NURS 5366 MODULE 1 QUIZ Question and Answers

NURS 5366 MODULE 1 QUIZ Question and Answers • Question 1 Hospital nurses are observed in order to determine exactly how long nurses swab IV ports with alcohol. Because they are being observed, they “scrub the hub” longer than they ordinarily would have. This is an example of what threat to validity of the the study design relevant to quantitative research? Answers a. Control b. Bias c. Hawthorne effect d. Inaccurate operationalization of variables Response Feedback: Subjects’ knowledge of a study could influence their behavior and possibly alter the research outcomes. This threatens the validity or accuracy of the study design. An example of this type of threat to design validity is the Hawthorne effect, which was identified during the classic experiment at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company during the 1920s and 1930s. The employees at this plant exhibited a particular psychological response when they became research participants: they changed their behavior simply because they were subjects in a study, not because of the research treatment. • Question 2 Sources of research topics often come from research priorities developed by professional organizations and funding agencies. Which of the following is an example of a research priority in healthcare? Answers a. Promotion of literacy in preschoolers b. Effective and appropriate use of technology to achieve optimal patient assessment, management and/or outcomes c. Vaccination of all children regardless of parents’ religious beliefs • Question 3 What is the first step in the critical appraisal of a study? Answers a. Identifying the research design b. Identification of the steps of the research process c. Determine the strengths and weaknesses d. Discussing the implications for nursing practice • Question 4 Why is operational reasoning necessary for research? Answers a. Standard interventions are obtained from operational reasoning. b. Abstract concepts are of no use to nursing. c. It facilitates the researcher’s rapport with families d. It allows the researcher to measure the concepts studied. Response Feedback: Operational reasoning involves the identification of and discrimination among many alternatives and viewpoints. It focuses on the process (debating alternatives) rather than on the resolution. Nurses use operational reasoning to develop realistic, measurable health goals. Thus, operational reasoning takes abstract concepts and makes them focused, concrete, and, therefore, researchable. • Question 5 A research study contains the following in its Introduction section: “This study was undertaken to explore the effect of massage on total hours of sleep per 24-hour day, in persons averaging fewer than 7 hours of sleep per night, attributable to insomnia. . . . Presumably by increasing endorphin levels, massage seems to provide an immediate relaxation and an ability to sleep immediately following the session, but it is unclear whether these benefits actually extend to total sleep, despite anecdotal support. The claim that massage increases total hours of sleep has been inadequately researched. . . . Does massage increase the total number of hours of daily sleep? It was posited that provision of daily late-morning massage would affect total hours of sleep per 24-hour day. The study’s causational explanation was based on the physiologic matrix of McCarthy, which includes effects of endorphins on sleep, learning ability, pain, digestive function, and cardiac output It was taken as established fact that massage is pleasant, that research subjects getting fewer than 7 hours of sleep per night were sleep-deprived, and that endorphins mediated the changes observed.” What is the research problem? Answers a. Presumably by increasing endorphin levels, massage seems to provide an immediate relaxation and an ability to sleep immediately following the session, but it is unclear whether these benefits actually extend to total sleep, despite anecdotal support. b. It was taken as established fact that massage is pleasant, that research subjects getting fewer than 7 hours of sleep per night were sleep-deprived, and that endorphins mediated the changes observed. c. It was posited that provision of daily late-morning massage would affect total hours of sleep per 24-hour day. d. This study was undertaken to explore the effect of massage on total hours of sleep per 24-hour day, in persons averaging fewer than 7 hours of sleep per night, attributable to insomnia. Response Feedback: A research problem is an area of concern or phenomenon of interest about which there is a gap in the knowledge base needed for nursing practice. The problem identifies an area of concern or phenomenon of interest for a particular population and often indicates the concepts to be studied. • Question 6 Control occurs when the researcher imposes “rules” to decrease the possibility of error and thus increases the probability that the study’s findings are an accurate reflection of reality. Which type of research design has the highest level of control in a study? Answers a. Experimental research b. Quasi-experimental research c. Correlational research d. Descriptive research Response Feedback: Control occurs when the researcher imposes “rules” to decrease the possibility of error and thus increases the probability that the study’s findings are an accurate reflection of reality. Descriptive and correlational studies are usually conducted with minimal control of the study design, because subjects are examined as they exist. In experimental research, the independent and dependent variables are highly controlled, the researcher exerts high control over the planning and implementation of the study, and often these studies are conducted in a laboratory setting on animals or objects. If a research study randomly assigns subjects to two different groups, applies an intervention to one of the groups, and then measures both groups and compares them, it is experimental design. • Question 7 A master’s student knows next to nothing about Maslow’s theory related to hierarchy of needs but, on her advisor’s recommendation, decides to use it as a theoretical framework for her theory paper. The student goes to the library and accesses an old master’s thesis that also uses the theory and copies Three pages, word for word. She uses the other student’s reference to Maslow’s work. This is an example of which of the following? Answers a. Fabrication b. Falsification c. Nonmaleficence d. Plagiarism Response Feedback: Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit, including those obtained through confidential review of others’ research proposals and manuscripts. Fabrication in research is the making up of results and recording or reporting them. Falsification of research is manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record. The principle of beneficence requires the researcher to do good and “above all, do no harm. • Question 8 A graduate student receives a mailed survey asking her to participate in research about unpleasant experiences in graduate school. She is asked to return the survey, and the instructions say, “Return of this instrument implies consent.” Why does this constitute consent? Answers a. Studies like this are exempt from institutional review board oversight, so consent is not required. b. Not returning the survey constitutes refusal, and subjects may indeed refuse by not completing the survey. The opposite is equally true. c. The study is anonymous, so there is no risk of disclosure. d. Only interventional research requires consent. Response Feedback: The requirements for written consent may be waived in research that “presents no more than minimal risk of harm to subjects and involves no procedures for which written consent is normally required outside of the research context.” For example, if questionnaires are used to collect relatively harmless data, a signed consent form from the subjects would not be required. The subject’s completion of the questionnaire may serve as consent. The top of the questionnaire might contain a statement such as “Your completion of this questionnaire indicates your consent to participate in this study.” • Question 9 A researcher who desires to determine the cause-and-effect relationship between the use of a new car seat restraint and the subsequent rate of children’s spinal cord injury will utilize which form of nursing research? Answers a. Qualitative research b. Descriptive research c. Quantitative research Response Feedback: Quantitative research, the most frequently used method, is a formal, objective, systematic methodology to describe variables, test relationships, and examine cause-and-effect interactions. Quantitative research includes experimental research, which is the method for testing cause-and-effect relationships between and among specific variables. Qualitative research methods are used for explaining meanings and describing experiences in context. Descriptive research involves identifying and understanding the nature of phenomena and, sometimes, the relationships among them. Outcomes research examines the end result of care in huge populations, most often retrospectively, using a database. • Question 10 A research study contains the following in its Introduction section: “This study was undertaken to explore the effect of massage on total hours of sleep per 24-hour day, in persons averaging fewer than 7 hours of sleep per night, attributable to insomnia. . . . Presumably by increasing endorphin levels, massage seems to provide an immediate relaxation and an ability to sleep immediately following the session, but it is unclear whether these benefits actually extend to total sleep, despite anecdotal support. The claim that massage increases total hours of sleep has been inadequately researched. . . . Does massage increase the total number of hours of daily sleep? It was posited that provision of daily late-morning massage would affect total hours of sleep per 24-hour day. The study’s causational explanation was based on the physiologic matrix of McCarthy, which includes effects of endorphins on sleep, learning ability, pain, digestive function, and cardiac output. It was taken as established fact that massage is pleasant, that research subjects getting fewer than 7 hours of sleep per night were sleep-deprived, and that endorphins mediated the changes observed.” What is the purpose of the study? Answers a. Presumably by increasing endorphin levels, massage seems to provide an