Deck 10: Nonexperimental Designs

Question 1

A nurse researcher would decide to use a longitudinal or prospective design for which reason?

A) It is associated with data that are focused and deep.
B) It allows the overall study to be more manageable for the researcher.
C) It allows the issue of maturation to be avoided as a threat to internal validity.
D) It allows the nurse researcher to avoid the use of tools or instrumentation.

Answer 1

It is associated with data that are focused and deep.

Question 2

A nurse researcher will choose an ex post facto design over more a correlational design for which reason?

A) It is easier to implement.
B) The independent variable can be manipulated.
C) There is a greater degree of control in the design.
D) There is increased flexibility when variables relationships are complex.

Answer 2

There is a greater degree of control in the design.

Question 3

The longitudinal study and the prospective study are similar for which reason?

A) Each moves forward in time.
B) Each has an experimental focus.
C) Each is able to establish causal relationships.
D) Each selects different samples from the same population at various periods of time.

Answer 3

Each moves forward in time.

Question 4

A nurse researcher would choose to use a correlational study of multiple variables for which purpose?

A) To identify the independent variable
B) To test whether one variable causes another variable
C) To examine relationships between or among variables
D) To distinguish how different one variable is from another variable

Question 5

What type of research will assist a nurse researcher in focusing on the theory and development of measurement instruments?

A) Meta-analysis
B) Psychometrics
C) Methodology
D) Data management

Question 6

What features identify a study as methodologic in design? (Select all that apply.)

A) A description of how the tool's items were formulated
B) A description of the experimental treatment
C) A clear definition of how the construct was measured
D) A reporting on the tool's tested reliability and validity
E) A statistical table showing the effect of the independent variable

Question 7

Why would a nurse researcher choose to use research studies that examine the associations or relationships between variables?

A) A causal relationship can be determined between the variables.
B) Greater manipulation of the variables is possible in this type of study.
C) Randomization of participants allows for increased generalizability.
D) There is application in clinical settings and a foundation for future experimental studies.

Question 8

Why would a nurse researcher choose to use a correlational design for a nonexperimental study?

A) It represents an efficient and effective method of collecting a large amount of data about a problem.
B) Many questionnaires and instruments are already developed and have been determined to be valid and reliable.
C) Generalizability is greater than for results of studies using experimental designs.
D) It allows flexibility in the manipulation of more than one variable.

Question 9

Which method of data collection is most appropriate for a nurse researcher to use in a survey study?

A) Videorecording of people-to-people interactions
B) Direct participant observation
C) Unstructured interview
D) Questionnaires

Question 10

Which type of study should be used when data are collected at only one point in time?

A) Cross-sectional
B) Retrospective
C) Longitudinal
D) Prospective

Question 11

How does an experimental research design differ from a nonexperimental research design?

A) Experimental designs allow observation of a phenomenon as it naturally occurs, and nonexperimental designs permit environmental manipulation.
B) Nonexperimental designs manipulate the dependent variable, and experimental designs manipulate the independent variable.
C) Nonexperimental designs attempt to test differences among variables, and experimental designs attempt to establish cause-and-effect relationships.
D) Experimental designs are scientific, and nonexperimental designs have no scientific basis.

Question 12

A nurse researcher will choose to use a developmental study design to do what?

A) Allow comparison of the results of qualitative studies of a phenomenon to the results of quantitative studies of the same phenomenon
B) Allow reanalysis of existing data for a secondary purpose not stated in the original research
C) Allow exploration of the changing nature of relationships between variables over time
D) Allow development or refinement of a tool or instrument

Question 13

A nurse researcher would decide to use a retrospective or ex post facto study for which reason?

A) Obtaining informed consent is not an important issue.
B) There is maximal opportunity to manipulate the independent variable.
C) The dependent variable is measured at multiple times to examine maturation.
D) The dependent variable has already been affected by the independent variable.

Question 14

Why would a nurse researcher choose not to use a survey study design?

A) Data analysis is limited with a survey design.
B) Information collected is relatively superficial.
C) Results are never applicable beyond the study population.
D) More subjects are required to reach statistical significance than for other study designs.

Question 15

Data collection instruments were sent to the same sample of women at six different times during the first year of living with breast cancer. What type of study design does this exemplify?

A) Cross-sectional
B) Retrospective
C) Longitudinal
D) Correlational

Question 16

Advantages to use of correlational design for a study include what? (Select all that apply.)

A) Efficiency and effectiveness in data collection
B) Flexibility for investigating complex relationships
C) Multivariate manipulation of variables
D) Strong potential for clinical (real-world) application
E) Increased potential for generalizability

Question 17

What is the first question that should be asked in determining whether a cross-sectional design or a longitudinal design should be used in a quantitative study?

A) Is there an independent variable?
B) What is the nature of the problem being studied?
C) Will a measurement tool or instrument be needed?
D) Can statistical analysis be applied to the study data?

Question 18

Which statement about cross-sectional studies is most accurate?

A) More than one group can be compared.
B) Only descriptive data can be measured.
C) Data are collected retrospectively rather than prospectively.
D) Data collection and data analysis can occur simultaneously.

Question 19

What study design allows study participants to serve as their own controls, allowing early trends in the data to emerge?

A) Cross-sectional
B) Ex post facto
C) Retrospective
D) Longitudinal

Question 20

What threat to internal validity is most closely associated with a longitudinal design?

A) Instrumentation effects
B) Mortality effects
C) History effects
D) Selection bias

Question 21

Which types of research designs are considered to be survey studies? (Select all that apply.)

A) Descriptive
B) Exploratory
C) Correlational
D) Developmental
E) Comparative
F) Cross-sectional

Question 22

Which types of research designs are considered to be developmental studies? (Select all that apply.)

A) Cross-sectional
B) Comparative
C) Exploratory
D) Longitudinal
E) Prospective
F) Cohort
G) Descriptive

Question 23

What can a nurse researcher address in a study using a survey design? (Select all that apply.)

A) Interrelationships of variables
B) Description of variables
C) Assessment of differences between variables
D) Determination of causation
E) Prediction of treatment outcomes

Question 24

Which types of research designs are considered to be relationship-difference studies? (Select all that apply.)

A) Descriptive
B) Exploratory
C) Correlational
D) Developmental
E) Comparative
F) Cross-sectional