Nursing Research Methods Exam
Questions And Correct Answers
(Verified Answers) Plus Rationales
2026 Q&A | Instant Download Pdf
1. Which research approach is primarily used to explore meanings,
experiences, and perceptions?
A. Experimental research
B. Qualitative research
C. Correlational research
D. Quasi-experimental research
Answer: B. Qualitative research
Rationale: Qualitative research explores human experiences,
meanings, perceptions, and social processes in depth, usually through
interviews, observations, focus groups, or textual data.
2. Which characteristic best describes quantitative research?
A. It focuses primarily on subjective experiences.
B. It avoids numerical measurements.
C. It uses numerical data to examine relationships or
differences.
D. It relies exclusively on participant narratives.
Answer: C. It uses numerical data to examine relationships or
differences.
Rationale: Quantitative research uses measurable variables and
numerical data to describe phenomena, test hypotheses, and evaluate
relationships or differences statistically.
, 3. What is the primary purpose of nursing research?
A. To replace clinical judgment
B. To eliminate the need for nursing education
C. To generate evidence that improves nursing practice and
patient outcomes
D. To increase the number of nursing procedures
Answer: C. To generate evidence that improves nursing practice and
patient outcomes
Rationale: Nursing research generates and evaluates evidence that can
improve patient care, nursing interventions, healthcare systems,
education, and professional practice.
4. Which research design provides the strongest evidence for
determining whether an intervention causes an outcome?
A. Descriptive
B. Correlational
C. Cross-sectional
D. Randomized controlled trial
Answer: D. Randomized controlled trial
Rationale: Randomized controlled trials use random assignment and
comparison groups to reduce bias and confounding, making them
particularly strong designs for evaluating causal effects.
5. What is a research problem?
A. A statistical calculation
B. A statement identifying an area of concern or knowledge
gap requiring investigation
C. A research participant
D. A data collection instrument
,Answer: B. A statement identifying an area of concern or knowledge
gap requiring investigation
Rationale: A research problem identifies what is unknown,
problematic, or insufficiently understood and provides the foundation
for developing the research question and study design.
6. Which source is generally most useful for identifying gaps in
current nursing knowledge?
A. Fictional literature
B. Peer-reviewed research literature
C. Personal opinions
D. Advertising materials
Answer: B. Peer-reviewed research literature
Rationale: Peer-reviewed literature contains scholarly research that
has undergone evaluation by experts and can help researchers identify
established findings, controversies, limitations, and knowledge gaps.
7. What is the purpose of a literature review?
A. To guarantee that a hypothesis is correct
B. To replace data collection
C. To synthesize existing knowledge relevant to a research
problem
D. To eliminate the need for research ethics
Answer: C. To synthesize existing knowledge relevant to a research
problem
Rationale: A literature review examines and synthesizes existing
evidence to establish what is known, identify gaps, clarify concepts,
and provide justification for the proposed study.
, 8. Which type of literature source typically receives the greatest
scrutiny from scholarly reviewers?
A. Newspaper advertisements
B. Personal blogs
C. Peer-reviewed journal articles
D. Commercial brochures
Answer: C. Peer-reviewed journal articles
Rationale: Peer-reviewed journal articles are evaluated by subject-
matter experts before publication, increasing confidence in their
scholarly quality and methodological rigor.
9. What is a hypothesis?
A. A final research conclusion
B. A participant characteristic
C. A testable prediction about the relationship between
variables
D. A literature database
Answer: C. A testable prediction about the relationship between
variables
Rationale: A hypothesis predicts an expected relationship or difference
between variables and can be tested using appropriate research
methods and statistical procedures.
10. Which hypothesis predicts that no relationship or difference
exists?
A. Directional hypothesis
B. Research hypothesis
C. Associative hypothesis
D. Null hypothesis
Questions And Correct Answers
(Verified Answers) Plus Rationales
2026 Q&A | Instant Download Pdf
1. Which research approach is primarily used to explore meanings,
experiences, and perceptions?
A. Experimental research
B. Qualitative research
C. Correlational research
D. Quasi-experimental research
Answer: B. Qualitative research
Rationale: Qualitative research explores human experiences,
meanings, perceptions, and social processes in depth, usually through
interviews, observations, focus groups, or textual data.
2. Which characteristic best describes quantitative research?
A. It focuses primarily on subjective experiences.
B. It avoids numerical measurements.
C. It uses numerical data to examine relationships or
differences.
D. It relies exclusively on participant narratives.
Answer: C. It uses numerical data to examine relationships or
differences.
Rationale: Quantitative research uses measurable variables and
numerical data to describe phenomena, test hypotheses, and evaluate
relationships or differences statistically.
, 3. What is the primary purpose of nursing research?
A. To replace clinical judgment
B. To eliminate the need for nursing education
C. To generate evidence that improves nursing practice and
patient outcomes
D. To increase the number of nursing procedures
Answer: C. To generate evidence that improves nursing practice and
patient outcomes
Rationale: Nursing research generates and evaluates evidence that can
improve patient care, nursing interventions, healthcare systems,
education, and professional practice.
4. Which research design provides the strongest evidence for
determining whether an intervention causes an outcome?
A. Descriptive
B. Correlational
C. Cross-sectional
D. Randomized controlled trial
Answer: D. Randomized controlled trial
Rationale: Randomized controlled trials use random assignment and
comparison groups to reduce bias and confounding, making them
particularly strong designs for evaluating causal effects.
5. What is a research problem?
A. A statistical calculation
B. A statement identifying an area of concern or knowledge
gap requiring investigation
C. A research participant
D. A data collection instrument
,Answer: B. A statement identifying an area of concern or knowledge
gap requiring investigation
Rationale: A research problem identifies what is unknown,
problematic, or insufficiently understood and provides the foundation
for developing the research question and study design.
6. Which source is generally most useful for identifying gaps in
current nursing knowledge?
A. Fictional literature
B. Peer-reviewed research literature
C. Personal opinions
D. Advertising materials
Answer: B. Peer-reviewed research literature
Rationale: Peer-reviewed literature contains scholarly research that
has undergone evaluation by experts and can help researchers identify
established findings, controversies, limitations, and knowledge gaps.
7. What is the purpose of a literature review?
A. To guarantee that a hypothesis is correct
B. To replace data collection
C. To synthesize existing knowledge relevant to a research
problem
D. To eliminate the need for research ethics
Answer: C. To synthesize existing knowledge relevant to a research
problem
Rationale: A literature review examines and synthesizes existing
evidence to establish what is known, identify gaps, clarify concepts,
and provide justification for the proposed study.
, 8. Which type of literature source typically receives the greatest
scrutiny from scholarly reviewers?
A. Newspaper advertisements
B. Personal blogs
C. Peer-reviewed journal articles
D. Commercial brochures
Answer: C. Peer-reviewed journal articles
Rationale: Peer-reviewed journal articles are evaluated by subject-
matter experts before publication, increasing confidence in their
scholarly quality and methodological rigor.
9. What is a hypothesis?
A. A final research conclusion
B. A participant characteristic
C. A testable prediction about the relationship between
variables
D. A literature database
Answer: C. A testable prediction about the relationship between
variables
Rationale: A hypothesis predicts an expected relationship or difference
between variables and can be tested using appropriate research
methods and statistical procedures.
10. Which hypothesis predicts that no relationship or difference
exists?
A. Directional hypothesis
B. Research hypothesis
C. Associative hypothesis
D. Null hypothesis
