FINAL NURSING RESERCH TESTBANK
CHAPTER 1 EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
CORRECT VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
1. 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
Ans: A, C, D Feedback:
Both quantitative and qualitative research share a desire to understand the true state of human affairs,
a reliance on external evidence collected through the senses, and utility to the nursing profession.
However, quantitative, not qualitative, research emphasizes formal measurement.
2. 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?
Ans: A
Description of phenomena is an important purpose of research. In descriptive studies, researchers
count, delineate, and classify. Nurse researchers have described a wide variety of phenomena, such as
patients' stress, health beliefs, and so on. Quantitative description focuses on the prevalence, size, and
measurable aspects of phenomena. Qualitative researchers describe the nature, dimensions, and
salience of phenomena
,3. 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
Ans: B Feedback:
Because this study would involve a measurable, numeric outcome, blood pressure, it should most
likely be a quantitative study.
4. 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
Ans: D Feedback:
As this study involves gathering subjective, non-measurable data, the researcher's paradigm is most
likely constructivism. Positivism is not likely, as there is no emphasis on an objective, orderly reality.
Determinism, which refers to the belief that phenomena result from prior causes and are not
haphazard, is not pertinent here. Although the research will involve empiricism, or gathering
information using the senses, this is not the primary paradigm.
5. Which of the following would be most strongly associated with cause-probing research?
A) Identification
B) Description
C) Exploration
D) Explanation
Ans: D
A fundamental distinction that is especially relevant in quantitative research is between studies whose
primary intent is to describe phenomena and those that are cause-probing. Specific purposes on the
,description/explanation continuum include identification, description, exploration, prediction/control
and explanation. Many nursing studies can also be classified in terms of a key EBP aim:
therapy/treatment/intervention; diagnosis and assessment; prognosis; etiology and harm; and meaning
and process.
6. 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
Ans: C, D Feedback:
Nurse leaders recognize the need to base specific nursing decisions on evidence indicating that the
decisions are clinically appropriate, cost-effective, and result in positive client outcomes. Holistic
treatments may be appropriate in some, but not all, circumstances. Tradition alone is an inadequate
basis for practice.
7. 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
Ans: C
Feedback:
Nurses are increasingly expected to understand and undertake research, and to base their practice on
evidence from research, that is, to adopt an evidence-based practice (EBP).
EBP, broadly defined, is the use of the best evidence in making patient care decisions. Experience,
intuition, and authority are not wholly ignored in the EBP process, but research is a priority.
8. 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
Ans: B
Human experiences, and people's descriptions and interpretations of these experiences, are the main
focus of qualitative research. Systematic process, etiology, and factual data are more closely aligned
with the quantitative tradition.
9. 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
Ans: D
Feedback:
Constructivist studies are heavily focused on understanding the human experience as it is lived,
through the careful collection and analysis of qualitative materials that are narrative and subjective.
Human needs, and individuals' perceptions of those needs, are a common focus of qualitative
research. Outcomes, risk factors, and treatment modalities are often addressed with quantitative
research.
10. 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
Ans: C
Feedback:
CHAPTER 1 EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
CORRECT VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
1. 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
Ans: A, C, D Feedback:
Both quantitative and qualitative research share a desire to understand the true state of human affairs,
a reliance on external evidence collected through the senses, and utility to the nursing profession.
However, quantitative, not qualitative, research emphasizes formal measurement.
2. 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?
Ans: A
Description of phenomena is an important purpose of research. In descriptive studies, researchers
count, delineate, and classify. Nurse researchers have described a wide variety of phenomena, such as
patients' stress, health beliefs, and so on. Quantitative description focuses on the prevalence, size, and
measurable aspects of phenomena. Qualitative researchers describe the nature, dimensions, and
salience of phenomena
,3. 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
Ans: B Feedback:
Because this study would involve a measurable, numeric outcome, blood pressure, it should most
likely be a quantitative study.
4. 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
Ans: D Feedback:
As this study involves gathering subjective, non-measurable data, the researcher's paradigm is most
likely constructivism. Positivism is not likely, as there is no emphasis on an objective, orderly reality.
Determinism, which refers to the belief that phenomena result from prior causes and are not
haphazard, is not pertinent here. Although the research will involve empiricism, or gathering
information using the senses, this is not the primary paradigm.
5. Which of the following would be most strongly associated with cause-probing research?
A) Identification
B) Description
C) Exploration
D) Explanation
Ans: D
A fundamental distinction that is especially relevant in quantitative research is between studies whose
primary intent is to describe phenomena and those that are cause-probing. Specific purposes on the
,description/explanation continuum include identification, description, exploration, prediction/control
and explanation. Many nursing studies can also be classified in terms of a key EBP aim:
therapy/treatment/intervention; diagnosis and assessment; prognosis; etiology and harm; and meaning
and process.
6. 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
Ans: C, D Feedback:
Nurse leaders recognize the need to base specific nursing decisions on evidence indicating that the
decisions are clinically appropriate, cost-effective, and result in positive client outcomes. Holistic
treatments may be appropriate in some, but not all, circumstances. Tradition alone is an inadequate
basis for practice.
7. 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
Ans: C
Feedback:
Nurses are increasingly expected to understand and undertake research, and to base their practice on
evidence from research, that is, to adopt an evidence-based practice (EBP).
EBP, broadly defined, is the use of the best evidence in making patient care decisions. Experience,
intuition, and authority are not wholly ignored in the EBP process, but research is a priority.
8. 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
Ans: B
Human experiences, and people's descriptions and interpretations of these experiences, are the main
focus of qualitative research. Systematic process, etiology, and factual data are more closely aligned
with the quantitative tradition.
9. 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
Ans: D
Feedback:
Constructivist studies are heavily focused on understanding the human experience as it is lived,
through the careful collection and analysis of qualitative materials that are narrative and subjective.
Human needs, and individuals' perceptions of those needs, are a common focus of qualitative
research. Outcomes, risk factors, and treatment modalities are often addressed with quantitative
research.
10. 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
Ans: C
Feedback:
