Question 1

What is indicated by the following statement,found in the report of a quantitative nursing research study,"By formalizing parenting education in the immediate postpartum period,midwives may have the opportunity to reduce the prevalence of postnatal depression"?

Accepted Answer

Correct C: The statement describes the implications of parenting education for use by midwives.
Incorrect A: The statement does not explain the explicit results of the study.
Incorrect B: The statement does not describe data analysis issues.
Incorrect D: The statement does not specify recommendations for future activities.

Question 2

What is suggested by the following statement found in the study by Koenes and Karshmer titled "Depression: a comparison study between blind and sighted adolescents? " "The fact that the inventory [instrument] was administered verbally introduced a potential bias of social desirability."

Accepted Answer

Correct B: Administering the questionnaire verbally and risking bias of social desirability are an example of a study limitation.
Incorrect A: The statement does not specify any implications for practice.
Incorrect C: Generalizability of study results would be most affected by sample characteristics,not by the method of data collection.
Incorrect D: No recommendations for future research are explained in this statement.

Question 3

Which critical appraisal question would evaluate the review of the literature of a research report?

Accepted Answer

Correct A: This question would evaluate the review of the literature.
Incorrect B: This question would evaluate internal and external validity.
Incorrect C: This question would evaluate the research question and hypothesis.
Incorrect D: This question would evaluate sampling.

Question 4

In evaluating quantitative research,a researcher can expect to review the report's segments in which order?
A.Methods
B.Introduction
C.Literature review
D.Discussion
E.Results

Accepted Answer

Correct D: This is the correct order of a research report's segments.
Incorrect A: This is not the correct order.
Incorrect B: This is not the correct order.
Incorrect C: This is not the correct order.

Question 5

What makes the study by Koenes and Karshmer titled "Depression: a comparison study between blind and sighted adolescents" nonexperimental versus experimental in design?

Accepted Answer

Correct D: Nonexperimental designs are by nature characterized by nonmanipulation of the independent variable.
Incorrect A: Sample size does not designate study design.
Incorrect B: Size of sample groups does not designate study design.
Incorrect C: Dependent variables are the outcome variables and are not manipulated in experimental research.

Question 6

What should be a part of the critique of a quantitative research report?

Accepted Answer

Correct C: Research critique is constructive evaluation of a study's strengths and limitations.
Incorrect A: Applying findings in clinical practice is performed after critiquing a study's strengths.
Incorrect B: Summarizing the steps of the research process is not equivalent to constructive evaluation.
Incorrect D: Research critique is performed by an objective reviewer,not by participants.

Question 7

Why is it significant that other nurses evaluate the scientific merit of quantitative nursing research studies?

Accepted Answer

Correct B: Nurses evaluating nurses' research helps broaden the base for nursing practice because other perspectives of nursing are used.
Incorrect A: Nursing research evaluation by nurses does not diversify the focus of nursing by broadening research topics.
Incorrect C: Nurses evaluating nursing research is not support for a true science base.
Incorrect D: Nurses evaluating nursing research would not ensure that it does not borrow from other disciplines.

Question 8

Which statement evaluating a quantitative research study report deals with scientific merit?

Accepted Answer

Correct A: Describing appropriate use of sample size for pertinent statistical tests is an example of scientific merit.
Incorrect B: Explaining the number of variables is not an example of scientific critique.
Incorrect C: The critique of narrative display is an example of stylistic comment.
Incorrect D: The comment about length of discussion is an example of stylistic critique.

Question 9

In a study by Koenes and Karshmer titled "Depression: a comparison study between blind and sighted adolescents," no hypothesis is present.Does the lack of a hypothesis in this study represent a weakness? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

Correct A: The title suggests a descriptive study,and a hypothesis is not necessary.
Incorrect B: The study title is descriptive comparative and is not quasi-experimental.
Incorrect C: A hypothesis is not necessary for a descriptive study.
Incorrect D: The study is nonexperimental,so a hypothesis is not necessary.

Question 10

What is the most accurate interpretation of the following statement found in a study abstract? "There was a negative relationship between infants with difficult behavioral styles and maternal involvement."

Accepted Answer

Correct B: The statement involves an inverse relationship; more infant difficulty,less maternal involvement.
Incorrect A: This is a positive variable relationship and does not match the abstract statement.
Incorrect C: This is a positive variable relationship and does not match the abstract statement.
Incorrect D: This is a statement of no relationship between variables and does not match the abstract statement.

Question 11

What makes the study by Christman et al.titled "Continuous handrail support,oxygen uptake,and heart rate in women during submaximal step treadmill exercise" quasi-experimental in design versus experimental?

Accepted Answer

Correct B: The major difference between experimental and quasi-experimental designs is lack of randomization in sampling selection.
Incorrect A: The size of the sample does not primarily affect the nature of the study design.
Incorrect C: Dependent variables or outcome variables are not manipulated.
Incorrect D: Independent variables (or the treatment)must be manipulated to conduct an experiment or quasi-experiment.

Question 12

How should a research consumer evaluate the following statement in a research report? "A positive correlation was found between the variables of self-reported sleep adequacy and performance on the driving simulator (r = 0.21),although the correlation did not reach statistical significance."

Accepted Answer

Correct D: The statement explains that the relationships among the variables are too weak for practical application.
Incorrect A: Because there is a correlation,a relationship has to exist between variables.
Incorrect B: No hypothesis is expressed,so no judgment can be made regarding the statement.
Incorrect C: No hypothesis is expressed,so no judgment can be made regarding the statement.

Question 13

Which should be addressed in both the problem statement and the purpose of a quantitative research study report?

Accepted Answer

Correct D: The problem statement and the purpose both specify relationships between study variables.
Incorrect A: Generalizability would be addressed by research design and sampling procedures.
Incorrect B: The sampling procedure is usually described in the methods section.
Incorrect C: Implications for future research are developed after study findings are obtained.

Question 14

Which critical appraisal question would evaluate the research question and hypothesis of a research report?

Accepted Answer

Correct C: This question would evaluate the research question and hypothesis.
Incorrect A: This question would evaluate the review of the literature.
Incorrect B: This question would evaluate internal and external validity.
Incorrect D: This question would evaluate sampling.

Question 15

Which change in sample selection procedures for the study by Koenes and Karshmer titled "Depression: a comparison study between blind and sighted adolescents" would have had the greatest impact in making the sample of blind adolescents more homogeneous?

Accepted Answer

Correct A: Because many potential subjects take prescription medications,elimination of subjects taking prescription medications would make the sample homogeneous.
Incorrect B: Narrowing the age range of subjects in an adolescent study would not necessarily increase homogeneity.
Incorrect C: Having the same data collector would not alter the nature of the sample.
Incorrect D: Not sharing the nature of the study with subjects would not alter sample characteristics.

Question 16

Which change in sample selection procedure for the study by Christman et al.titled "Continuous handrail support,oxygen uptake,and heart rate in women during submaximal step treadmill exercise" would have had the greatest impact on increasing the generalizability of the results?

Accepted Answer

Correct D: Including various types of women according to fitness level would increase the generalizability of the results.
Incorrect A: Increasing sample size does not necessarily increase the generalizability of results.
Incorrect B: Smoking may or may not alter women's fitness level and does not necessarily affect generalizability.
Incorrect C: Having a control group does not increase generalizability like increasing heterogeneity of the sample.

Question 17

Which statement evaluating a quantitative research study report deals with style?

Accepted Answer

Correct C: Description of how to improve data display is an example of stylistic critique.
Incorrect A: The comment about sample size in statistical testing is an example of scientific merit critique.
Incorrect B: Describing the number of variables is mere explanation,not critique.
Incorrect D: The comment is an example of scientific merit critique.

Question 18

What is the significance of the following statement found in a study's abstract? "This research was an exploratory descriptive investigation of the pregnancy experiences of a multiethnic group of pregnant adolescents."

Accepted Answer

Correct B: The statement describes the design of the study.
Incorrect A: Aims of the research are not explained in the statement.
Incorrect C: The statement does not allude to the significance of the study.
Incorrect D: Implications of the study findings are not explained in the statement.

Question 19

What term represents the ability of the researcher to determine which content of a nursing research study is most important to communicate to the profession?

Accepted Answer

Correct B: Personal judgment is the researcher's expertise that allows him or her to judge which content is most important to communicate to the profession.
Incorrect A: Constructive evaluation is the objective unbiased and impartial appraisal of the evidence provided by the study.
Incorrect C: Scientific merit relates to evaluating research for its relative worth (strength,quality,and consistency of evidence).
Incorrect D: Personal merit is not a concept associated with quantitative research critique.

Question 20

Where in a report of a quantitative research study would you expect the gaps or conflicts about the phenomenon studied to be identified?

Accepted Answer

Correct D: A literature review describes what is known as well as what is not known about a phenomenon being studied.
Incorrect A: The data analysis section describes how obtained data were organized and analyzed.
Incorrect B: The research design section explains the design chosen by the researcher and how it will be used.
Incorrect C: The problem statement specifies the focus of the study and the significance of the problem.

Quiz 16: Appraising Quantitative Research