Question 1

A nurse clinician reads that in an experimental study with two treatment groups and one control group,the hazard ratio between the two treatment groups was 3.0.How should this be most accurately interpreted?

Accepted Answer

Correct C: The death rate was calculated to be three times the rate of one experimental group versus the other.
Incorrect A: A hazard ratio of 3.0 indicates very different slopes for the two treatment groups.
Incorrect B: Only the two treatment groups are compared in the hazard ratio.
Incorrect D: Hazard ratio measures how rapidly subjects are dying (or experiencing another bad outcome).

Question 2

A nursing researcher is describing likelihood ratios.What is the significance of a diagnostic test with a large positive likelihood ratio?

Accepted Answer

Correct B: A test with a large positive likelihood ratio provides a high degree of certainty that the patient has the suspected disorder.
Incorrect A: A large positive likelihood ratio has strong predictive value.
Incorrect C: A large positive likelihood ratio in a test is likely to decrease the need for other backup tests.
Incorrect D: A large positive likelihood ratio test is very helpful in clinical decision making because it provides a high degree of certainty.

Question 3

A research mentor is advising a new researcher on aspects of the literature review.Which type of research findings would the mentor recommend as strongest available evidence?

Accepted Answer

Correct A: Meta-analysis findings provide the strongest evidence available to cliniciAnswer.
Incorrect B: Descriptive findings are low-level evidence because descriptive studies are done when little is known about a subject.
Incorrect C: Case study describes findings most commonly from one person,often an unusual case.
Incorrect D: Narrative findings are used in qualitative studies and are not considered as strong evidence as meta-analysis.

Question 4

In a clinical trial,the arithmetic difference in rates of bad outcomes between experimental and control patients is most accurately referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Correct A: Absolute risk increase is the absolute arithmetic difference in rates of bad outcomes between experimental and control patients in a clinical trial.
Incorrect B: Number needed to harm is the estimated number of patients needing to be treated with the new treatment for one patient to have a bad outcome.
Incorrect C: The absolute arithmetic difference in rates of good outcomes between experimental and control patients in a trial is relative benefit increase.
Incorrect D: Relative risk increase is the proportional increase in rates of bad outcomes between experimental and control patients in a trial.

Question 5

A term that is used for the ability of a test or technique to detect a disease when it is truly present is

Accepted Answer

Correct D: Sensitivity is the measure of how well a test or technique detects disease when it is present.
Incorrect A: Specificity is the measure of how well a test or technique rules out disease when it is absent.
Incorrect B: Confidence interval is a measure of precision of study results.
Incorrect C: Survival curve is graph showing the probability of a patient's surviving in a given state for a specified time.

Question 6

A nurse researcher is seeking evidence about the efficacy of pressure-reduction surfaces on development of pressure ulcers in surgical patients.Which database is most likely to yield the highest-level evidence?

Accepted Answer

Correct D: The Cochrane Review database provides systematic reviews that are primarily meta-analyses of interventions for health-related disorders.
Incorrect A: Psychological abstracts will not necessarily target the topical area or have systematic reviews.
Incorrect B: Google is a search engine on the Internet and would not contain systematic research reviews.
Incorrect C: CINAHL may have studies on this topic but not necessarily meta-analyses or systematic reviews.

Question 7

Skills needed to consult the literature and answer a clinical question are most accurately referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Correct C: Information literacy refers to the skills needed to consult the literature and Answerwer a clinical question.
Incorrect A: Informatics is the use of computers in data management.
Incorrect B: Database searching is one component of information literacy.
Incorrect D: Information literacy is a major component of EBP.

Question 8

When a nurse seeks to answer a question about the effectiveness of a particular treatment,what kind of study would be most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Correct D: Quasi-experimental studies do allow testing of a treatment.
Incorrect A: Descriptive studies describe a phenomenon and do not test treatments.
Incorrect B: Correlational studies examine relationships,not causation.
Incorrect C: Exploratory studies do not analyze treatment efficacy.
Incorrect E: Qualitative studies are not experimental.

Question 9

Applying study results to individual patients or to a specific patient population and communicating findings to patients in a meaningful way is the hallmark of:

Accepted Answer

Correct D: EBP is characterized by these processes.
Incorrect A: Science does not always address clinical or applied issues.
Incorrect B: Clinical practice is not always applicable to patient issues.
Incorrect C: Meta-analysis is a statistical method that may or may not be patient focused.

Question 10

A nursing student reviewing an experimental study notices that one group received the "gold standard" treatment.How should this be most accurately interpreted?

Accepted Answer

Correct D: Gold standard refers to the current accepted standard of treatment.
Incorrect A: Experimental treatment is the new or nonstandard treatment.
Incorrect B: Any experimental study must have a treatment involved.
Incorrect C: Nonconventional or new treatment is the experimental treatment.

Question 11

What statistic should a nurse researcher choose to use in a meta-analysis?

Accepted Answer

Correct B: Odds ratio is the statistic of choice for meta-analysis.
Incorrect A: Survival curve is a graph showing the probability that a patient survives in a given state for a specified time.
Incorrect C: Measure of central tendency refers to several statistics (e.g.,mean),not reserved to meta-analysis.
Incorrect D: Measure of dispersion refers to several statistics (e.g.,standard deviation),not reserved to meta-analysis.

Question 12

The nurse researcher is developing a focused clinical question.What order would be most appropriate for the following statements,progressing from lowest level to highest level?
A.What is the population of interest?
B.To what will this intervention be compared?
C.What is the intervention of interest?
D.How will the intervention make things better or worse?

Accepted Answer

Correct D: This is the correct order for developing a focused clinical question.
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 13

To assess the efficacy of a specific intervention,which type of clinical category should the student investigate in appraising study results?

Accepted Answer

Correct A: Therapy category articles attempt to determine whether a difference exists between two or more treatments.
Incorrect B: In sensitivity and specificity studies,investigators assess the ability of screening tools and techniques to detect a disease.
Incorrect C: In prognosis category articles,researchers try to determine the outcome of a particular disease or condition.
Incorrect D: Harm category articles assess whether an individual has been harmed by exposure to a particular event.

Question 14

Which type of support for a nursing intervention is reduced or eliminated by EBP?

Accepted Answer

Correct B: EBP helps eliminate dated procedures or rituals.
Incorrect A: EBP does not eliminate the use of expert opinion.
Incorrect C: Case studies are still valuable.
Incorrect D: EBP does not remove the need for qualitative research.

Question 15

A wound-care specialist is interested in testing a handheld ultrasound probe to assess true depth of damage under an eschar-covered pressure ulcer.In reviewing product materials,which reported precision confidence interval (CI)for correct depth assessment would make the nurse interested in purchase?

Accepted Answer

Correct D: The most precise CI is the smallest range.
Incorrect A: CI at this range would not be precise.
Incorrect B: CI at this range would not be precise.
Incorrect C: CI at this range would not be precise.

Question 16

In an experiment,when a value is obtained that shows no difference between the treatment and control group,the value is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Correct C: Null refers to a value indicating no difference between the treatment and control group.
Incorrect A: Causal refers to a relationship between treatment and outcome that makes a difference.
Incorrect B: Sensitivity refers to the ability of a test or screen to identify a disease.
Incorrect D: Positively predictive indicates a relationship between two variables in which one predicts the other.

Question 17

A nursing student critiquing a research study notes that a CI is too large for a new therapy to be clinically meaningful.What factor likely contributed to this statistical outcome?

Accepted Answer

Correct D: As the number of subjects in a study increases,the CI narrows.
Incorrect A: Strong power level would contribute to a small CI.
Incorrect B: Quantitative experimental design would not hamper CI outcomes.
Incorrect C: Statistical analysis is the process of calculating a CI.

Question 18

When a nurse wants to answer a question about a patient's likely course in a disease trajectory,what kind of study would be most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Correct B: Longitudinal design is recommended for studying outcomes in a particular disease.
Incorrect A: Experimental design would not examine disease progress over time.
Incorrect C: Cross-sectional study looks at data in one point of time.
Incorrect D: Methodological design is used for the instrument developed.
Incorrect E: Quasi-experimental design is recommended to test effects of interventions,not disease trajectory.

Question 19

A term or phrase used to describe the reduction of risk in real reduction terms because of an experimental treatment is:

Accepted Answer

Correct D: Absolute risk reduction is the description of risk in absolute terms because it is the difference between risk observed in those who did and did not experience the event.
Incorrect A: Relative risk ratio is the risk of the event after the experimental treatment as a percentage of the original risk.
Incorrect B: Number needed to treat is the estimated number of treatment patients needed versus standard treatment for one patient to benefit.
Incorrect C: Control event rate is the proportion of patients in whom an event is observed in the control group.

Question 20

A nurse researcher wants to determine whether historical exposure to a specific water source is associated with later development of inflammatory bowel disease.Which type of study design will be most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Correct A: Ex post facto design is used when the researcher wants to determine whether one thing is related to or causes another thing.
Incorrect B: Experimental design tests efficacy of an intervention.
Incorrect C: Qualitative design would not be able to assess relationships or causation.
Incorrect D: Therapeutic design is not a designated design; therapy category is testing efficacy.

Quiz 18: Tools for Applying Evidence to Practice