Deck 6: Understanding and Critically Appraising the Literature Review

Question 1

For a study to be considered current,it should be published within the last:

A) year.
B) 2 years.
C) 5 years.
D) 10 years.

Answer 1

5 years.

Question 2

One reason for conducting a review of the literature other than for purposes of developing a research study is to:

A) determine the expertise of researchers in the field of study.
B) identify current theoretical frameworks.
C) implement evidence-based practice guidelines.
D) work in a Magnet-certified hospital setting.

Answer 2

implement evidence-based practice guidelines.

Question 3

What is an important limitation of secondary sources in literature reviews?

A) The authors do not have high levels of expertise.
B) They are usually not peer-reviewed sources.
C) They do not contain unique or original information.
D) They may contain misinterpreted information.

Answer 3

They may contain misinterpreted information.

Question 4

When appraising a literature review,one aspect of determining the breadth of the review is:

A) whether the review provides direction for the proposed study.
B) the number and percentages of sources from the past 5 to 10 years.
C) whether landmark or seminal studies have been used.
D) the disciplines of the study authors and journals cited in the review.

Question 5

A review of empirical literature will yield information obtained from:

A) concept analyses.
B) descriptions of models and frameworks.
C) research studies.
D) theories.

Question 6

Which source of information is rarely cited in academic publications?

A) Conference proceedings
B) Dissertation or thesis
C) Encyclopedia
D) Textbooks

Question 7

An initial step when preparing to conduct a literature review is to:

A) choose the types of sources to use.
B) clarify the purpose of the review.
C) determine how many articles to review.
D) select electronic data bases and keywords.

Question 8

A nurse appraising a research article should perform which action in order to critically evaluate the literature review?

A) Locate and review sources and abstracts listed in the research article
B) Note the number of data-based and theoretical sources cited in the reference list
C) Perform a meta-analysis or meta-synthesis on the cited references
D) Search the literature to determine whether other relevant sources exist

Question 9

When conducting a literature review for a thesis or dissertation and deciding how far back in the available literature to search,what will the student do?

A) Ask the instructor to specify necessary publication years for articles cited.
B) Base the decision on the number of articles necessary for the assigned task.
C) Locate any seminal or landmark studies on the topic of research.
D) Look for sources no older than 10 years prior.

Question 10

When developing evidence-based-practice guidelines,if a researcher wishes to identify studies that evaluate a specific intervention in quantitative research,the literature review should include:

A) grounded theory research.
B) only current research from the last 5 years.
C) replication studies and meta-analyses.
D) seminal and landmark studies about the topic.

Question 11

In the following APA-formatted reference,what is indicated by the italicized words?
Maxwell,S.E.,& Delaney,H.D.(2004).Designing experiments and analyzing data: A model comparison perspective (2^nd ed.).Mahway,NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

A) Abstract information
B) Article title
C) Book title
D) Publishing company

Question 12

When determining the reliability of a website resource in a literature review,it is important to determine:

A) accessibility of the website information.
B) costs of retrieving website information.
C) sponsorship of website information.
D) whether website information is also published conventionally.

Question 13

Why might Wikipedia be a questionable reference for a study citation?

A) It does not contain factual information.
B) It does not provide ideas for other resources.
C) It is an online resource..
D) It is an open, editable format.

Question 14

What is the main purpose of a literature review in grounded theory research?

A) To explain, extend, and support the framework used for the study
B) To identify gaps in current knowledge about the research topic
C) To place research findings in context of what is already known.
D) To support the need to study the selected research topic

Question 15

When reviewing articles in a peer-reviewed publication,the reader is assured that the articles are:

A) landmark studies.
B) primary sources.
C) seminal studies.
D) trustworthy sources.

Question 16

A researcher conducts a study using dependent and independent variables used in a previous study but uses a different population of subjects.What type of study is this?

A) Landmark
B) Pilot
C) Replication
D) Seminal

Question 17

Which type of study is least likely to include a review of the literature prior to initiating the study?

A) Grounded theory
B) Phenomenological
C) Qualitative
D) Quantitative

Question 18

What is the purpose of a limited research review?

A) To allow the reader to become familiar with the research problem
B) To develop an initial pilot study prior to a more in-depth study
C) To direct the planning and execution of a study
D) To identify studies published after a study is performed

Question 19

Some studies cited in a literature review may be decades old.The researcher may decide to use studies from this far back because these studies:

A) are groundbreaking or landmark studies.
B) are particularly well-written studies.
C) are peer-reviewed, relevant studies.
D) are still considered current studies.

Question 20

A reviewer reading a proposal for a qualitative research study notes that the author has not included a literature review.The reviewer understands that a literature review may have been omitted in this case because:

A) it is not necessary to conduct a literature review for qualitative research.
B) qualitative research is conducted to study areas where there is no previous knowledge.
C) some researchers feel that previous studies may bias data collection in qualitative studies.
D) the researcher was not adequately prepared to conduct this research study.

Question 21

In a literature review,the author identifies themes present in articles under review and describes connections among these themes.This is an example of:

A) analysis.
B) appraisal.
C) synthesis.
D) theorizing.

Question 22

A step just prior to beginning a literature search using an electronic database is to:

A) decide how many articles are needed.
B) determine the type of study.
C) identify keywords for the search.
D) perform a Google search.

Question 23

Once relevant studies have been identified,the researcher's next step is to:

A) determine the expertise of each study's authors.
B) obtain full-text copies of each of these articles.
C) review the study design and methodology of each article.
D) write the literature review based on abstract information.

Question 24

A researcher performs a critical appraisal of a group of studies measuring the effects of a home care education program on confidence levels of caregivers of elderly family members.The critical appraisal will include:

A) determining the theoretical frameworks used for defining confidence.
B) identifying sampling and inclusion criteria used in the studies.
C) making value judgments about the credibility and validity of concepts.
D) recording quotations relevant to the concept of confidence.

Question 25

When citing sources in a literature review,it is best if the author:

A) paraphrases other authors' ideas.
B) points out any defects in other authors' work.
C) synthesizes the work of a group of authors.
D) uses direct quotations as much as possible.

Question 26

A researcher reviews several articles about coping skills among parents of children with chronic illness and notes that half of the studies involved single-parent families.The researcher decides to examine whether coping skills differ in single-parent versus dual-parent households.The researcher is engaging in:

A) analyzing.
B) appraising.
C) evaluating.
D) synthesizing.

Question 27

To analyze a body of literature in a literature review the reviewer will:

A) describe the findings of each study in the literature review.
B) list the studies and itemize the findings of each one.
C) make value judgments about the credibility of each study.
D) synthesize and summarize findings from various studies.

Question 28

When developing the outline for a literature review,the researcher's first step is to:

A) describe the focus or purpose of the review in the discussion section.
B) include a statement about what is known in the literature.
C) make notes about which sources to site in each section.
D) use a standardized format to outline subsections in the discussion section.

Question 29

The concluding sentence of each paragraph in a literature review:

A) describes relevant studies that support the theme of the paragraph.
B) identifies the main themes of the paragraph.
C) provides evidence to support the topic of the paragraph.
D) transitions to the ideas expressed in the following paragraph.

Question 30

Which is most important in a critical appraisal of a body of literature?

A) Counting the available resources to determine whether more information is necessary.
B) Examining the quality and content of the resources to determine the credibility and validity of each.
C) Reviewing the reference lists in each study to find other relevant studies and landmark studies.
D) Searching the literature thoroughly using appropriate keywords to ensure that all relevant literature is included.

Question 31

After a literature search has yielded a list of articles,an efficient way to identify relevant studies during a literature search is to review:

A) an electronic database search history.
B) only experimental studies.
C) reference lists in other studies.
D) study abstracts.

Question 32

When initially reading the relevant literature for comprehension,the researcher will:

A) critically appraise the studies.
B) highlight the main points of the studies.
C) make decisions about paraphrasing quotes.
D) review the abstract only.

Question 33

When conducting a literature search,which electronic product would a nurse researcher use to track and store reference information?

A) Cumulative Index of Nursing and Health Literature (CINAHL)
B) EndNotes or Ref Works
C) Google Scholar
D) Science Direct

Question 34

An author uses an electronic source in portable document format (PDF).Which is true about citing this source in a literature review?

A) It is necessary to provide the URL used to retrieve the article electronically.
B) It is not treated differently than a print version of the article.
C) The original print article must be located.
D) The page numbers will not be available for citation.