NURS 328 FINAL EXAM PRACTICE QUESTIONS
WITH 100% CORRECT ANSWERS
The research design for a quantitative study involves decisions concerning all of
the following except:
A) which conceptual framework to use.
B) whether there will be an intervention.
C) what types of comparisons will be made.
D) how many times data will be collected.
Ans: A
Feedback:
The research design is the overall plan for answering research questions. In
quantitative studies, the design incorporates decisions about whether there will be
an intervention, what type of comparisons will be made, and how many times data
will be collected. The selection of a conceptual framework is not a design-related
decision.
2
Q
A nurse researcher tested whether sucrose (vs. sterile water) had a beneficial
effect on infant pain during immunizations. Neither those administering the
intervention nor the parents of the infants knew which infants received the sucrose.
This strategy is an example of:
A) randomization.
B) attrition.
C) crossing over.
D) blinding.
Ans: D
Feedback:
Blinding involves concealing information from participants (here, the parents) and
research staff (those administering the sucrose or sterile water) to enhance
objectivity and minimize the risk of bias. Randomization is a strategy designed to
control confounding variables, as is the use of a crossover design. There is no
indication that these strategies were used in this example. Attrition refers to the
loss of participants and is not a research strategy.
3
Q
When researchers withhold information from the people collecting research data
(e.g., information about who received an intervention and who did not), the
researchers are taking steps to minimize which type of bias?
A) Selection bias
,B) Attrition bias
C) Expectation bias
D) History bias
Ans: C
Feedback:
Blinding (masking) involves concealing information from participants and staff to
Minimize the risk of biases stemming from people's expectations about the study outcomes.
Research staff's expectations can result in changes in what they see,
what they hear, and what they say to participants. Selection bias (or selection
threat) refers to preexisting differences between groups being compared. Attrition
bias results from the differential loss of participants from study groups. A history
bias occurs when an external event co-occurs with an intervention and obscures the
intervention's effect.
4
Q
When researchers decide what to use as a counterfactual, they are making a
decision about:
A) the type of comparison that will be made.
B) where the study will take place.
C) how confounding variables will be controlled.
D) when and how often the data will be collected.
Ans: A
Feedback:
A counterfactual is what would happen if people are simultaneously exposed and
not exposed to an intervention. When evaluating an intervention, researchers must
select a comparison strategy to represent the "not exposed" situation. Other design
decisions concern where to conduct the study, how confounders will be controlled,
and how often data will be collected, but these are unrelated to designing a suitable
counterfactual.
5
Q
Which of the following is a question that researchers should ask when deciding
how to control confounding variables?
A) From whom should information about the design be withheld?
B) When will the research data be collected?
C) What factors, other than the independent variable, could affect the outcome?
D) Where and how often will data collection occur?
Ans: C
Feedback:
When developing a plan to control confounding variables, researchers often need to
, Answer the question "what other variables could influence the outcomes?" The
other options, which all relate to important design decisions, are not relevant to the
issue of controlling confounding variables.
6
Q
Which of the following is an important criterion for making a causal inference
about the relationship between two variables?
A) The absence of ambiguity about how outcomes will be measured
B) The absence of ambiguity about which variable occurred first
C) The ability to randomly assign study participants to groups
D) The ability to blind study participants and research staff
Ans: B
Feedback:
A key criterion for establishing causality is ensuring that the cause (the
independent variable) preceded the effect (the outcome). A causal inference does
not depend on blinding or on how outcomes will be measured. Randomization is a
strategy for facilitating causal inference, but it is not a criterion for the inference.
7
Q
The causes of health-related phenomena (e.g., obesity) are usually:
A) probabilistic.
B) deterministic.
C) prognostic.
D) counterfactual.
Ans: A
Feedback:
Causes of health-related phenomena usually are not deterministic but rather are
probabilistic²that is, a cause increases the probability that an effect will occur
rather than determining that it absolutely will occur. Causes are not "prognostic (predictive) or
"counterfactual."
8
Q
An important function of research design strategies in a quantitative study is to
exert control over:
A) outcome variables.
B) mediating variables.
C) carryover variables.
D) confounding variables.
Ans: D
Feedback:
WITH 100% CORRECT ANSWERS
The research design for a quantitative study involves decisions concerning all of
the following except:
A) which conceptual framework to use.
B) whether there will be an intervention.
C) what types of comparisons will be made.
D) how many times data will be collected.
Ans: A
Feedback:
The research design is the overall plan for answering research questions. In
quantitative studies, the design incorporates decisions about whether there will be
an intervention, what type of comparisons will be made, and how many times data
will be collected. The selection of a conceptual framework is not a design-related
decision.
2
Q
A nurse researcher tested whether sucrose (vs. sterile water) had a beneficial
effect on infant pain during immunizations. Neither those administering the
intervention nor the parents of the infants knew which infants received the sucrose.
This strategy is an example of:
A) randomization.
B) attrition.
C) crossing over.
D) blinding.
Ans: D
Feedback:
Blinding involves concealing information from participants (here, the parents) and
research staff (those administering the sucrose or sterile water) to enhance
objectivity and minimize the risk of bias. Randomization is a strategy designed to
control confounding variables, as is the use of a crossover design. There is no
indication that these strategies were used in this example. Attrition refers to the
loss of participants and is not a research strategy.
3
Q
When researchers withhold information from the people collecting research data
(e.g., information about who received an intervention and who did not), the
researchers are taking steps to minimize which type of bias?
A) Selection bias
,B) Attrition bias
C) Expectation bias
D) History bias
Ans: C
Feedback:
Blinding (masking) involves concealing information from participants and staff to
Minimize the risk of biases stemming from people's expectations about the study outcomes.
Research staff's expectations can result in changes in what they see,
what they hear, and what they say to participants. Selection bias (or selection
threat) refers to preexisting differences between groups being compared. Attrition
bias results from the differential loss of participants from study groups. A history
bias occurs when an external event co-occurs with an intervention and obscures the
intervention's effect.
4
Q
When researchers decide what to use as a counterfactual, they are making a
decision about:
A) the type of comparison that will be made.
B) where the study will take place.
C) how confounding variables will be controlled.
D) when and how often the data will be collected.
Ans: A
Feedback:
A counterfactual is what would happen if people are simultaneously exposed and
not exposed to an intervention. When evaluating an intervention, researchers must
select a comparison strategy to represent the "not exposed" situation. Other design
decisions concern where to conduct the study, how confounders will be controlled,
and how often data will be collected, but these are unrelated to designing a suitable
counterfactual.
5
Q
Which of the following is a question that researchers should ask when deciding
how to control confounding variables?
A) From whom should information about the design be withheld?
B) When will the research data be collected?
C) What factors, other than the independent variable, could affect the outcome?
D) Where and how often will data collection occur?
Ans: C
Feedback:
When developing a plan to control confounding variables, researchers often need to
, Answer the question "what other variables could influence the outcomes?" The
other options, which all relate to important design decisions, are not relevant to the
issue of controlling confounding variables.
6
Q
Which of the following is an important criterion for making a causal inference
about the relationship between two variables?
A) The absence of ambiguity about how outcomes will be measured
B) The absence of ambiguity about which variable occurred first
C) The ability to randomly assign study participants to groups
D) The ability to blind study participants and research staff
Ans: B
Feedback:
A key criterion for establishing causality is ensuring that the cause (the
independent variable) preceded the effect (the outcome). A causal inference does
not depend on blinding or on how outcomes will be measured. Randomization is a
strategy for facilitating causal inference, but it is not a criterion for the inference.
7
Q
The causes of health-related phenomena (e.g., obesity) are usually:
A) probabilistic.
B) deterministic.
C) prognostic.
D) counterfactual.
Ans: A
Feedback:
Causes of health-related phenomena usually are not deterministic but rather are
probabilistic²that is, a cause increases the probability that an effect will occur
rather than determining that it absolutely will occur. Causes are not "prognostic (predictive) or
"counterfactual."
8
Q
An important function of research design strategies in a quantitative study is to
exert control over:
A) outcome variables.
B) mediating variables.
C) carryover variables.
D) confounding variables.
Ans: D
Feedback:
