Test Bank - Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 10th Edition (Polit, 2022)
TEST BANK
Essentials of Nursing Research
Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice
Denise F.Polit, Cheryl Tatano Beck
10th Edition
, Test Bank - Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 10th Edition (Polit, 2022)
Table of Contents
Part 1 Overview of Nursing Research and Its Role in Evidence-Based Practice
1 Introducing Nursing Research for Evidence-Based Practice
2 Understanding Key Concepts and Steps in Quantitative and Qualitative Research
3 Reading and Critically Appraising Research Articles
4 Attending to Ethics in Research
Part 2 Preliminary Steps in Quantitative and Qualitative Research
5 Identifying Research Problems, Research Questions, and Hypotheses
6 Finding and Reviewing Research Evidence in the Literature
7 Understanding Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks
Part 3 Designs and Methods for Quantitative and Qualitative Nursing Research
8 Appraising Quantitative Research Design
9 Appraising Sampling and Data Collection in Quantitative Studies
10 Appraising Qualitative Designs and Approaches
11 Appraising Sampling and Data Collection in Qualitative Studies
12 Understanding Mixed Methods Research, Quality Improvement, and Other Special Types of
Research
Part 4 Analysis, Interpretation, and Application of Nursing Research
13 Understanding Statistical Analysis of Quantitative Data
14 Interpreting Quantitative Findings and Evaluating Clinical Significance
15 Understanding the Analysis of Qualitative Data
16 Appraising Trustworthiness and Integrity in Qualitative Research
17 Learning From Systematic Reviews
18 Putting Research Evidence Into Practice: Evidence-Based Practice and Practice-Based Evidence
,Test Bank - Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 10th Edition (Polit, 2022)
Chapter 1- Introducing Nursing Research for Evidence-Based Practice
1. Which of the following groups would bebest served by the development of a scientific
base for nursing practice?
A) Nursing administrators
B) Practicing nurses
C) Nurses' clients
D) Health care
policymakers Ans: C
Feedback:
Nursing research is systematic inquiry designed to develop trustworthy evidence about
issues of importance to nurses and their clients. Nurse leaders recognizethe need to base
specific nursing decisions on evidence indicating that the decisions are clinically
appropriate, cost-effective, and result in positive client outcomes. Although all of the
people listed would benefit from the development of a scientific base for nursing practice,
ultimately it is the clients themselves who would most benefit, as they would then receive
the most appropriate and most effective care.
2. An especially important goal for the nursing profession is to do which of the following?
A) Conduct research to better understand the context of nursing practice
B) Establish a solid base of evidence for practice through disciplined research
C) Document the role nursing serves in society
D) Establish research priorities
Ans: B
Feedback:
Nurses are increasingly expected to understand and undertake research and to base their
practice on evidence from research. Evidence-based practice is the use of the best evidence
in making patient care decisions and typically comes from research conducted by nurses
and other health-care professionals. All of the other answers are possible goals for the
nursing profession, but none is as important as establishing evidenec for practice.
3. Which of the following is a fundamental belief of those who hold to the constructivist
paradigm?
A) A fixed reality exists in nature for humans to understand
B) The nature of reality has changed over time
C) Reality is multiply constructed and multiply interpreted by humans
D) Reality cannot be studied empirically
Ans: C
Feedback
:
In the constructivist paradigm, it is assumed that reality is not a fixed entity but is rather a
construction of human minds—and thus “truth” is a composite of multiple constructions
of reality. However, constructivists do believe that reality can be studied empirically.
Belief in a fixed reality that exists in nature for humans to understand would be an
example of a positivist belief, not a constructivist one. The constructivist belief does not
hold so much that the natureof reality has changed over time as that it
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,Test Bank - Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 10th Edition (Polit, 2022)
has always been constructed by human minds.
4. Which of the following is a fundamental belief of those who hold to the positivist
paradigm?
A) The researcher is objective and independent of those being studied
B) The researcher cannot interact with those being studied
C) The researcher instructs those being studied to be objective in providing
information
D) The distance between the researcher and those being researched is minimized to
enhance the interactive process
Ans: A
Feedback:
In the positivist paradigm, it is assumed that there is an objective reality and that natural
phenomena are regular and orderly. In the constructivist paradigm, it is assumed that
reality is not a fixed entity but is rather a construction of human minds—and thus
“truth” is a composite of multiple constructions of reality.
5. Which of the following attributes is least characteristic of the traditional scientific
method?
A) Control over external factors
B) Systematic measurement and observation of natural phenomena
C) Testing of hunches deduced from theory or prior research
D) Emphasis on a holistic view of a phenomenon, studied in a rich context
Ans: D
Feedback:
Quantitative research (associated with positivism) involves the collection and analysis
of numeric information. Quantitative research is typically conducted within the
traditional scientific method, which is systematic and controlled. Quantitative
researchers base their findings on empirical evidence (evidence collected by way of the
human senses) and strive for generalizability beyond a single setting or situation.
Constructivist researchers emphasize understanding human experience as it is lived
through the collection and analysis of subjective, narrative materials using flexible
procedures; this paradigm is associated with qualitative research.
6. Empiricism refers to which of the following?
A) Making generalizations from specific observations
B) Articulating a study purpose in terms of an appropriate classification system
C) Gathering evidence about real-world phenomena through the senses
D) Verifying the assumptions on which the study was based
Ans: C
Feedback:
Empiricism is gathering and analyzing evidence through their senses. Quantitative
research involves the collection and analysis of numeric information. Quantitative
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,Test Bank - Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 10th Edition (Polit, 2022)
research is typically conducted within the traditional scientific method, which is
systematic and controlled. Quantitative researchers base their findings on empirical
evidence and strive for generalizability beyond a single setting or situation.
Constructivist researchers emphasize understanding human experience as it is lived
through the collection and analysis of subjective, narrative materials using flexible
procedures; this paradigm is associated with qualitative research.
7. Which of the following is a hallmark of the scientific method?
A) Rigorous
B) Holistic
C) Systematic
D) Flexible
Ans: C
Feedback:
Quantitative research is typically conducted within the traditional scientific method,
which is systematic and controlled. Quantitative researchers base their findings on
empirical evidence and strive for generalizability beyond a single setting or situation.
Constructivist researchers emphasize understanding human experience as it is lived
through the collection and analysis of subjective, narrative materials using flexible
procedures; this paradigm is associated with qualitative research.
8. Which of the following limits the capacity of the scientific method to answer questions
about humans?
A) The necessity of departing from traditional beliefs
B) The difficulty of accurately measuring complex human traits
C) The lack of funding for research
D) The shortage of theories about human behavior
Ans: B
Feedback:
Nursing research focuses on human beings, who are inherently complicated and diverse.
The traditional scientific method typically focuses on a relatively small aspect of human
experiences in a single study. Complexities tend to be controlled and, if possible,
eliminated rather than studied directly, and this narrowness of focus can sometimes
obscure insights.
9. The classic scientific method has its intellectual roots in which of the following?
A) Positivism
B) Determinism
C) Constructivism
D) Empiricism
Ans: A
Feedback:
In the positivist paradigm, it is assumed that there is an objective reality and that natural
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,Test Bank - Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 10th Edition (Polit, 2022)
phenomena are regular and orderly. The related assumption of determinism refers to the
belief that phenomena result from prior causes and are not haphazard. In the
constructivist paradigm, it is assumed that reality is not a fixed entity but is rather a
construction of human minds—and thus “truth” is a composite of multiple constructions
of reality. Although the word empiricism has come to be allied with the classic scientific
method, researchers in both traditions gather and analyzeevidence empirically, that is,
through their senses.
10. Constructivist qualitative research typically does which of the following?
A) Involves deductive processes
B) Attempts to control the research context to better understand the phenomenon
being studied
C) Involves gathering narrative, subjective materials
D) Focuses on numeric information
Ans: C
Feedback:
In the constructivist paradigm, it is assumed that reality is not a fixed entity but is rather
a construction of human minds—and thus “truth” is a composite of multiple
constructions of reality. In the positivist paradigm, it is assumed that there is an
objective reality and that natural phenomena are regular and orderly. Constructivist
researchers emphasize understanding human experience as it is lived through the
collection and analysis of subjective, narrative materials using flexible procedures; this
paradigm is associated with qualitative research. The other answers are truer of
positivist, quantitative research.
11. 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 stateof
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.
12. 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?
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, Test Bank - Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 10th Edition (Polit, 2022)
D) What is the average duration of this phenomenon?
Ans: A
Feedback:
Description of phenomena is an important purpose of researh c . 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 salienceof phenomena
13. 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.
14. 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 heer. Although the
research will involve empiricism, or gathering information using the senses, this is not
the primary paradigm.
15. Which of the following would be most strongly associated with cause-probing research?
A) Identification
B) Description
C) Exploration
D) Explanation
Ans: D
Feedback:
A fundamental distinction that is especially relevant in quantitative research is between
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TEST BANK
Essentials of Nursing Research
Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice
Denise F.Polit, Cheryl Tatano Beck
10th Edition
, Test Bank - Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 10th Edition (Polit, 2022)
Table of Contents
Part 1 Overview of Nursing Research and Its Role in Evidence-Based Practice
1 Introducing Nursing Research for Evidence-Based Practice
2 Understanding Key Concepts and Steps in Quantitative and Qualitative Research
3 Reading and Critically Appraising Research Articles
4 Attending to Ethics in Research
Part 2 Preliminary Steps in Quantitative and Qualitative Research
5 Identifying Research Problems, Research Questions, and Hypotheses
6 Finding and Reviewing Research Evidence in the Literature
7 Understanding Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks
Part 3 Designs and Methods for Quantitative and Qualitative Nursing Research
8 Appraising Quantitative Research Design
9 Appraising Sampling and Data Collection in Quantitative Studies
10 Appraising Qualitative Designs and Approaches
11 Appraising Sampling and Data Collection in Qualitative Studies
12 Understanding Mixed Methods Research, Quality Improvement, and Other Special Types of
Research
Part 4 Analysis, Interpretation, and Application of Nursing Research
13 Understanding Statistical Analysis of Quantitative Data
14 Interpreting Quantitative Findings and Evaluating Clinical Significance
15 Understanding the Analysis of Qualitative Data
16 Appraising Trustworthiness and Integrity in Qualitative Research
17 Learning From Systematic Reviews
18 Putting Research Evidence Into Practice: Evidence-Based Practice and Practice-Based Evidence
,Test Bank - Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 10th Edition (Polit, 2022)
Chapter 1- Introducing Nursing Research for Evidence-Based Practice
1. Which of the following groups would bebest served by the development of a scientific
base for nursing practice?
A) Nursing administrators
B) Practicing nurses
C) Nurses' clients
D) Health care
policymakers Ans: C
Feedback:
Nursing research is systematic inquiry designed to develop trustworthy evidence about
issues of importance to nurses and their clients. Nurse leaders recognizethe need to base
specific nursing decisions on evidence indicating that the decisions are clinically
appropriate, cost-effective, and result in positive client outcomes. Although all of the
people listed would benefit from the development of a scientific base for nursing practice,
ultimately it is the clients themselves who would most benefit, as they would then receive
the most appropriate and most effective care.
2. An especially important goal for the nursing profession is to do which of the following?
A) Conduct research to better understand the context of nursing practice
B) Establish a solid base of evidence for practice through disciplined research
C) Document the role nursing serves in society
D) Establish research priorities
Ans: B
Feedback:
Nurses are increasingly expected to understand and undertake research and to base their
practice on evidence from research. Evidence-based practice is the use of the best evidence
in making patient care decisions and typically comes from research conducted by nurses
and other health-care professionals. All of the other answers are possible goals for the
nursing profession, but none is as important as establishing evidenec for practice.
3. Which of the following is a fundamental belief of those who hold to the constructivist
paradigm?
A) A fixed reality exists in nature for humans to understand
B) The nature of reality has changed over time
C) Reality is multiply constructed and multiply interpreted by humans
D) Reality cannot be studied empirically
Ans: C
Feedback
:
In the constructivist paradigm, it is assumed that reality is not a fixed entity but is rather a
construction of human minds—and thus “truth” is a composite of multiple constructions
of reality. However, constructivists do believe that reality can be studied empirically.
Belief in a fixed reality that exists in nature for humans to understand would be an
example of a positivist belief, not a constructivist one. The constructivist belief does not
hold so much that the natureof reality has changed over time as that it
Page 1
2/193
,Test Bank - Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 10th Edition (Polit, 2022)
has always been constructed by human minds.
4. Which of the following is a fundamental belief of those who hold to the positivist
paradigm?
A) The researcher is objective and independent of those being studied
B) The researcher cannot interact with those being studied
C) The researcher instructs those being studied to be objective in providing
information
D) The distance between the researcher and those being researched is minimized to
enhance the interactive process
Ans: A
Feedback:
In the positivist paradigm, it is assumed that there is an objective reality and that natural
phenomena are regular and orderly. In the constructivist paradigm, it is assumed that
reality is not a fixed entity but is rather a construction of human minds—and thus
“truth” is a composite of multiple constructions of reality.
5. Which of the following attributes is least characteristic of the traditional scientific
method?
A) Control over external factors
B) Systematic measurement and observation of natural phenomena
C) Testing of hunches deduced from theory or prior research
D) Emphasis on a holistic view of a phenomenon, studied in a rich context
Ans: D
Feedback:
Quantitative research (associated with positivism) involves the collection and analysis
of numeric information. Quantitative research is typically conducted within the
traditional scientific method, which is systematic and controlled. Quantitative
researchers base their findings on empirical evidence (evidence collected by way of the
human senses) and strive for generalizability beyond a single setting or situation.
Constructivist researchers emphasize understanding human experience as it is lived
through the collection and analysis of subjective, narrative materials using flexible
procedures; this paradigm is associated with qualitative research.
6. Empiricism refers to which of the following?
A) Making generalizations from specific observations
B) Articulating a study purpose in terms of an appropriate classification system
C) Gathering evidence about real-world phenomena through the senses
D) Verifying the assumptions on which the study was based
Ans: C
Feedback:
Empiricism is gathering and analyzing evidence through their senses. Quantitative
research involves the collection and analysis of numeric information. Quantitative
Page 2
3/193
,Test Bank - Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 10th Edition (Polit, 2022)
research is typically conducted within the traditional scientific method, which is
systematic and controlled. Quantitative researchers base their findings on empirical
evidence and strive for generalizability beyond a single setting or situation.
Constructivist researchers emphasize understanding human experience as it is lived
through the collection and analysis of subjective, narrative materials using flexible
procedures; this paradigm is associated with qualitative research.
7. Which of the following is a hallmark of the scientific method?
A) Rigorous
B) Holistic
C) Systematic
D) Flexible
Ans: C
Feedback:
Quantitative research is typically conducted within the traditional scientific method,
which is systematic and controlled. Quantitative researchers base their findings on
empirical evidence and strive for generalizability beyond a single setting or situation.
Constructivist researchers emphasize understanding human experience as it is lived
through the collection and analysis of subjective, narrative materials using flexible
procedures; this paradigm is associated with qualitative research.
8. Which of the following limits the capacity of the scientific method to answer questions
about humans?
A) The necessity of departing from traditional beliefs
B) The difficulty of accurately measuring complex human traits
C) The lack of funding for research
D) The shortage of theories about human behavior
Ans: B
Feedback:
Nursing research focuses on human beings, who are inherently complicated and diverse.
The traditional scientific method typically focuses on a relatively small aspect of human
experiences in a single study. Complexities tend to be controlled and, if possible,
eliminated rather than studied directly, and this narrowness of focus can sometimes
obscure insights.
9. The classic scientific method has its intellectual roots in which of the following?
A) Positivism
B) Determinism
C) Constructivism
D) Empiricism
Ans: A
Feedback:
In the positivist paradigm, it is assumed that there is an objective reality and that natural
Page 3
4/193
,Test Bank - Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 10th Edition (Polit, 2022)
phenomena are regular and orderly. The related assumption of determinism refers to the
belief that phenomena result from prior causes and are not haphazard. In the
constructivist paradigm, it is assumed that reality is not a fixed entity but is rather a
construction of human minds—and thus “truth” is a composite of multiple constructions
of reality. Although the word empiricism has come to be allied with the classic scientific
method, researchers in both traditions gather and analyzeevidence empirically, that is,
through their senses.
10. Constructivist qualitative research typically does which of the following?
A) Involves deductive processes
B) Attempts to control the research context to better understand the phenomenon
being studied
C) Involves gathering narrative, subjective materials
D) Focuses on numeric information
Ans: C
Feedback:
In the constructivist paradigm, it is assumed that reality is not a fixed entity but is rather
a construction of human minds—and thus “truth” is a composite of multiple
constructions of reality. In the positivist paradigm, it is assumed that there is an
objective reality and that natural phenomena are regular and orderly. Constructivist
researchers emphasize understanding human experience as it is lived through the
collection and analysis of subjective, narrative materials using flexible procedures; this
paradigm is associated with qualitative research. The other answers are truer of
positivist, quantitative research.
11. 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 stateof
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.
12. 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?
Page 4
5/193
, Test Bank - Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 10th Edition (Polit, 2022)
D) What is the average duration of this phenomenon?
Ans: A
Feedback:
Description of phenomena is an important purpose of researh c . 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 salienceof phenomena
13. 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.
14. 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 heer. Although the
research will involve empiricism, or gathering information using the senses, this is not
the primary paradigm.
15. Which of the following would be most strongly associated with cause-probing research?
A) Identification
B) Description
C) Exploration
D) Explanation
Ans: D
Feedback:
A fundamental distinction that is especially relevant in quantitative research is between
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