TEST BANK
ESSENTIALS OF NURSING RESEARCH:
APPRAISING EVIDENCE FOR NURSING
PRACTICE 9TH EDITION BY DENISE POLIT,
CHERYL BECK
TEST BANK
,Test Bank For Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for
Nursing Practice 9th Edition by Polit, Beck
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
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
Page 1
,empirically.
Belief in a fixed reality that exists in nature for humans to understand would be an
Page 2
, 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
D) Verifying the assumptions on which the study was
based Ans: C
Page 3
, Feedback:
Empiricism is gathering and analyzing evidence through their senses. Quantitative
research 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 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.
7. Which of the following is a hallmark of the scientific method?
A) Rigorous
B) Holistic
C) Systematic
D) Flexible
Ans: C
Feedback:
Quantitative research is typically conducted within the traditional scientific method,
which is systematic and controlled. Quantitative researchers base their findings on
empirical evidence 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.
8. Which of the following limits the capacity of the scientific method to answer
questions about humans?
A) The necessity of departing from traditional beliefs
B) The difficulty of accurately measuring complex human traits
C) The lack of funding for research
D) The shortage of theories about human behavior
Ans: B
Feedback:
Nursing research focuses on human beings, who are inherently complicated and diverse.
The traditional scientific method typically focuses on a relatively small aspect of human
experiences in a single study. Complexities tend to be controlled and, if possible,
eliminated rather than studied directly, and this narrowness of focus can sometimes
obscure insights.
9. The classic scientific method has its intellectual roots in which of the following?
A) Positivism
B) Determinism
C) Constructivism
D) Empiricism
Ans: A
Page 4
, Feedback:
In the positivist paradigm, it is assumed that there is an objective reality and that natural
phenomena are regular and orderly. The related assumption of determinism refers to the
belief that phenomena result from prior causes and are not haphazard. 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. Although the word empiricism has come to be allied with the classic
scientific method, researchers in both traditions gather and analyze evidence
empirically, that is, through their senses.
10. Constructivist qualitative research typically does which of the following?
A) Involves deductive processes
B) Attempts to control the research context to better understand the
phenomenon being studied
C) Involves gathering narrative, subjective materials
D) Focuses on numeric information
Ans: C
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. In the positivist paradigm, it is assumed that there is an
objective reality and that natural phenomena are regular and orderly. 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. The other answers are truer of
positivist, quantitative research.
11. Quantitative and qualitative research share which of the following features? Select all
that apply.
A) A desire to understand the true state of human affairs
B) An emphasis on formal measurement
C) A reliance on external evidence collected through the senses
D) Utility to the nursing profession
Ans: A, C, D
Feedback:
Both quantitative and qualitative research share a desire to understand the true state of
human affairs, a reliance on external evidence collected through the senses, and utility
to the nursing profession. However, quantitative, not qualitative, research emphasizes
formal measurement.
12. Which of the following is a descriptive question that a qualitative researcher most
likely would ask?
A) What is the nature of this phenomenon?
B) What is the average intensity of this phenomenon?
C) How frequently does this phenomenon occur?
D) What is the average duration of this phenomenon?
Ans: A
Page 5
, Feedback:
Description of phenomena is an important purpose of research. In descriptive studies,
researchers count, delineate, and classify. Nurse researchers have described a wide
variety of phenomena, such as patients' stress, health beliefs, and so on. Quantitative
description focuses on the prevalence, size, and measurable aspects of phenomena.
Qualitative researchers describe the nature, dimensions, and salience of phenomena
13. A researcher wants to investigate the effect of patients' body position on blood
pressure. The study would most likely be of which type?
A) Qualitative
B) Quantitative
C) Either quantitative or qualitative (researcher preference)
D) Insufficient information to determine
Ans: B
Feedback:
Because this study would involve a measurable, numeric outcome, blood pressure, it
should most likely be a quantitative study.
14. A researcher wants to explore the process by which men make decisions about
treatment for prostate cancer. The researcher's paradigm is most likely which of the
following?
A) Positivism
B) Determinism
C) Empiricism
D) Constructivism
Ans: D
Feedback:
As this study involves gathering subjective, non-measurable data, the researcher's
paradigm is most likely constructivism. Positivism is not likely, as there is no emphasis
on an objective, orderly reality. Determinism, which refers to the belief that phenomena
result from prior causes and are not haphazard, is not pertinent here. Although the
research will involve empiricism, or gathering information using the senses, this is not
the primary paradigm.
15. Which of the following would be most strongly associated with cause-probing research?
A) Identification
B) Description
C) Exploration
D) Explanation
Ans: D
Page 6
, Feedback:
A fundamental distinction that is especially relevant in quantitative research is between
studies whose primary intent is to describe phenomena and those that are cause-probing.
Specific purposes on the description/explanation continuum include identification,
description, exploration, prediction/control and explanation. Many nursing studies can
also be classified in terms of a key EBP aim: therapy/treatment/intervention; diagnosis
and assessment; prognosis; etiology and harm; and meaning and process.
16. Nursing has experienced constant change over the past decades as a result of
increased research. When determining best practices, nursing decisions should do
which of the following? Select all that apply.
A) Be based on tradition
B) Include holistic approaches
C) Be clinically appropriate
D) Be cost effective
Ans: C, D
Feedback:
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. Holistic treatments may be appropriate in some, but not all,
circumstances. Tradition alone is an inadequate basis for practice.
17. Evidenced-based nursing primarily uses which of the following to answer
clinical questions?
A) Consulting an authority
B) Using intuition
C) Obtaining the newest research
D) Relying on experience
Ans: C
Feedback:
Nurses are increasingly expected to understand and undertake research, and to base their
practice on evidence from research, that is, to adopt an evidence-based practice (EBP).
EBP, broadly defined, is the use of the best evidence in making patient care decisions.
Experience, intuition, and authority are not wholly ignored in the EBP process, but
research is a priority.
18. The major difference between quantitative and qualitative research is that
qualitative research seeks to find answers based on which of the following?
A) Solid factual data
B) Experiences or descriptions
C) Etiology
D) Systematic process
Ans: B
Page 7
, Feedback:
Human experiences, and people's descriptions and interpretations of these experiences,
are the main focus of qualitative research. Systematic process, etiology, and factual data
are more closely aligned with the quantitative tradition.
19. Which of the following research focuses is qualitative?
A) Weekend and night outcomes of patients admitted to a specific hospital
system's trauma departments
B) Trends in hospitalizations of patients with antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis
C) Predicting risks for serious complications with abdominal surgery
D) Needs of nursing students living with chronic illness
Ans: D
Feedback:
Constructivist studies are heavily focused on understanding the human experience as it
is lived, through the careful collection and analysis of qualitative materials that are
narrative and subjective. Human needs, and individuals' perceptions of those needs, are
a common focus of qualitative research. Outcomes, risk factors, and treatment
modalities are often addressed with quantitative research.
20. When little is known about a phenomenon or the phenomenon is not clearly
identified, the best type of research suited to uncover this is which of the following?
A) Exploration
B) Description
C) Identification
D) Prediction
Ans: C
Feedback:
Qualitative researchers sometimes study phenomena about which little is known. In
some cases, so little is known that the phenomenon has yet to be clearly identified or
named or has been inadequately defined. Identification is thus necessary. Exploration
(which addresses causation), predication, and description would likely be subsequent
efforts.
21. Consumers of research do which of the following?
A) Design studies
B) Undertake studies
C) Produce research
D) Read research
Ans: D
Page 8
ESSENTIALS OF NURSING RESEARCH:
APPRAISING EVIDENCE FOR NURSING
PRACTICE 9TH EDITION BY DENISE POLIT,
CHERYL BECK
TEST BANK
,Test Bank For Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for
Nursing Practice 9th Edition by Polit, Beck
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
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
Page 1
,empirically.
Belief in a fixed reality that exists in nature for humans to understand would be an
Page 2
, 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
D) Verifying the assumptions on which the study was
based Ans: C
Page 3
, Feedback:
Empiricism is gathering and analyzing evidence through their senses. Quantitative
research 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 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.
7. Which of the following is a hallmark of the scientific method?
A) Rigorous
B) Holistic
C) Systematic
D) Flexible
Ans: C
Feedback:
Quantitative research is typically conducted within the traditional scientific method,
which is systematic and controlled. Quantitative researchers base their findings on
empirical evidence 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.
8. Which of the following limits the capacity of the scientific method to answer
questions about humans?
A) The necessity of departing from traditional beliefs
B) The difficulty of accurately measuring complex human traits
C) The lack of funding for research
D) The shortage of theories about human behavior
Ans: B
Feedback:
Nursing research focuses on human beings, who are inherently complicated and diverse.
The traditional scientific method typically focuses on a relatively small aspect of human
experiences in a single study. Complexities tend to be controlled and, if possible,
eliminated rather than studied directly, and this narrowness of focus can sometimes
obscure insights.
9. The classic scientific method has its intellectual roots in which of the following?
A) Positivism
B) Determinism
C) Constructivism
D) Empiricism
Ans: A
Page 4
, Feedback:
In the positivist paradigm, it is assumed that there is an objective reality and that natural
phenomena are regular and orderly. The related assumption of determinism refers to the
belief that phenomena result from prior causes and are not haphazard. 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. Although the word empiricism has come to be allied with the classic
scientific method, researchers in both traditions gather and analyze evidence
empirically, that is, through their senses.
10. Constructivist qualitative research typically does which of the following?
A) Involves deductive processes
B) Attempts to control the research context to better understand the
phenomenon being studied
C) Involves gathering narrative, subjective materials
D) Focuses on numeric information
Ans: C
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. In the positivist paradigm, it is assumed that there is an
objective reality and that natural phenomena are regular and orderly. 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. The other answers are truer of
positivist, quantitative research.
11. Quantitative and qualitative research share which of the following features? Select all
that apply.
A) A desire to understand the true state of human affairs
B) An emphasis on formal measurement
C) A reliance on external evidence collected through the senses
D) Utility to the nursing profession
Ans: A, C, D
Feedback:
Both quantitative and qualitative research share a desire to understand the true state of
human affairs, a reliance on external evidence collected through the senses, and utility
to the nursing profession. However, quantitative, not qualitative, research emphasizes
formal measurement.
12. Which of the following is a descriptive question that a qualitative researcher most
likely would ask?
A) What is the nature of this phenomenon?
B) What is the average intensity of this phenomenon?
C) How frequently does this phenomenon occur?
D) What is the average duration of this phenomenon?
Ans: A
Page 5
, Feedback:
Description of phenomena is an important purpose of research. In descriptive studies,
researchers count, delineate, and classify. Nurse researchers have described a wide
variety of phenomena, such as patients' stress, health beliefs, and so on. Quantitative
description focuses on the prevalence, size, and measurable aspects of phenomena.
Qualitative researchers describe the nature, dimensions, and salience of phenomena
13. A researcher wants to investigate the effect of patients' body position on blood
pressure. The study would most likely be of which type?
A) Qualitative
B) Quantitative
C) Either quantitative or qualitative (researcher preference)
D) Insufficient information to determine
Ans: B
Feedback:
Because this study would involve a measurable, numeric outcome, blood pressure, it
should most likely be a quantitative study.
14. A researcher wants to explore the process by which men make decisions about
treatment for prostate cancer. The researcher's paradigm is most likely which of the
following?
A) Positivism
B) Determinism
C) Empiricism
D) Constructivism
Ans: D
Feedback:
As this study involves gathering subjective, non-measurable data, the researcher's
paradigm is most likely constructivism. Positivism is not likely, as there is no emphasis
on an objective, orderly reality. Determinism, which refers to the belief that phenomena
result from prior causes and are not haphazard, is not pertinent here. Although the
research will involve empiricism, or gathering information using the senses, this is not
the primary paradigm.
15. Which of the following would be most strongly associated with cause-probing research?
A) Identification
B) Description
C) Exploration
D) Explanation
Ans: D
Page 6
, Feedback:
A fundamental distinction that is especially relevant in quantitative research is between
studies whose primary intent is to describe phenomena and those that are cause-probing.
Specific purposes on the description/explanation continuum include identification,
description, exploration, prediction/control and explanation. Many nursing studies can
also be classified in terms of a key EBP aim: therapy/treatment/intervention; diagnosis
and assessment; prognosis; etiology and harm; and meaning and process.
16. Nursing has experienced constant change over the past decades as a result of
increased research. When determining best practices, nursing decisions should do
which of the following? Select all that apply.
A) Be based on tradition
B) Include holistic approaches
C) Be clinically appropriate
D) Be cost effective
Ans: C, D
Feedback:
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. Holistic treatments may be appropriate in some, but not all,
circumstances. Tradition alone is an inadequate basis for practice.
17. Evidenced-based nursing primarily uses which of the following to answer
clinical questions?
A) Consulting an authority
B) Using intuition
C) Obtaining the newest research
D) Relying on experience
Ans: C
Feedback:
Nurses are increasingly expected to understand and undertake research, and to base their
practice on evidence from research, that is, to adopt an evidence-based practice (EBP).
EBP, broadly defined, is the use of the best evidence in making patient care decisions.
Experience, intuition, and authority are not wholly ignored in the EBP process, but
research is a priority.
18. The major difference between quantitative and qualitative research is that
qualitative research seeks to find answers based on which of the following?
A) Solid factual data
B) Experiences or descriptions
C) Etiology
D) Systematic process
Ans: B
Page 7
, Feedback:
Human experiences, and people's descriptions and interpretations of these experiences,
are the main focus of qualitative research. Systematic process, etiology, and factual data
are more closely aligned with the quantitative tradition.
19. Which of the following research focuses is qualitative?
A) Weekend and night outcomes of patients admitted to a specific hospital
system's trauma departments
B) Trends in hospitalizations of patients with antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis
C) Predicting risks for serious complications with abdominal surgery
D) Needs of nursing students living with chronic illness
Ans: D
Feedback:
Constructivist studies are heavily focused on understanding the human experience as it
is lived, through the careful collection and analysis of qualitative materials that are
narrative and subjective. Human needs, and individuals' perceptions of those needs, are
a common focus of qualitative research. Outcomes, risk factors, and treatment
modalities are often addressed with quantitative research.
20. When little is known about a phenomenon or the phenomenon is not clearly
identified, the best type of research suited to uncover this is which of the following?
A) Exploration
B) Description
C) Identification
D) Prediction
Ans: C
Feedback:
Qualitative researchers sometimes study phenomena about which little is known. In
some cases, so little is known that the phenomenon has yet to be clearly identified or
named or has been inadequately defined. Identification is thus necessary. Exploration
(which addresses causation), predication, and description would likely be subsequent
efforts.
21. Consumers of research do which of the following?
A) Design studies
B) Undertake studies
C) Produce research
D) Read research
Ans: D
Page 8
