Deck 5: Quantitative Descriptive Research

Question 1

Which of the following best describes the purpose of a descriptive study?

A) To create a case study describing the experiences of a patient with a particular problem
B) To measure and describe the features or elements of a situation
C) To create a descriptive model of the dynamics of a situation
D) To describe the research that has been done regarding a particular topic/issue

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Research variables are:

A) differences in findings from one study to another.
B) different measures of an outcome.
C) features, characteristics, or properties of persons, situations, experiences, or things that change or vary.
D) measures of dispersion in the data of a study.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

What kind of research variable is gender?

A) A categorical variable
B) An active variable
C) An outcome variable
D) Not a variable

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following variables is an interval-level variable?

A) A nursing intervention delivered at set times
B) Weight
C) Personality type
D) Comorbid conditions

Question 5

What is meant by "control of extraneous variables"?

A) The intervention variable must be delivered by the researcher.
B) Only measurement instruments with established levels of validity should be used.
C) Research participants should refrain from expressing their thoughts until data collection is over.
D) Elimination, distribution, or holding steady variables that could influence the results even though they are not of interest in the study.

Question 6

Which of the following can be an extraneous variable?

A) An intervention delivered outside of usual care routines
B) An intervention without internal validity
C) Participants' awareness that they are being studied
D) Observation of participants' responses from behind a one-way glass

Question 7

Which statement best describes the difficulty caused by low response rates to surveys?

A) They indicate the topic is not of importance.
B) They yield data from a sample that may not be representative of the target population.
C) They indicate that the variables of interest only occur at low levels in the population.
D) They produce high variability in the data.

Question 8

Generally, which type of variable is most difficult to capture with a quantitative measure?

A) Psychosocial variables
B) Physiologic variables
C) Extraneous variables
D) Independent variables

Question 9

In studies that use more than one data collector, how is the consistency of the data evaluated?

A) Internal validity
B) Outcome reliability
C) Confidence intervals
D) Inter-rater reliability

Question 10

All of the following statements are true about extraneous variables, except:

A) they can lead to wrong conclusions about the study results.
B) they can often be controlled in advance of doing the study.
C) they can often be eliminated in advance of doing the study.
D) they can contribute to the validity of the study measurements.

Question 11

One way to establish validity of a questionnaire is by measuring:

A) the correlation between the score on the questionnaire and another measure of the same concept.
B) the alpha value of the reliability coefficient.
C) how well subjects perform on the questionnaire at one time compared to another time.
D) the consistency by which multiple subjects are able to complete the questionnaire without error.

Question 12

How is a simple random sample obtained?

A) By recruiting every other person who meets the inclusion criteria admitted on three consecutive days
B) By advertising for persons to participate in the study
C) By selecting names from a list of all members of a population in a way that allows only chance to determine who is selected
D) By selecting persons from an assumed population who meet the inclusion criteria

Question 13

When a convenience sample is used, how is the target population defined?

A) By the exclusion criteria used for the study
B) By using matched pairs of persons in the study
C) By using a respected textbook's definition of the population
D) By the characteristics profile of the sample of the study and the setting(s) from which the sample was recruited

Question 14

What is the advantage of random samples over convenience samples?

A) They require less effort and cost less.
B) The target population is clear and the sample is obtained in an unbiased way from the population.
C) They result in fewer dropouts from the study.
D) They produce a more homogenous sample.

Question 15

Which of the following is the most important characteristic of a sample?

A) Size
B) Strata
C) Variability
D) Representativeness

Question 16

In the exemplar study about mealtime RAA insulin practices (Lampe et al., 2014), which of the following actions assured good quality data?

A) They used data collectors who worked on the units where data was collected.
B) They trained the data collectors and assessed the inter-rater reliability between them.
C) Only persons who achieved high Cronbach's alpha scores were used as data collectors.
D) Each event was record by two data collectors who were blind to each other's ratings.

Question 17

In the exemplar study about mealtime RAA insulin practices (Lampe et al., 2014), which of the following was found about glucose monitoring and RAA insulin administration?

A) Only a small percentage (14%) of patients had both glucose monitoring and RAA insulin administration performed within the established timeframes.
B) RAA insulin was administered within 15 minutes of the first bite of food most of the time.
C) There were a few outliers, but in most situations glucose monitoring and RAA insulin administration were performed within established timeframes.
D) The standards set for timing of glucose monitoring and RAA insulin administration are too high to be achieved in busy hospital settings.

Question 18

What is the main function of Institutional Review Boards?

A) To make sure that researchers are not fudging data
B) To make sure that researchers have the credentials to be conducting research
C) To make sure that the rights of human participants are protected
D) To make sure that studies are well designed

Question 19

When does a researcher present a study to an Institutional Review Board?

A) Before the study begins
B) If problems are encountered conducting the study
C) After the results have been analyzed
D) Prior to submitting the report for publication

Question 20

Which of the following studies would receive particularly careful review by an Institutional Review Board?

A) A study of the effect of nurses' work schedules on errors
B) A study of the effects of two systems of position changes on skin breakdown in patients with multiple lower extremity fractures
C) A study of home visits by a nurse to families with a newborn
D) A study of couples' decisions to enter genetic testing programs

Question 21

Which statement is true about descriptive studies?

A) Descriptive studies are one kind of experimental study.
B) Descriptive studies use random assignments of participants to treatment groups.
C) Descriptive studies require tight control over the phenomenon of interest.
D) Descriptive studies quantify the variables of interest.

Question 22

Which of the following statements is true of psychosocial variables?

A) Highly valid measure of them is not possible.
B) They are extraneous variables in nursing research.
C) Measurement of them is tricky and requires careful instrument development.
D) They are best measured by physiological indicators.

Question 23

What purpose does the predetermined level of significance p-level serve?

A) It sets a minimum standard for the strength of an intervention.
B) It sets a minimum standard for how much risk of being wrong the researcher wants to take on if s/he concludes that there is no difference or association.
C) It sets a minimum standard for how much risk of being wrong the researcher wants to take on if s/he concludes that there is a difference or an association.
D) It sets a minimum standard for the reliability of the measuring instruments.

Question 24

A research study that poses a minimal risk to study participants would most likely receive what type of action by an Institutional Review Board?

A) Exempt from review
B) Expedited review
C) Full review
D) Credential checks only

Question 25

Which of the following statements is a good definition of instrument validity?

A) It is the accurate measurement of a variable over time by an instrument.
B) It is the conversion of qualitative variables to numerical values.
C) It is the capacity of a measuring instrument to capture the essence and totality of the variable of interest.
D) It is the inter-rater significance of a measurement instrument.

Question 26

Inter-rater reliability is important to consider in a study with:

A) a diverse sample.
B) more than one data collector.
C) a small sample size.
D) a single data collector collecting two types of data.

Question 27

Federal law requires that Institutional Review Boards:

A) oversee evidence-based practice.
B) develop evidence-based clinical protocols.
C) be nationally registered.
D) meet yearly.

Question 28

What boards have the responsibility to give ethical approval to research studies?

A) State Boards of Nursing
B) National Certification Review Boards
C) Institutional Review Boards
D) State Boards of Health