Free The Practice of Nursing Research Essay Sample
Question 1 A clearly stated research purpose includes (list three):
- The researcher’s real personal interest in the topic;
- What the researcher specifically wants to learn about the topic;
- The essence of the study.
Question 2 Identify four sources of research problems
- The researcher’s specialization/area of practice;
- His own original and creative ideas about any problems that exist in the locality or state;
- Recommendations from theses;
- Current and past researches by other researchers.
Question 3 The feasibility of research problems and purpose are determined by examining what four things.
- The researcher’s expertise;
- Availability of subjects;
- Financial commitment;
- The availability of subjects, equipment and facilities;
- The ethical considerations of the study.
Question 4 What are extraneous variables and how they might affect research outcome?
The term "Extraneous variable" refers to the factor that may have an effect on the dependent variable. It only affects individuals involved in the experiment and has no effect on the place where the experiment is carried out. Examples are ethnicity, gender, age, intelligence. This affects the validity of research results due to the events that occur during the process of experiment. For example, if one was to carry out a test on children and took long time between the pre and post test, then the brain would have developed and this would have an effect on internal validity.
Question 5 List the three ethical principles that are relevant to the conduct of research involving human subjects
- Respect for the persons;
- Beneficence;
- Justice.
Question 6 List three examples of legally or mentally incompetent subjects
- Patients of minority age;
- Persons who are mentally ill;
- Institutionalized persons such as disabled persons.
Question 7 Identify the elements of informed consent (four things)
- Statement assuring the participant that the study is only related to research, the purpose of the subject’s participation in the research, the duration the subject is expected to participate and the procedure;
- A description of any foreseeable risks and discomforts that may be experienced by the subject such as social, physical, economic and psychological harm.
- The description of benefits to the subject or others that are expected from that research.
- A statement assuring the subject about the privacy of the information, explaining how the records will be maintained and if there is any other party expected to access the research information for instance the Food and Drug Administration might inspect those records.
Question 8 Identify the three levels of institutional review of research
- Exempt;
- Expedited;
- Full board.
Question 9 In critiquing the sampling plan in a study, several things are examined. List at least three things you need to examine.
- Inclusion criteria used;
- Participants-gender, age illness etc;
- The research setting-hospital, location etc.
Question 10 Identify three types of probability sampling
- Simple random sampling-a sampling scheme with the assumption that any of the possible item in the sample has an equal chance of being included in the sample. The sample is selected via means of random numbers or a table.
- Systematic sampling- in this method each individual element of the population has equal chance of being selected; where every n-th person from a randomly selected sample is chosen.
- Stratified sampling - in this method the population is arranged into homogeneous subsets called strata and then an appropriate number of elements is picked from each stratum.
- Cluster sampling- in this method the researcher includes all the elements of the selected clusters in the sample.
Question 11 Identify four types of non probability sampling
- Quota sampling- the researcher selects quotas to represent the population;
- Purposive sampling - where the researcher uses his knowledge of the research problem to choose the typical persons who fit to be included in the sample;
- Snowball sampling- the researcher seeks help from the respondents to identify the population under study;
- Dimensional sampling-the researcher uses this technique to enhance the sample representatives.
Question 12 Describe three measurement situations that might result in random error
- Unreliable measurement of variables;
- The general state of well being of the researcher such as if he is bored, ill, impatient or distracted, it may affect the response of the subject to measurement;
- Transient personal factors such as the subject’s state of health, mood and level of pain;
- Privacy - in some studies subjects will hesitate to give accurate answers if they fear their family members or others in the environment will overhear them.
Question 13 Describe three measurement situations that might result in systematic error
- If the researcher uses incorrect measuring technique such as making an incorrect reading;
- Where the measuring equipments have calibration errors;
- If the experimenter is biased.
Question 14 List three decision points during the data collection phase of the study
- The preparation phase;
- Conceptualization;
- Analytical phase.
Question 15 Describe three situations that might affect consistency in data collection
- Homogeneity of the group - if the researcher does not look for a homogeneous group to interview, for instance a particular age group, then the responses will vary;
- Variation of the test- if errors occur in the testing situation e.g. subject misunderstands or misreads test directions, the test results will vary;
- If the researcher does not prepare a list of specific questions to be asked to all subjects or if questions are not easily understandable the respondents may interpret them differently and thus inconsistency in results might occur.
Question 16 List five tasks of the researcher during data collection
- Thematising - planning what he is to interview about;
- Looking for a target population and extracting a sample from it;
- Conducting the interview;
- Recording the information provided by the respondent;
- Ensuring privacy of the information provided.
Question 17 Identify two statically tests used to examine relationships among/between variables
Regression analysis- ideal for continuous variables where data can be plotted on a graph with the independent variable on the x-axis and dependent on y axis;
- One-way Analysis of Variance(ANOVA) - appropriate where three or more samples are involved and data from each sample thought to be similar. ANOVA, which is a parametric inferential test will enable the investigator to compare multiple group means.
Question 18 Identify two statistical tests used to examine causality
One can use correlation and regression techniques.
Question 19 What is the minimally accepted alpha level for statically significance?
Typically, the minimum level is 0.05.
Question 20 Match each term below with its definition or description
Design validity Multicasuality Control Internal validity Probability
A. Design validity - Addresses relative causality.
B. External validity - The extent to which study findings can be generalized beyond the sample used in the study.
C. Control internal validity - The power to direct or manipulate factors to achieve a desired outcome.
D. Multicasuality - The recognition that a number of interrelating variables can be involved in causing a particular effect.
E. Internal Validity - The study provides a convincing test of the framework propositions.
F. Probability - The extent to which the effects detected in the study are a true reflection of reality.
Question 21 Empiricism refers to: C. Gathering evidence rooted in objective reality
Question 22 The scientific approach has its intellectual roots in C. Phenomenology
Question 23 The dependent variable(s) in the study "Is the job performance of nurses affected by salary or perceived job autonomy?" is (are): A. job performance.
Question 24 The independent variable in the study "What is the effect of noise levels on postoperative pain or blood pressure fluctuations in ICU patients?" is: C. Noise levels.
Question 25 A major purpose of the review of the literature is to:
B. To gain insight and understanding of research in a particular area.
Question 26 Which of the following is an example of a complex hypothesis? C. None of the above.
Question 27 In an ex post facto study, compared to an experimental study, the researcher forfeits control of: A. the independent variable(s).
Question 28 Research projects that collect data at one point in time are referred to as: B. Cross-sectional studies
Question 29 The level of measurement that classifies and ranks objects in terms of the degree to which they possess the attribute of interest is B. Ordinal
Question 30 Religion is measured on the A. Nominal scale
Question 31 Which level of measurement permits the researcher to apply all levels of mathematical and statistical analysis? D. Ratio
Question 32 Degrees such as associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctorate correspond to measures on which of the following scales B ordinal.
Question 33 An instrument that produces consistent results on repeated use is described as (B)
B. Reliable
Question 34 You are shopping in the mall and are approached by individuals who identify themselves as researchers for a local food chain, and they ask you to participate in their study by answering a few questions. As a subject for this study, you were selected by which method? (A)
A.simple random sampling.
Question 35 The measure of central tendency that is most stable and most frequently cited is the
A. Mode
Question 36 The symbol X represents
D. An individual score
Question 37 One of the characteristics of a normal distribution (bell shaped curve) is that B. 68% of the values are within one standard deviation above and below the mean.
Question 38 The use of inferential statistics permits the researcher to: A. generalize to a population based on information gathered from a sample.
Question 39 Which correlation coefficient represents the strongest relationship?
A. .73
Question 40 A Type I error is:
A. When the null hypothesis is rejected when it is in fact true.