NURS 435 MIDTERM NEWEST EXAM QUESTIONS
AND 100% CORRECT ANSWERS (A+) GRADE
Which of the following comprise the three primary ethical principles articu- lated by
the Belmont Report? Select all that apply.
a. Beneficence
b. Respect for Human Dignity
c. Anonymity
d. Justice: A,B,D
Reason: The Belmont Report articulated three primary ethical principles on which
standards of ethical research conduct are based: beneficence, respect for human
dignity, and justice. Anonymity is a method used by researchers to protect study
participants' confidentiality by not linking the participants to their data.
Vulnerable groups include which of the following? Select all that apply.
a. Prisoners
b. Pregnant Women
c. Young Adults between 19 and 24 years of age
d. Infants and toddlers: A, B, D
Reason: Vulnerable populations need extra protections, and prisoners, pregnant
women, and children are considered vulnerable populations. Young adults are not
considered a vulnerable population.
The safeguard mechanism by which even the researcher cannot link the participant
with the information provided is called which of the following?
a. Confidentiality
b. Anonymity
c. Informed Consent
d. Right to Privacy: B.
,Reason: Privacy can be maintained through anonymity (wherein not even re-
searchers know participants' identities) or through formal confidentiality procedures
that safeguard the information participants provide. Informed consent procedures
provide prospective participants with information needed to make a reasoned
decision about participation. Right to privacy is protected through confidentiality
procedures.
To protect the right to fair treatment, the researcher who seeks federal grant funding
for research is required to do which of the following?
a. Include minority populations in their research study
b. Disclose the benefits of research to participants
c. Offer participants a stipend for participation in the study
d. Obtain informed consent from participants: A.
Reason: The right to fair treatment is an aspect of justice that requests researchers to
include all groups that may benefit from research. Historically, researchers excluded
women and minority groups, meaning study results were not generalizable to those
groups. Disclosing the benefits of the research to participants protects their right of
full disclosure. Offering participants a stipend for participation in the study is a
possible violation of their right to self-determination. Obtaining informed consent
from participants protects their right to self-determination and their right to full
disclosure.
The nurse researcher protects study participants by which of the following?
a. Performing a risk/benefit assessment to evaluate the cost compared with the
benefit of participation.
b. Keeping painful procedure information from the study participant until the study
is completed.
c. Preventing psychological discomfort during and after the study.
d. Proposing a study that ultimately benefits society despite the risk to the
participants: A.
Reason: The researcher considers risks and the benefits of the study for the client in
order to protect the participants. Informed consent means that participants have
adequate information about the study, comprehend the information, and have the
power of free choice, enabling them to consent to or decline participation voluntarily.
,Keeping painful procedure information from the study participant would violate
informed consent and should not be done. The nurse is not always able to prevent
psychological discomfort during and after the study. Simply because a study may
ultimately benefit society, it does not necessarily follow that this benefit will
outweigh the risks to participants.
In what situation is informed consent not needed?
a. The researcher pays the participants a stipend
b. The risk/benefit ratio is low
c. A Certificate of Confidentiality has been obtained
d. Informed Consent is always needed: D.
Reason: Informed consent procedures, which provide prospective participants with
information needed to make a reasoned decision about participation, normally
involve signing a consent form to document voluntary and informed participation.
Informed consent is needed even when the researcher pays the participants a
stipend or the risk/benefit ratio is low. A Certificate of Confidentiality is a legal
document that researchers may obtain that protects them against the forced
disclosure of confidential information in any civil, criminal, administrative, or
legislative proceeding. However, it does not negate the need to obtain informed
consent from participants of studies.
In both qualitative and quantitative studies, researchers use debriefing to do which
of the following?
a. Allow participants to ask questions and give feedback to the researcher
b. Allow the researcher to assess the participant before they leave the study site
c. Explain to the participant what information they can tell others
d. Describe the purpose of the study and the consent form: A.
Reason: Debriefing is used by researchers at the end of the study session to answer
participants' questions and concerns about the study, especially if the study creates
stress in the participants.
In a qualitative study that involves multiple contacts between the researcher and study
participants, the researcher may negotiate which of the following?
, a. Implied consent
b. Stipend
c. Process consent
d. Risk/benefit ratio: C.
Reason: In qualitative studies, consent may need to be continually renegotiated
with participants as the study evolves, through process consent procedures. Re-
searchers often assume implied consent by the return of a completed questionnaire,
which reflects the person's voluntary consent to participate. A major potential benefit
to participants is direct monetary or material gains through stipends or other incen-
tives; however, these are not typically negotiated during the study but are determined
at the beginning of the study. In a risk/benefit assessment, the potential benefits of
the study to individual participants and to society are weighed against the costs to
individuals.
If a researcher unobtrusively studies interactions among patients in a psy- chiatric
hospital, what might this be called?
a. Research Misconduct
b. Breach of confidentiality
c. Covert data collection
d. Deception: C.
Reason: Covert data collection or concealment is collecting data without partici-
pants' knowledge and thus without their consent. This might happen if a researcher
wanted to observe people's behavior and was concerned that doing so openly
would change the behavior of interest. Ethical conduct in research involves not only
protecting the rights of human and animal subjects, but also efforts to maintain high
standards of integrity and avoid such forms of research misconduct as plagiarism,
fabrication of results, or falsification of data. Another challenge that many
qualitative researchers face is adequately disguising participants in their reports to
avoid a breach of confidentiality. Deception can involve deliberately withholding
information about the study, or providing participants with false information.
Confidentiality of study participants can be most effectively protected by which of
the following?
a. Avoiding the collection of any identifying information
AND 100% CORRECT ANSWERS (A+) GRADE
Which of the following comprise the three primary ethical principles articu- lated by
the Belmont Report? Select all that apply.
a. Beneficence
b. Respect for Human Dignity
c. Anonymity
d. Justice: A,B,D
Reason: The Belmont Report articulated three primary ethical principles on which
standards of ethical research conduct are based: beneficence, respect for human
dignity, and justice. Anonymity is a method used by researchers to protect study
participants' confidentiality by not linking the participants to their data.
Vulnerable groups include which of the following? Select all that apply.
a. Prisoners
b. Pregnant Women
c. Young Adults between 19 and 24 years of age
d. Infants and toddlers: A, B, D
Reason: Vulnerable populations need extra protections, and prisoners, pregnant
women, and children are considered vulnerable populations. Young adults are not
considered a vulnerable population.
The safeguard mechanism by which even the researcher cannot link the participant
with the information provided is called which of the following?
a. Confidentiality
b. Anonymity
c. Informed Consent
d. Right to Privacy: B.
,Reason: Privacy can be maintained through anonymity (wherein not even re-
searchers know participants' identities) or through formal confidentiality procedures
that safeguard the information participants provide. Informed consent procedures
provide prospective participants with information needed to make a reasoned
decision about participation. Right to privacy is protected through confidentiality
procedures.
To protect the right to fair treatment, the researcher who seeks federal grant funding
for research is required to do which of the following?
a. Include minority populations in their research study
b. Disclose the benefits of research to participants
c. Offer participants a stipend for participation in the study
d. Obtain informed consent from participants: A.
Reason: The right to fair treatment is an aspect of justice that requests researchers to
include all groups that may benefit from research. Historically, researchers excluded
women and minority groups, meaning study results were not generalizable to those
groups. Disclosing the benefits of the research to participants protects their right of
full disclosure. Offering participants a stipend for participation in the study is a
possible violation of their right to self-determination. Obtaining informed consent
from participants protects their right to self-determination and their right to full
disclosure.
The nurse researcher protects study participants by which of the following?
a. Performing a risk/benefit assessment to evaluate the cost compared with the
benefit of participation.
b. Keeping painful procedure information from the study participant until the study
is completed.
c. Preventing psychological discomfort during and after the study.
d. Proposing a study that ultimately benefits society despite the risk to the
participants: A.
Reason: The researcher considers risks and the benefits of the study for the client in
order to protect the participants. Informed consent means that participants have
adequate information about the study, comprehend the information, and have the
power of free choice, enabling them to consent to or decline participation voluntarily.
,Keeping painful procedure information from the study participant would violate
informed consent and should not be done. The nurse is not always able to prevent
psychological discomfort during and after the study. Simply because a study may
ultimately benefit society, it does not necessarily follow that this benefit will
outweigh the risks to participants.
In what situation is informed consent not needed?
a. The researcher pays the participants a stipend
b. The risk/benefit ratio is low
c. A Certificate of Confidentiality has been obtained
d. Informed Consent is always needed: D.
Reason: Informed consent procedures, which provide prospective participants with
information needed to make a reasoned decision about participation, normally
involve signing a consent form to document voluntary and informed participation.
Informed consent is needed even when the researcher pays the participants a
stipend or the risk/benefit ratio is low. A Certificate of Confidentiality is a legal
document that researchers may obtain that protects them against the forced
disclosure of confidential information in any civil, criminal, administrative, or
legislative proceeding. However, it does not negate the need to obtain informed
consent from participants of studies.
In both qualitative and quantitative studies, researchers use debriefing to do which
of the following?
a. Allow participants to ask questions and give feedback to the researcher
b. Allow the researcher to assess the participant before they leave the study site
c. Explain to the participant what information they can tell others
d. Describe the purpose of the study and the consent form: A.
Reason: Debriefing is used by researchers at the end of the study session to answer
participants' questions and concerns about the study, especially if the study creates
stress in the participants.
In a qualitative study that involves multiple contacts between the researcher and study
participants, the researcher may negotiate which of the following?
, a. Implied consent
b. Stipend
c. Process consent
d. Risk/benefit ratio: C.
Reason: In qualitative studies, consent may need to be continually renegotiated
with participants as the study evolves, through process consent procedures. Re-
searchers often assume implied consent by the return of a completed questionnaire,
which reflects the person's voluntary consent to participate. A major potential benefit
to participants is direct monetary or material gains through stipends or other incen-
tives; however, these are not typically negotiated during the study but are determined
at the beginning of the study. In a risk/benefit assessment, the potential benefits of
the study to individual participants and to society are weighed against the costs to
individuals.
If a researcher unobtrusively studies interactions among patients in a psy- chiatric
hospital, what might this be called?
a. Research Misconduct
b. Breach of confidentiality
c. Covert data collection
d. Deception: C.
Reason: Covert data collection or concealment is collecting data without partici-
pants' knowledge and thus without their consent. This might happen if a researcher
wanted to observe people's behavior and was concerned that doing so openly
would change the behavior of interest. Ethical conduct in research involves not only
protecting the rights of human and animal subjects, but also efforts to maintain high
standards of integrity and avoid such forms of research misconduct as plagiarism,
fabrication of results, or falsification of data. Another challenge that many
qualitative researchers face is adequately disguising participants in their reports to
avoid a breach of confidentiality. Deception can involve deliberately withholding
information about the study, or providing participants with false information.
Confidentiality of study participants can be most effectively protected by which of
the following?
a. Avoiding the collection of any identifying information
