N580 Midterm questions and answers
2026\2027 A+ Grade
nurses on the cutting edge
- correct answer promote improvement in patient outcomes
accomplish this through: research, EBP, and QI
nurses achieve personal growth through and expand clinical decision-making skills through...
- correct answer development of clinical questions
literature reviews
evaluation of evidence in literature
application of "best available evidence" in your practice
nurses as knowledgable consumers
- correct answer nurses must be knowledgable consumers of research who can evaluate the strengths
and weaknesses of research evidence and use existing standards to determine the merit and readiness
of research for use in clinical practice
to use research for an EBP and to practice using the highest quality processes, you do not have to
conduct research; however, you do need to understand and appraise the steps of the research process
in order to read the research literature critically and use it to inform clinical decisions
research definition
- correct answer a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation,
designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge
quantitative and qualitative research
studies are guided by research questions
nurses employ the same methods used by other disciplines yet study questions are relevant to nursing
practice
,quantitative vs. qualititative research
- correct answer quantitative: encompasses the study of research questions and/or hypotheses that
describe phenomena, test relationships, assess differences, seek to explain cause-and-effect
relationships between variables, and test for intervention effectiveness--numeric data are summarized
and analyzed using statistics--techniques are systematic and methodology is controlled
qualititative: question is about understanding the meaning of a human experience such as grief, hope,
or loss--meaning of an experience is based on the view that meaning varies and is subjective--context of
experience also plays a role--generally conducted in natural settings and uses data that are words or text
rather than numeric to describe the experiences being studied--guided by research questions and data
are collected from a small number of subjects, allowing an in-depth study of a phenomenon--subjective
approach but systematic in its method
QI definition
- correct answer systematic use of data to monitor the outcomes of care processes and improvement
methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of health care
systems
uses currently available knowledge to improve health care delivery within the local setting
QI elements
- correct answer 1. conducting an assessment
2. setting specific goals for improvement
3. identifying ideas for changing current practice
4. deciding how improvements in care are measured
5. rapidly testing practice changes
6. measuring improvements in care
7. adopting practice change as new standard of care
want to create measurable change across quality domains through application of these 7 steps, often
through the plan, do, study, act model
research vs. QI
- correct answer research studies generate new knowledge that is generalizable to other populations
and settings
QI projects use currently available knowledge to improve health care delivery within the local setting
IRB should have a written policy and template for determining the difference between humans subjects
research and QI
,research and EBP
- correct answer best research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values all come together in EBP
(see Venn diagram)
EBP allows one to systematically use the best available evidence from research with the integration of
individual clinical expertise as well as the patient's values and preferences to make clinical decisions
developing EBP expertise
- correct answer conduct effective literature reviews
develop critical reading skill process
1. preliminary: skimming article abstracts, title
2. comprehensive: understanding the purpose of the study
3. analysis: examining the study components
4. synthesis: assessing the study's validity
levels of evidence
- correct answer see pyramid
Level I: systematic review or meta-analysis of RCTs, evidence-based clinical practice guidelines based on
systematic reviews
Level II: well-designed RCT
Level III: controlled trial without randomization (quasi-experimental study)
Level IV: nonexperimental study (case-control, cohort studies)
Level V: systematic reviews of descriptive and qualitative studies (metasynthesis)
Level VI: qualitative studies or descriptive studies
Level VII: opinion of experts and authorities, expert committee reports or organizations, not based on
research
EBP steps
- correct answer ask
gather evidence
assess, appraise, synthesize literature
act
, evaluate
research article format
- correct answer abstract
intro or background section: literature review, theoretical framework, hypothesis and/or research
question, purpose statement
methods: research design, sampling, instruments, data collection, data analysis plan
results
discussion (ties everything together): recommendations and implications
references
research journal article
- correct answer qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods
systematic review
- correct answer summation and assessment of group of studies that test a similar research question
meta-analysis
- correct answer summary of a number of studies focused on one question or topic, and uses a specific
statistical methodology to synthesize the findings in order to draw conclusions about the area of focus--
systematic review that uses statistical techniques to summarize and assess studies
integrative review
- correct answer focused review and synthesis of research or theoretical literature in a particular focus
area, and includes specific steps of literature integration and synthesis without statistical analysis; can
include both quantitative and qualitative articles (sometimes used interchangeably with systematic
review)
meta-synthesis/meta-summary
- correct answer synthesis of a number of qualitative research studies on a focused topic using specific
qualitative methodology
clinical guidelines
- correct answer evidence-based guidelines are those developed using research findings
2026\2027 A+ Grade
nurses on the cutting edge
- correct answer promote improvement in patient outcomes
accomplish this through: research, EBP, and QI
nurses achieve personal growth through and expand clinical decision-making skills through...
- correct answer development of clinical questions
literature reviews
evaluation of evidence in literature
application of "best available evidence" in your practice
nurses as knowledgable consumers
- correct answer nurses must be knowledgable consumers of research who can evaluate the strengths
and weaknesses of research evidence and use existing standards to determine the merit and readiness
of research for use in clinical practice
to use research for an EBP and to practice using the highest quality processes, you do not have to
conduct research; however, you do need to understand and appraise the steps of the research process
in order to read the research literature critically and use it to inform clinical decisions
research definition
- correct answer a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation,
designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge
quantitative and qualitative research
studies are guided by research questions
nurses employ the same methods used by other disciplines yet study questions are relevant to nursing
practice
,quantitative vs. qualititative research
- correct answer quantitative: encompasses the study of research questions and/or hypotheses that
describe phenomena, test relationships, assess differences, seek to explain cause-and-effect
relationships between variables, and test for intervention effectiveness--numeric data are summarized
and analyzed using statistics--techniques are systematic and methodology is controlled
qualititative: question is about understanding the meaning of a human experience such as grief, hope,
or loss--meaning of an experience is based on the view that meaning varies and is subjective--context of
experience also plays a role--generally conducted in natural settings and uses data that are words or text
rather than numeric to describe the experiences being studied--guided by research questions and data
are collected from a small number of subjects, allowing an in-depth study of a phenomenon--subjective
approach but systematic in its method
QI definition
- correct answer systematic use of data to monitor the outcomes of care processes and improvement
methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of health care
systems
uses currently available knowledge to improve health care delivery within the local setting
QI elements
- correct answer 1. conducting an assessment
2. setting specific goals for improvement
3. identifying ideas for changing current practice
4. deciding how improvements in care are measured
5. rapidly testing practice changes
6. measuring improvements in care
7. adopting practice change as new standard of care
want to create measurable change across quality domains through application of these 7 steps, often
through the plan, do, study, act model
research vs. QI
- correct answer research studies generate new knowledge that is generalizable to other populations
and settings
QI projects use currently available knowledge to improve health care delivery within the local setting
IRB should have a written policy and template for determining the difference between humans subjects
research and QI
,research and EBP
- correct answer best research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values all come together in EBP
(see Venn diagram)
EBP allows one to systematically use the best available evidence from research with the integration of
individual clinical expertise as well as the patient's values and preferences to make clinical decisions
developing EBP expertise
- correct answer conduct effective literature reviews
develop critical reading skill process
1. preliminary: skimming article abstracts, title
2. comprehensive: understanding the purpose of the study
3. analysis: examining the study components
4. synthesis: assessing the study's validity
levels of evidence
- correct answer see pyramid
Level I: systematic review or meta-analysis of RCTs, evidence-based clinical practice guidelines based on
systematic reviews
Level II: well-designed RCT
Level III: controlled trial without randomization (quasi-experimental study)
Level IV: nonexperimental study (case-control, cohort studies)
Level V: systematic reviews of descriptive and qualitative studies (metasynthesis)
Level VI: qualitative studies or descriptive studies
Level VII: opinion of experts and authorities, expert committee reports or organizations, not based on
research
EBP steps
- correct answer ask
gather evidence
assess, appraise, synthesize literature
act
, evaluate
research article format
- correct answer abstract
intro or background section: literature review, theoretical framework, hypothesis and/or research
question, purpose statement
methods: research design, sampling, instruments, data collection, data analysis plan
results
discussion (ties everything together): recommendations and implications
references
research journal article
- correct answer qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods
systematic review
- correct answer summation and assessment of group of studies that test a similar research question
meta-analysis
- correct answer summary of a number of studies focused on one question or topic, and uses a specific
statistical methodology to synthesize the findings in order to draw conclusions about the area of focus--
systematic review that uses statistical techniques to summarize and assess studies
integrative review
- correct answer focused review and synthesis of research or theoretical literature in a particular focus
area, and includes specific steps of literature integration and synthesis without statistical analysis; can
include both quantitative and qualitative articles (sometimes used interchangeably with systematic
review)
meta-synthesis/meta-summary
- correct answer synthesis of a number of qualitative research studies on a focused topic using specific
qualitative methodology
clinical guidelines
- correct answer evidence-based guidelines are those developed using research findings
