Deck 5: Finding and Appraising the Literature

Question 1

Which of the following characteristics is associated specifically with a refereed journal?

A) The articles are critiqued by a panel of experts.
B) The articles selected for publication relate to a specific field of knowledge.
C) Competition occurs among authors to have their articles published in this journal.
D) The journal publishes only articles that are primary sources of research findings.

Answer 1

The articles are critiqued by a panel of experts.

Question 2

Which of the following is an appropriate method of "weeding out" irrelevant sources when conducting an electronic search for articles for the literature review on a selected topic?

A) Collecting and critically reading all articles related to the topic published in the last 10 years.
B) Selecting for printout only those articles whose abstracts indicate usefulness.
C) Avoiding articles from clinical journals.
D) Avoiding articles that do not include the term "study" in the title.

Answer 2

Selecting for printout only those articles whose abstracts indicate usefulness.

Question 3

Which of the following article titles suggests that the article is conceptual or theoretical in nature?

A) A Nursing Intervention to Reduce Prehospital Delay in Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Trial
B) The Vulnerability of Elder Abuse Among a Sample of Custodial Grandfathers: An Exploratory Study
C) Depression, Self-Esteem, Loneliness, and Social Support Among Mothers Participating in the New Parents Project
D) Toward a Theory of Patient Satisfaction

Answer 3

Toward a Theory of Patient Satisfaction

Question 4

How should an article reporting the results of a study that failed to obtain significant findings be categorized?

A) Empirical literature
B) Conceptual literature
C) Clinical literature
D) Informational literature

Question 5

Which of the following statements about literature review for research purposes is true?

A) Literature review has no relevance to interpreting the findings.
B) The researcher needs to review only the literature that supports the findings.
C) The researcher should review literature that supports the findings and also literature that refutes the findings.
D) Literature review is of relevance to the conceptualization of the study.

Question 6

Which of the following is the most important question to ask when evaluating a journal article's literature review?

A) How was the review conducted?
B) Was every relevant article critiqued?
C) Does the literature review reveal existing knowledge?
D) Was there an appropriate number of secondary sources?

Question 7

Which of the following selections demonstrates a Boolean connection?

A) Explode topic
B) Limit to abstracts
C) Search from 1995 to 2001
D) Search diabetes diagnosis and treatment

Question 8

Where is the literature review typically found in a research report?

A) In the abstract
B) In the Discussion section
C) Following the Methods section
D) After the beginning of the report

Question 9

How are secondary sources valuable in literature review?

A) They provide material written by the person who conducted the study.
B) They provide a different way of looking at specific issues or problems.
C) They determine the relationship of two or more variables affecting an outcome.
D) They increase the body of nursing knowledge in a specific area of practice.

Question 10

Which of the following objectives of literature review is unique to a review for research purposes?

A) Discovering conceptual traditions used to examine problems
B) Generating useful research questions and hypotheses for nursing
C) Determining what is known and unknown about a subject, concept, or problem
D) Uncovering a new practice intervention or gaining support for current interventions, protocols, and policies

Question 11

Which of the following descriptions or headings is highly indicative of a data-based article?

A) Purpose
B) Conclusions
C) Method
D) Organizing framework

Question 12

Which of the following best describes a student's task of gathering information on a topic in preparing a paper for a class assignment?

A) Critiquing a study
B) Researching a topic
C) Conducting a study
D) Searching the literature

Question 13

How is the review of literature different for reports of qualitative studies and reports of quantitative studies?

A) Literature review has no role in qualitative research.
B) Articles for literature review in qualitative studies are largely drawn from secondary sources.
C) In many cases the literature review for a qualitative study is not conducted until after the study has been completed.
D) The processes involved in literature review are the same for both qualitative and quantitative studies.

Question 14

For a literature search for an academic paper or project,which of the following is considered an appropriate timeline?

A) The most recent 6 months
B) The last 1 year
C) The last 3 to 5 years
D) No need to limit the timeline

Question 15

Which of the following strategies or actions is most important in writing a relevant literature review?

A) Including as many secondary sources as possible
B) Analyzing an article for its strengths and weaknesses
C) Using direct quotations to present the majority of the information
D) Allowing the research consumer to form to his or her own synthesis of the literature

Question 16

What type of article is implied when the author uses the following phrase in the abstract of the article? "A study was conducted."

A) Empirical literature
B) Conceptual literature
C) Clinical literature
D) Informational literature

Question 17

Which of the following resources represents the most comprehensive source for nursing literature?

A) CINAHL
B) MEDLINE
C) The Canadian Nurse
D) World Wide Web

Question 18

Some reviews of the literature are organized according to

A) retrieved materials.
B) theoretical summaries.
C) importance of the author.
D) variables being studied.

Question 19

Which of the following statements about the importance of literature review to the research process is accurate?

A) Literature review guides all steps of the research process.
B) Literature review is necessary only in defining the problem statement.
C) Literature review provides a vehicle to disseminate the findings of the study.
D) The value of literature review is limited to finding gaps or inconsistencies in the knowledge base.

Question 20

Which of the following factors limits the usefulness of the World Wide Web as a source of information for research consumers?

A) Downloading being a slow process at times
B) Nontext capabilities that reduce the professionalism of presentations
C) Poor quality control over the information on some Web sites
D) Much of the available information being too technical to be understood by the casual reader