TEST BANK FOR ESSENTIALS
OF NURSING RESEARCH
APPRAISING EVIDENCE FOR
NURSING PRACTICE 9TH
EDITION BY DENISE POLIT AND
CHERYL BECK COMPLETE
CHAPTER PRACTICE
QUESTIONS AND STUDY
REVIEW GUIDE 2026/2027
EDITION
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Introducing Nursing Research for Evidence-Based Practice
Chapter 2 Understanding Key Concepts and Steps in Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Chapter 3 Reading and Critically Appraising Research Articles
Chapter 4 Attending to Ethics in Research
Chapter 5 Identifying Research Problems, Research Questions, and Hypotheses
,
,Chapter 6 Finding and Reviewing Research Evidence in the Literature
Chapter 7 Understanding Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks
Chapter 8 Appraising Quantitative Research Design
Chapter 9 Appraising Sampling and Data Collection in Quantitative Studies
Chapter 10 Appraising Qualitative Designs and Approaches
Chapter 11 Appraising Sampling and Data Collection in Qualitative Studies
Chapter 12 Understanding Mixed Methods Research, Quality Improvement, and Other
Special Types of Research
Chapter 13 Understanding Statistical Analysis of Quantitative Data
Chapter 14 Interpreting Quantitative Findings and Evaluating Clinical Significance
Chapter 15 Understanding the Analysis of Qualitative Data
Chapter 16 Appraising Trustworthiness and Integrity in Qualitative Research
Chapter 17 Learning From Systematic Reviews
Chapter 18 Putting Research Evidence Into Practice: Evidence-Based Practice and
Practice-Based Evidence
,
,CHAPTER 1: Introducing Nursing Research For Evidence-Based Practice
Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 9th Edition by Polit,
Beck
1. Which of the following groups would be best served by the development of a scientific base for nursing
practice?
A) Nursing administrators
B) Practicing nurses
C) Nurses' clients
D) Health care policymakers
Ans: C Feedback:
Nursing research is systematic inquiry designed to develop trustworthy evidence about issues of
importance to nurses and their clients. Nurse leaders recognize the need to base specific nursing
decisions on evidence indicating that the decisions are clinically appropriate, cost-effective, and
result in positive client outcomes. Although all of the people listed would benefit from the
development of a scientific base for nursing practice, ultimately it is the clients themselves who would
most benefit, as they would then receive the most appropriate and most effective care.
2. An especially important goal for the nursing profession is to do which of the following?
A) Conduct research to better understand the context of nursing practice
B) Establish a solid base of evidence for practice through disciplined research
C) Document the role nursing serves in society
D) Establish research priorities
Ans: B Feedback:
Nurses are increasingly expected to understand and undertake research and to base their practice
on evidence from research. Evidence-based practice is the use of the best evidence in making
patient care decisions and typically comes from research conducted by nurses and other health-
care professionals. All of the other answers are possible goals for the nursing profession, but none
is as important as establishing evidence for practice.
3. Which of the following is a fundamental belief of those who hold to the constructivist paradigm?
A) A fixed reality exists in nature for humans to understand
B) The nature of reality has changed over time
C) Reality is multiply constructed and multiply interpreted by humans D) Reality cannot be studied
empirically
Ans: C
Page 1
,
, Feedback:
In the constructivist paradigm, it is assumed that reality is not a fixed entity but is rather a
construction of human minds, and thus “truth” is a composite of multiple constructions of reality.
However, constructivists do believe that reality can be studied empirically. Belief in a fixed reality
that exists in nature for humans to understand would be an
example of a positivist belief, not a constructivist one. The constructivist belief does not hold so
much that the nature of reality has changed over time as that it has always been constructed by
human minds.
4. Which of the following is a fundamental belief of those who hold to the positivist paradigm?
A) The researcher is objective and independent of those being studied
B) The researcher cannot interact with those being studied
C) The researcher instructs those being studied to be objective in providing information
D) The distance between the researcher and those being researched is minimized to enhance the
interactive process
Ans: A Feedback:
In the positivist paradigm, it is assumed that there is an objective reality and that natural
phenomena are regular and orderly. In the constructivist paradigm, it is assumed that reality is not
a fixed entity but is rather a construction of human minds, and thus “truth” is a composite of
multiple constructions of reality.
5. Which of the following attributes is least characteristic of the traditional scientific method?
A) Control over external factors
B) Systematic measurement and observation of natural phenomena
C) Testing of hunches deduced from theory or prior research
D) Emphasis on a holistic view of a phenomenon, studied in a rich context
Ans: D Feedback:
Quantitative research (associated with positivism) involves the collection and analysis of numeric
information. Quantitative research is typically conducted within the traditional scientific
method, which is systematic and controlled. Quantitative researchers base their findings on
empirical evidence (evidence collected by way of the human senses) and strive for
generalizability beyond a single setting or situation.
Constructivist researchers emphasize understanding human experience as it is lived
through the collection and analysis of subjective, narrative materials using flexible
procedures; this paradigm is associated with qualitative research.
6. Empiricism refers to which of the following?
A) Making generalizations from specific observations
B) Articulating a study purpose in terms of an appropriate classification system C) Gathering
evidence about real-world phenomena through the senses
Page 2
,
OF NURSING RESEARCH
APPRAISING EVIDENCE FOR
NURSING PRACTICE 9TH
EDITION BY DENISE POLIT AND
CHERYL BECK COMPLETE
CHAPTER PRACTICE
QUESTIONS AND STUDY
REVIEW GUIDE 2026/2027
EDITION
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Introducing Nursing Research for Evidence-Based Practice
Chapter 2 Understanding Key Concepts and Steps in Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Chapter 3 Reading and Critically Appraising Research Articles
Chapter 4 Attending to Ethics in Research
Chapter 5 Identifying Research Problems, Research Questions, and Hypotheses
,
,Chapter 6 Finding and Reviewing Research Evidence in the Literature
Chapter 7 Understanding Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks
Chapter 8 Appraising Quantitative Research Design
Chapter 9 Appraising Sampling and Data Collection in Quantitative Studies
Chapter 10 Appraising Qualitative Designs and Approaches
Chapter 11 Appraising Sampling and Data Collection in Qualitative Studies
Chapter 12 Understanding Mixed Methods Research, Quality Improvement, and Other
Special Types of Research
Chapter 13 Understanding Statistical Analysis of Quantitative Data
Chapter 14 Interpreting Quantitative Findings and Evaluating Clinical Significance
Chapter 15 Understanding the Analysis of Qualitative Data
Chapter 16 Appraising Trustworthiness and Integrity in Qualitative Research
Chapter 17 Learning From Systematic Reviews
Chapter 18 Putting Research Evidence Into Practice: Evidence-Based Practice and
Practice-Based Evidence
,
,CHAPTER 1: Introducing Nursing Research For Evidence-Based Practice
Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice 9th Edition by Polit,
Beck
1. Which of the following groups would be best served by the development of a scientific base for nursing
practice?
A) Nursing administrators
B) Practicing nurses
C) Nurses' clients
D) Health care policymakers
Ans: C Feedback:
Nursing research is systematic inquiry designed to develop trustworthy evidence about issues of
importance to nurses and their clients. Nurse leaders recognize the need to base specific nursing
decisions on evidence indicating that the decisions are clinically appropriate, cost-effective, and
result in positive client outcomes. Although all of the people listed would benefit from the
development of a scientific base for nursing practice, ultimately it is the clients themselves who would
most benefit, as they would then receive the most appropriate and most effective care.
2. An especially important goal for the nursing profession is to do which of the following?
A) Conduct research to better understand the context of nursing practice
B) Establish a solid base of evidence for practice through disciplined research
C) Document the role nursing serves in society
D) Establish research priorities
Ans: B Feedback:
Nurses are increasingly expected to understand and undertake research and to base their practice
on evidence from research. Evidence-based practice is the use of the best evidence in making
patient care decisions and typically comes from research conducted by nurses and other health-
care professionals. All of the other answers are possible goals for the nursing profession, but none
is as important as establishing evidence for practice.
3. Which of the following is a fundamental belief of those who hold to the constructivist paradigm?
A) A fixed reality exists in nature for humans to understand
B) The nature of reality has changed over time
C) Reality is multiply constructed and multiply interpreted by humans D) Reality cannot be studied
empirically
Ans: C
Page 1
,
, Feedback:
In the constructivist paradigm, it is assumed that reality is not a fixed entity but is rather a
construction of human minds, and thus “truth” is a composite of multiple constructions of reality.
However, constructivists do believe that reality can be studied empirically. Belief in a fixed reality
that exists in nature for humans to understand would be an
example of a positivist belief, not a constructivist one. The constructivist belief does not hold so
much that the nature of reality has changed over time as that it has always been constructed by
human minds.
4. Which of the following is a fundamental belief of those who hold to the positivist paradigm?
A) The researcher is objective and independent of those being studied
B) The researcher cannot interact with those being studied
C) The researcher instructs those being studied to be objective in providing information
D) The distance between the researcher and those being researched is minimized to enhance the
interactive process
Ans: A Feedback:
In the positivist paradigm, it is assumed that there is an objective reality and that natural
phenomena are regular and orderly. In the constructivist paradigm, it is assumed that reality is not
a fixed entity but is rather a construction of human minds, and thus “truth” is a composite of
multiple constructions of reality.
5. Which of the following attributes is least characteristic of the traditional scientific method?
A) Control over external factors
B) Systematic measurement and observation of natural phenomena
C) Testing of hunches deduced from theory or prior research
D) Emphasis on a holistic view of a phenomenon, studied in a rich context
Ans: D Feedback:
Quantitative research (associated with positivism) involves the collection and analysis of numeric
information. Quantitative research is typically conducted within the traditional scientific
method, which is systematic and controlled. Quantitative researchers base their findings on
empirical evidence (evidence collected by way of the human senses) and strive for
generalizability beyond a single setting or situation.
Constructivist researchers emphasize understanding human experience as it is lived
through the collection and analysis of subjective, narrative materials using flexible
procedures; this paradigm is associated with qualitative research.
6. Empiricism refers to which of the following?
A) Making generalizations from specific observations
B) Articulating a study purpose in terms of an appropriate classification system C) Gathering
evidence about real-world phenomena through the senses
Page 2
,
