Evidence in Action | Understanding Nursing Research, 8th Ed.
Evidence in Action
Understanding Nursing Research: Building an Evidence-Based Practice, 8th
Edition
Susan K. Grove & Jennifer R. Gray
Study Guide: 298 Review Questions with Correct Answers
Nursing Research & EBP | Non-Multiple-Choice Format
1. What is the primary purpose of nursing research?
Answer: To generate and refine knowledge that builds an empirical foundation for
evidence-based nursing practice.
2. What is evidence-based practice (EBP) in nursing?
Answer: The conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making
decisions about the care of individual patients.
3. What are the three core components of evidence-based practice?
Answer: Best research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values and preferences.
4. What is the difference between quantitative research and qualitative research?
Answer: Quantitative research involves formal, objective, systematic numerical data
collection; qualitative research involves subjective, narrative data collection to understand
human experiences.
5. What is descriptive quantitative research?
Answer: Research that explores new areas of study and describes situations as they exist
naturally without manipulating variables.
6. What is correlational research?
Answer: Research that examines relationships and associations between two or more
variables without establishing cause and effect.
7. What is quasi-experimental research?
Answer: Research that examines causal relationships and effects between variables but
lacks random assignment or a control group.
Page 1 of 25
, Evidence in Action | Understanding Nursing Research, 8th Ed.
8. What is experimental research?
Answer: Highly controlled research involving random assignment, manipulation of the
independent variable, and a control group to establish causality.
9. What is phenomenological research?
Answer: A qualitative research method focused on describing the lived experiences of
individuals.
10. What is grounded theory research?
Answer: A qualitative approach used to inductively generate a theory describing a social
process.
11. What is ethnographic research?
Answer: A qualitative method that investigates the cultural characteristics of a group of
people.
12. What is historical research?
Answer: Research that examines past events and trends to understand present practices and
anticipate future directions.
13. What is a research problem?
Answer: An area of concern or gap in knowledge where understanding is needed for nursing
practice.
14. What is a research purpose?
Answer: A concise statement expressing the overall goal or aim of a research study.
15. What is a research hypothesis?
Answer: A formal tentative statement predicting the relationship between two or more
variables.
16. What is a directional hypothesis?
Answer: A hypothesis that specifies the expected direction (positive or negative) of the
relationship between variables.
17. What is a non-directional hypothesis?
Answer: A hypothesis that predicts a relationship exists between variables but does not
specify the exact direction.
18. What is a null hypothesis (H₀)?
Answer: A hypothesis stating that there is no relationship or difference between variables.
19. What is an independent variable?
Answer: The presumed cause or intervention that is manipulated or studied to determine its
effect on the dependent variable.
Page 2 of 25
, Evidence in Action | Understanding Nursing Research, 8th Ed.
20. What is a dependent variable?
Answer: The outcome or response variable that the researcher wishes to predict or explain.
21. What are extraneous variables?
Answer: Variables that interfere with or confound the findings of a study if not controlled.
22. What is operationalization?
Answer: Defining a variable so that it can be measured or manipulated in a research study.
23. What is a literature review?
Answer: A systematic summary and critical evaluation of past research publications
relevant to a current research question.
24. What is a primary source in a literature review?
Answer: An account of a research study written by the original researcher who conducted it.
25. What is a secondary source?
Answer: A summary, review, or critique of a research study written by someone other than
the original author.
26. What is peer review?
Answer: The process where academic experts evaluate a research manuscript for
methodological rigor before publication.
27. What is a theoretical framework?
Answer: A structure of concepts and theories that provides a map for understanding
relationships within a study.
28. What is a conceptual model?
Answer: A set of abstract and general concepts integrated to explain a phenomenon of
interest.
29. What is quantitative data analysis?
Answer: The statistical examination of numerical data to answer research questions or test
hypotheses.
30. What is qualitative data analysis?
Answer: The thematic coding and interpretation of narrative text to identify patterns and
meanings.
31. What is research design?
Answer: The overall blueprint or strategy chosen by the researcher to conduct a study and
answer research questions.
32. What is causality in research?
Answer: The determination that an independent variable directly produces a change in a
dependent variable.
Page 3 of 25
Evidence in Action
Understanding Nursing Research: Building an Evidence-Based Practice, 8th
Edition
Susan K. Grove & Jennifer R. Gray
Study Guide: 298 Review Questions with Correct Answers
Nursing Research & EBP | Non-Multiple-Choice Format
1. What is the primary purpose of nursing research?
Answer: To generate and refine knowledge that builds an empirical foundation for
evidence-based nursing practice.
2. What is evidence-based practice (EBP) in nursing?
Answer: The conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making
decisions about the care of individual patients.
3. What are the three core components of evidence-based practice?
Answer: Best research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values and preferences.
4. What is the difference between quantitative research and qualitative research?
Answer: Quantitative research involves formal, objective, systematic numerical data
collection; qualitative research involves subjective, narrative data collection to understand
human experiences.
5. What is descriptive quantitative research?
Answer: Research that explores new areas of study and describes situations as they exist
naturally without manipulating variables.
6. What is correlational research?
Answer: Research that examines relationships and associations between two or more
variables without establishing cause and effect.
7. What is quasi-experimental research?
Answer: Research that examines causal relationships and effects between variables but
lacks random assignment or a control group.
Page 1 of 25
, Evidence in Action | Understanding Nursing Research, 8th Ed.
8. What is experimental research?
Answer: Highly controlled research involving random assignment, manipulation of the
independent variable, and a control group to establish causality.
9. What is phenomenological research?
Answer: A qualitative research method focused on describing the lived experiences of
individuals.
10. What is grounded theory research?
Answer: A qualitative approach used to inductively generate a theory describing a social
process.
11. What is ethnographic research?
Answer: A qualitative method that investigates the cultural characteristics of a group of
people.
12. What is historical research?
Answer: Research that examines past events and trends to understand present practices and
anticipate future directions.
13. What is a research problem?
Answer: An area of concern or gap in knowledge where understanding is needed for nursing
practice.
14. What is a research purpose?
Answer: A concise statement expressing the overall goal or aim of a research study.
15. What is a research hypothesis?
Answer: A formal tentative statement predicting the relationship between two or more
variables.
16. What is a directional hypothesis?
Answer: A hypothesis that specifies the expected direction (positive or negative) of the
relationship between variables.
17. What is a non-directional hypothesis?
Answer: A hypothesis that predicts a relationship exists between variables but does not
specify the exact direction.
18. What is a null hypothesis (H₀)?
Answer: A hypothesis stating that there is no relationship or difference between variables.
19. What is an independent variable?
Answer: The presumed cause or intervention that is manipulated or studied to determine its
effect on the dependent variable.
Page 2 of 25
, Evidence in Action | Understanding Nursing Research, 8th Ed.
20. What is a dependent variable?
Answer: The outcome or response variable that the researcher wishes to predict or explain.
21. What are extraneous variables?
Answer: Variables that interfere with or confound the findings of a study if not controlled.
22. What is operationalization?
Answer: Defining a variable so that it can be measured or manipulated in a research study.
23. What is a literature review?
Answer: A systematic summary and critical evaluation of past research publications
relevant to a current research question.
24. What is a primary source in a literature review?
Answer: An account of a research study written by the original researcher who conducted it.
25. What is a secondary source?
Answer: A summary, review, or critique of a research study written by someone other than
the original author.
26. What is peer review?
Answer: The process where academic experts evaluate a research manuscript for
methodological rigor before publication.
27. What is a theoretical framework?
Answer: A structure of concepts and theories that provides a map for understanding
relationships within a study.
28. What is a conceptual model?
Answer: A set of abstract and general concepts integrated to explain a phenomenon of
interest.
29. What is quantitative data analysis?
Answer: The statistical examination of numerical data to answer research questions or test
hypotheses.
30. What is qualitative data analysis?
Answer: The thematic coding and interpretation of narrative text to identify patterns and
meanings.
31. What is research design?
Answer: The overall blueprint or strategy chosen by the researcher to conduct a study and
answer research questions.
32. What is causality in research?
Answer: The determination that an independent variable directly produces a change in a
dependent variable.
Page 3 of 25
