Ethnographic research would focus on all of the following topics except…?
a.Bacterial cultures
b.How children in Alaska play during the winter
c.The members of Alcoholics Anonymous who share 20 years of abstinence
d.The mentoring process in a labor-delivery unit
Question 7A researcher is operating from the point of view of logical positivism. Which research methods would the logical positivist not use?
a.Grounded theory research
b.Correlational research
c.Quasi-experimental research
d.Quantitative descriptive research
Question 8A human resources employee performs research focusing on the professional life span of nurses within this particular institution and tries to discover whether their choice of work area is connected with the number of years they work in the institution. What type of quantitative research is this?
a.Descriptive research
b.Correlational research
c.Quasi-experimental research
d.Experimental research
Question 9One of the differences between a DNP and PhD prepared nurse is that
a.DNPs write journal articles to disseminate their research findings and PhDs do not.
b.DNPs implement the research into their practice, which the PhDs have generated in their original nursing research studies.
c.DNP educational programs are typically longer in length than PhD programs.
d.DNPs are research oriented, and PhDs are practice oriented.
Question 10Thinking about the research hierarchy you learned about this week, which is the highest level of research, i.e., Level I?
a.Systematic review and meta-analysis
b.Descriptive study and qualitative study
c.Opinions of expert committees and authorities
d.Quasi Experimental study
NU631 Scientific Inquiry for Evidence-Based Practice
Week 3 Quiz
Question 1What is the relationship between a research topic and a research problem?
a.Research topics contain numerous potential research problems, and each problem provides the basis for developing many purposes.
b.A research problem is an area in which there is a gap in nursing’s knowledge base. It is a broad area that gives rise to several potential researchable topics.
c.The research topic and the research problem are identical.
d.The research topic specifies setting and population, but the problem does not.
Question 2Why is replicating a research study essential for knowledge development?
a.Each time a study is replicated, its probability of error decreases.
b.Replicating a study in a different population can decrease generalizability.
c.Replication helps confirm that the initial results were not reached in error.
d.Replication studies represent the majority of published nursing literature.
Question 3Which item represents a concise, clear statement of the specific goal or aim of a research study?
a.The research problem was identified as the general area of ignorance surrounding the causation and diagnosis of meningococcal meningitis, especially among soldiers in uniform, and this constituted a significant gap in the literature.
b.The purpose of the project, then, was to define changes in the variable of hypertension across time, with the four most prevalent treatment modalities prescribed by primary care physicians in the greater Chicago area.
c.The phenomenon of depression experienced by the primary schoolchild was focused upon in this study. It is an under-researched topic, especially since recent research has identified correlational links with childhood obesity, especially in Hispanic and African American populations.
d.Despite the fact that studying the disease, especially from standpoints of prevention and early detection, is costly and time-consuming, it represents a clear priority, since treatment itself is remarkably costly and the afflicted are not likely to experience even short remissions without early intervention.
Question 4A master’s student does not know how to choose a research problem. The student was a trauma nurse but has not been working clinically for the past two years. What sources can the student use in order to identify a researchable nursing problem? Research in the previous work area of trauma nursing does not interest the student. Which of the following activities is not a fruitful source for identifying a nursing research problem?
a.Talking with nurses still engaged in clinical practice about questions that have arisen in their work areas.
b.Reading professional research journals.
c.Depending on the student’s instructors to provide a research problem.
d.Accessing the National Institutes for Nursing Research (NINR) research priorities.
.Question 5Which of the answer choices is the practicing nurse’s most important source of researchable problems?
a.The nurse’s own clinical practice
b.Review of the literature
c.Nursing theories
d.Administrative mandates to conduct clinical research on every hospital unit
Question 6A study contains the research question, Can the application of twice-daily cortisone in the period from six to ten weeks postoperatively produce significantly increased range of motion in 50- to 60-year-old rotator-cuff repair patients at the six-month mark? What is the type of research described?
a.Ethnographic
b.Historical
c.Experimental
d.Basic
Question 7All of the answer choices are reasons to conduct replication research except:
a.The original study, using a small sample, showed statistically significant results.
b.The original research showed statistically significant findings, but the research site is no longer in operation.
c.The original sample size was adequate, the design was strong, and results showed no statistically significant results.
d.The original study produced statistically significant results in surgical outpatients. The researcher questioned whether the results would be the same in an inpatient setting.
Question 8Based on the Yates article, Research in Nursing Practice, the following are likely to help encourage bedside nurses to conduct research except:
a.Nursing education is strengthened.
b.Time away from direct care is allocated for conducting research activities.
c.Institutional and organizational support of research are strengthened.
d.A decrease in NINR funding and NIH funding occurs.
Question 9According to the Blake (2016) article, Yes, nurses do research, and it’s improving patient care, there is a growing number of nurses getting PhDs and doing research, according to a 2014 survey by American Association of Colleges of Nursing AACN). All of the answer choices are true except:
a.The survey found a significant growth in research-focused doctoral programs (i.e., PhD, DNS), which climbed to 134 programs in 2014.
b.Enrollment in PhD nursing programs increased by 3.2 percent over the previous year with 5,290 students enrolled in 2014.
c.Enrollment in nursing programs in California, Nebraska, and Vermont drastically declined in the past 10 years.
. There has not been a decline in nursing enrollment in these states over the past 10 years. In the United States, there is a push for there to be an increased volume of nurse researchers who are doctorally-prepared. The number of doctoral-prepared nurses has been growing over the past couple of decades.
d.Since 2004 when the DNP movement began to take shape, enrollment in research-focused doctoral programs has increased by 53.8 percent.
Question 10Quality improvement is important according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality because: Health care can vary widely across hospitals, locales and population groups. Suboptimal care can lead to complications, unnecessary hospital stays, lingering illness, or even death. When quality of care gaps become apparent, all health care professionals must be involved in improving the quality of care they deliver. Patients can take a role too.
True
False
NU631 Scientific Inquiry for Evidence-Based Practice
Week 6 Quiz
Question 1A research hypothesis states: "There is no measurable difference in incidence of acne in 15-year-olds who are placed on a chocolate-free diet." What is the dependent variable in this hypothesis?
a.15-year-olds
b.No chocolate in the diet
c.Chocolate in the diet
d.Acne
Question 2A researcher identifies an important extraneous variable after a study is under way. What is the best action for the researcher to take now?
a.Determine whether the extraneous variable is an independent or dependent variable.
b.Stop the study and then redesign it so as to control for this extraneous variable.
c.Attempt to measure the extraneous variable so that its effect may be determined during the analytic phase.
d.Nothing now. Plan to identify this as a limitation during the dissemination phase.
Question 3A researcher identifies three variables and formulates a hypothesis that links them. That hypothesis is testable. What does it mean that the hypothesis is testable?
a.All the variables in the hypothesis are measurable.
b.The hypothesis must be replaced by a research question.
c.The value of the hypothesis is low.
d.The hypothesis is causational.
Question 4Read the following statement: There is no measurable difference in incidence of incarceration for adolescent children whose mothers work outside the home in comparison with those whose mothers do not work outside the home. How is this statement best defined?
a.Null hypothesis
b.Confounding variable
c.Research objective
d.Research question
Question 5The intervention that the researcher manipulates is the
a.Demographic variable
b.Independent variable
c.Dependent variable
d.Extraneous variable
Question 6What is a concept?
a.The abstract, logical structure of meaning
b.A term that abstractly describes and names an object, a phenomenon, or an idea, thus providing it with a distinct identity or meaning
c.An integrated set of defined concepts, existence statements, and relational statements that can be used to describe, explain, predict, or control that phenomenon
d.A diagram that expresses the interrelationships of concepts and statements
Question 7Which of the following is a concept but not a variable?
a.How many tries it takes to score a basketball free throw
b.Loneliness
c.Weight on a kilogram scale
d.The Heisenberg uncertainty principle
Question 8Which of the following is a variable?
a.Sanctity
b.How many times the experimental monkey rings the bell
c.Déja vu
d.Darwin's theory of evolution
Question 9Which statement demonstrates a positive linear relationship?
a.As "A" increases in value, so does "B."
b.As "A" changes in value, "B" may or may not change.
c.As "A" increases in value, "B" decreases in value.
d.If "A" occurs, then "B" occurs, but only if "C" occurs.
Question 10Which statement demonstrates a sequential relationship?
a.As "A" changes in value, "B" does not.
b.As "A" changes, "B" may or may not change.
c.After "A" changes, "B" changes.
d.When "A" changes, "B" changes at the same time.
NU631 Scientific Inquiry for Evidence-Based Practice
Week 8 Quiz
Question 1Which of the following types of sampling is least common in qualitative research?
a.Convenience
bPurposive
c.Snowball
d.Random
Question 2A researcher studies spending habits of teenagers in shopping malls. The researcher visits two local malls to solicit participants. From what kind of population has the researcher selected the sample?
a.The accessible population
b.The entire population
c.The target population
d.The Hypothetical population
Question 3What is a true statement about inclusion and exclusion criteria?
a.Inclusion and exclusion criteria determine the demographics of the sample.
b.Inclusion and exclusion criteria must be mutually exclusive.
c.Inclusion and exclusion criteria are the opposites of one another.
d.Inclusion and exclusion criteria never address the study purpose.
Question 4Large sample sizes are desirable in which types of research?
a.Grounded theory
b.Phenomenology
c.Pilot interventional research
d.Multisite randomized clinical trials
Question 5Why are convenience samples used so frequently in nursing research?
a.More subjects consent if they understand the sampling method
b.Obtaining a true random sample of sufficient size may be impossible
c.There is a low risk of sampling bias
d.There is a plethora (tons) of subjects available
Question 6A researcher attempted to recruit all 150 of the patients seen in the emergency department in a three month period for diverticulitis, but only 120 consented to participate. What is the sample size?
a.150
b.120
c.30
d.80%
Question 7A researcher attempted to recruit all 150 of the patients seen in the emergency department in a three-month period for diverticulitis, but only 120 consented to participate. What is the refusal rate?
a.100%
b.80%
c.20%
d.0%
Question 8A woman answers the telephone and hears, Good morning. You have been selected randomly by our marketing department because of your recent purchase of McCarthy’s Natural Yogurt, several organic raw vegetables, and two types of tofu. As a woman with interest in safe and healthy products, we are asking you to participate in a brief telephone survey. What is this?
a.Random sampling
b.Convenience sampling
c.Purposive sampling
d.Systematic sampling
Question 9A researcher consented 400 subjects, but 12 dropped out of the study before it was completed. The rest finished the study. What was the sample retention rate?
a.30%
b.38.8%
c.3%
d.97%
Question 10When participants recruit other participants for a study, it is known as what type of sampling?
a.Purposive
b.Snowball
c.Random
d.Friends
NU631 Scientific Inquiry for Evidence-Based Practice
Week 10 Quiz
Question 1What are the principal tasks of data collection?
a.Performing constant comparison for qualitative data
b.Maintaining research controls as indicated in the study design
c.Cross-checking with the literature review
d.Obtaining institutional review board permission
Question 2How may raw research data, with identifiers, obtained from a hospital be stored?
a.It must be kept only in the hospital’s computer system; at the end of the workday, all excerpted data must be deleted.
b.In a password-protected computer, located in a private office or residence.
c.In any e-mail account
d.On a private website
Question 3What are the purposes of completing a pilot study?
a.It helps identify problems the researcher might encounter while collecting data.
b.It justifies the existence of a research gap.
c.It gives the researcher preliminary data to present the institutional review board in order to obtain permission to conduct research.
d.It provides nominal and ordinal data with which the researcher can construct better instruments.
Question 4A nurse is conducting her master’s thesis research in the unit in which she works as a staff nurse. The focus of her thesis is burned children’s pain, with a child life specialist assisting the child versus without. She is providing child life specialist presence every other day at the mid-morning dressing change. For obvious reasons, she wants to keep everything else consistent for the four contiguous days of data collection. On the second day of four, with the child life specialist present, one child demonstrates poor pain control. The nurse researcher would ordinarily advocate for more pain medication for this child, but if she does, she will not be able to compare the data with that of the previous day. What is this an example of?
a.Serendipity
b.Subject as object
c.Role conflict
d.Passive resistance
Question 5How may research data, code-named and stripped of all identifiers, be stored?
a.Separate from the master list of identifiers and codes
b.Only in a locked box in a safe
c.Anywhere the researcher decides to store it that has reasonable security
d.Only in a password-protected computer, located in a private office or residence
Question 6A researcher intends to collect data, including patients’ ratings of pain and anxiety, during a procedure. No electrical equipment or photography may be used in the procedure room. In order to record the various pain and anxiety ratings, the researcher may plan to use which of the following? Select all that apply.
a.A plug-in word processor
b.A form with large margins, or a column for comments, or both
c.A pencil with an eraser
d.A form with prelabeled columns and rows
Question 7Planning as a step in the quantitative research process ends when the data collection has begun. Which is the true statement about planning in the qualitative research process?
a.Since sample size is not usually decided upon ahead of time, there is no practical reward to planning the qualitative research study ahead of time.
b.There is no planning in the qualitative research process; it all emanates from the data collected.
c.Everything about a qualitative study is planned ahead of time, except for analysis of the data.
d.The researcher may adapt strategies for data collection or analysis well into the study.
Question 8What is the nursing research institute abbreviated as at the National Institutes of Health?
a.NINR
b.NINA
c.NIRN
d.NIHR
Question 9What does NIH stand for?
a.National Institutes of Health
b.National Institutes of Healthy-Living
c.National Institutes of Harmony
d.National Institutes of Healing
Question 10The quantitative researcher collects many pieces of quantitative data as words, not numbers. Prior to statistical analysis, all of the data pieces must be coded. What does this mean?
a.The data are transformed into numerals corresponding to words, such as: 0—no college degree, 1—bachelor’s degree, 2—master’s degree, 3—PhD or EdD.
b.The essence of each word is noted; later, these essences emerge as themes.
c.The data are typed into a computer, and the computer is instructed to transform the words into binary values, using only 0 and 1, by adding up the numbers of each letter in the alphabet.
d.The data regarding protected data are transformed to code names; a list is made and kept in a secure location.
NU631 Scientific Inquiry for Evidence-Based Practice
Week 11 Quiz
Question 1Which is the highest form of measurement?
a.Interval
b.Nominal
c.Ordinal
d.Ratio
Question 2A secretary in a veterinarian’s office keeps track of how many animals come in for care in a week’s time and what types of animals they are: cat, dog, horse, gerbil, duck, snake, and so forth. What level of measurement is this?
a.Nominal
b.Ordinal
c.Interval
d.Ratio
Question 3Mark is in third grade and has just learned how to use a ruler to measure. He has become a measuring fool. He measures everything in the house, writing down all the measurements, and gaily announcing to his mom, “Hey, Mom. Guess what? The saltshaker is four and a quarter inches tall.” What level of measurement is this?
a.Nominal
b.Ordinal
c.Interval
d.Ratio
Question 4A researcher is developing a tool to measure predelinquent behaviors in preadolescence. The researcher already has reviewed the literature, gathered qualitative data from experts, pilot-tested hundreds of predelinquent preadolescents, and analyzed the findings. It is clear that the tool actually measures what it is supposed to measure. This reflects the tool’s
a.Validity
b.Measurement error
c.Reliability
d.Sensitivity
Question 5Which one of these instructions to the research subject provides the highest possible level of measurement?
a.Indicate whether your income is above $20,000 a year or not.
b.What was your income last year: 0 to $20,000; $20,000 to $60,000; $60,000 to $100,000; or more than $100,000?
c.What was your total income last year, before taxes? Enter amount: __.
d.Did you earn money last year?
Question 6An outpatient being treated in the infusion center for thalassemia is asked to fill out a form about satisfaction with the center, while the patient waits for the appointment. The form consists of five questions, each a statement, with six possibilities after it: Strongly Agree, Agree, Slightly Agree, Slightly Disagree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree. What is the best description of these questions?
a.A questionnaire
b.A Likert scale
c.A forced-choice scale
d.Observational checklist
Question 7The principal disadvantages of administering open-ended questions are which of the following? Select all that apply.
a.They are time-consuming to analyze.
b.They are impractical for use with large samples.
c.They can be difficult to interpret.
d.They force answers.
Question 8Which of the following is not a physiological measure?
a.A subject’s report of episodes of tachycardia per day.
b.Score on the Mini Mental Status Exam
c.Pulse rate as displayed on an ICU’s monitor
d.Serum sodium
Question 9Which of the following are direct measures? Select all that apply.
a.The patient’s radial pulse rate.
b.The dimensions in centimeters of a decubitus ulcer.
c.The nurse’s observations of an infant’s apparent pain.
d.The patient’s serum serotonin levels.
Question 10Which of the following is not the reason that visual analog scale (VAS) is used so frequently in healthcare research?
a.It is easy for clients to understand.
b.It is easy to administer and score.
c.It requires a minimum of translation to be used in languages other than English.
d.Validity is the same, regardless of how the visual analog scale is used.
NU631 Scientific Inquiry for Evidence-Based Practice
Week 16 Quiz
Question 1A researcher is developing a tool to measure predelinquent behaviors in preadolescence. The researcher has already reviewed the literature, gathered qualitative data from experts, pilot-tested hundreds of predelinquent preadolescents, and analyzed the findings. It is clear that the tool actually measures what it is supposed to measure. This reflects the tool's:
a.Validity
b.Measurement error
c.Reliability
d.Sensitivity
Question 2A researcher summarizes the findings and then makes generalizations. Why does the researcher refer to the literature before making generalizations?
a.If the current study is a replication of previous research, its generalizations will be identical to those of the study it replicates.
b.If there is no previous research in this area, no generalizations can be made.
c.If the current study is the second by this researcher, its generalizations will be to the population from which the second sample was drawn and will specifically exclude the sample from the first study.
d.If there is a lone study in this area, generalizations are narrow; if there is previous research of a parallel nature, more widespread generalization is in order.
Question 3In interpreting the findings of a study, the researcher should not do which of the following?
a.Discuss the findings, with respect to clinical implications.
b.Boldly and fearlessly identify the limitations of the study.
c.Make cautious and well-founded conclusions, based on the findings.
d.Make excuses for limitations.
Question 4In which parts of the research report could the reader find the one most important result of the study?
a.References
b.Abstract
c.Introduction
d.Table 1
Question 5The U.S. census is an example of a huge descriptive research project that uses the entire population as the sample. What is not one of the limitations of generalizing census findings back to the entire population?
a.Although all homes must fill out a census report, the homeless population often cannot be accessed, surveyed, and counted, so the homeless population is underrepresented in the findings.
b.Persons whose primary language is something other than English or Spanish, and who do not speak either language, are more likely to be missed in the census.
c.The survey method of data collection relies on self-report; some misrepresentation or error is inevitable.
d.The population changes continuously, and the one described in the census isn't very much like the population on the day the results are published.
Question 6There are several steps in the process of converting a master's thesis into a publishable article: selecting a journal, writing a query letter, preparing an original manuscript, submitting the manuscript for review, and performing the revisions the editor indicates. Why should preparation of the manuscript not occur first? Select three of the following.
Select one or more:
a.It would be foolish to write a manuscript without knowing the maximum length of manuscript that a journal accepts.
b.If the response to several query letters is negative, it is best to abandon attempts to get the information into print.
c.Various journals use different formatting. Waiting until editor interest is expressed saves unneeded re-formatting.
d.Some journals limit the number of items in the reference list. Best know this before editing the thesis down to the length of an article.
Question 7There was a research gap before the study was performed. The study results filled the research gap. In what part of the research report would the research gap be identified? In what part of the research report would the researcher's strategy for filling the research gap be reported?
a.Abstract … References
b.Abstract … Abstract
c.Introduction … Discussion
d.Introduction … Methods
Question 8What part of the research report names the study design?
a.Introduction
b.Methods
c.Results
d.Discussion
Question 9Which is the highest form of measurement?
a.Interval
b.Nominal
c.Ordinal
d.Ratio
Question 10Which one of these instructions to the research subject will provide the highest possible level of measurement?
a.Indicate whether your income is above $20,000 a year or not.
b.What was your income last year: 0 to $20,000; $20,000 to $60,000; $60,000 to $100,000; or more than $100,000?
c.What was your total income last year, before taxes? Enter amount: _______.
d.Did you earn money last year?
