Graduate Seminar in Nursing Research Exam Preparation Guide
Course Introduction
This course provides an advanced, in-depth exploration of contemporary issues, methodologies, and trends in nursing research. Through critical analysis of current literature, presentations, and group discussions, students will develop skills in formulating research questions, evaluating scientific evidence, and applying ethical principles in research practice. Emphasis is placed on fostering scholarly dialogue, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the translation of research findings into nursing practice to improve patient outcomes and healthcare delivery. The seminar also prepares students to propose, critique, and defend research projects within the broader context of evidence-based practice.
Recommended Textbook Nursing Research 8th Edition by
Geri LoBiondoWood
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Chapter 1: Integrating Research, Evidence-Based Practice, and Quality Improvement Processes
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Q1) When assessing the strength of a body of evidence used in a research study for consistency, the nurse should determine what?
A) Extent to which the study's design, implementation, and analysis minimize bias
B) Number of studies that have evaluated the research question, including overall Sample size across studies
C) Degree to which studies with similar and different designs investigated the same Research questions and report similar findings
D) Significance of the findings based on the statistical methods used for data analysis
Answer: C
Q2) Which of the following is a critical step for the quality improvement process in health care settings?
A) Outlining general long-range goals
B) Identifying current successful practices
C) Testing practice changes slowly and tentatively
D) Adopting a practice change as a new standard of care
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: Research Questions, Hypotheses, and Clinical Questions
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Q1) The nurse has identified a clinical problem as a potential research question. Which of these steps should the nurse take \(\bold{next}\)?
A) Identify the variables
B) Formulate the research hypothesis
C) Perform a literature review
D) Determine financial resources for the research project
Answer: C
Q2) A nurse makes these statements. Which one has the greatest potential as an area of nursing research?
A) "Most of our hospital's admissions come in at night."
B) "It is difficult to find personnel willing to work the night shift."
C) "It seems that most of the patient falls on our unit occur during the night shift."
D) "The personnel on the night shift are not attending promptly to the needs of our patients."
Answer: C
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Chapter 3: Gathering and Appraising the Literature
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Q1) Which is an example of a \(\bold{secondary}\) source in a literature review?
A) An oral history of a nurse researcher
B) An investigator's report of a research study
C) A summary and critique of another's scholarly work
D) An autobiography of a developer of a nursing theory
Answer: C
Q2) When the nurse researcher conducts an electronic literature search, the search yields more than 7000 citations for the topic. The researcher should make which of these interpretations of the finding?
A) The search was comprehensive.
B) The key words were not sufficiently narrowed.
C) The topic does not require additional investigation.
D) The topic has broad application across health care disciplines.
Answer: B
Q3) Literature reviews are usually organized according to what?
A) The order in which materials are retrieved
B) The conceptual or theoretical concepts
C) The importance or credibility of authors
D) The variables being studied
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Theoretical Frameworks for Research
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Q1) When critiquing a research study's theoretical framework, the nurse should keep in mind which information? (Select all that apply.)
A) Theoretical frameworks guide hypothesis formulation in qualitative and quantitative research studies.
B) Theoretical frameworks can be implicitly or explicitly stated in a research report.
C) A theoretical framework of a nursing research study must be based on nursing theories or models.
D) A theoretical framework may not be identified in all types of nursing research.
Q2) Which phrase correctly defines a theory?
A) The operational definition of the study's conceptual framework
B) The assumptions and beliefs of the worldview of the researcher
C) A set of interrelated concepts that provides a systematic view of a phenomenon
D) A researcher's best guess of the direction of the relationship between variables
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Chapter 5: Introduction to Qualitative Research
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Q1) Which research topic would most likely be studied through a qualitative research approach?
A) The meaning of health and health promotion among low-income Southern rural women.
B) Changes in hope and coping in older adults during rehabilitation after hip fracture.
C) Exercise effects on fatigue and emotional distress during radiation therapy for breast cancer.
D) Older adults and HIV/AIDS: The relationship of perceived risk and willingness to interact with individuals with HIV/AIDS.
Q2) The determining factor for a researcher in selecting a qualitative research approach should be what?
A) The need to test a theory
B) The nature of the research question
C) The age and gender of the research participants
D) The availability of valid instruments to measure the phenomenon
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Chapter 6: Qualitative Approaches to Research
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Q1) When reviewing the report of a phenomenologic study, the nurse finds there is no section that describes or reports the research question. What approach should be used to determine the research question?
A) Examination of the themes that emerged from the study
B) Examination of the data analysis methods used in the study
C) Examination of the questions or statements posed to the study participants
D) Examination and critical analysis of the articles reported in the literature review
Q2) When reading a report of a phenomenologic study, the nurse finds direct quotes from the participants threaded throughout the narrative. What is the significance of this observation?
A) The researcher is supporting the study's findings.
B) The researcher is attempting to make the report more personal.
C) The technique violates the protection of human subjects.
D) The technique ensures that the proper level of data saturation has been reached.
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Chapter 7: Appraising Qualitative Research
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Q1) The nurse is critiquing a qualitative research study. Which question would be appropriate for the nurse to ask when critiquing the study's credibility?
A) Has adequate time been allowed to fully understand the phenomenon?
B) Are the results meaningful to individuals not involved in the research?
C) Does the investigator document the research process?
D) What is the projected significance of the research to nursing?
Q2) Which of these titles of a research report indicates the study is qualitative, rather than quantitative?
A) Predicting the treatment choice for women older than age 50 experiencing breast cancer
B) Evaluating nursing interventions for complex oncology clinical phenomena
C) Using virtual reality as a distraction method during chemotherapy
D) Transcending pain during bone marrow aspiration
Q3) Which activity represents attention to credibility in a qualitative study?
A) Ensuring that all subjects self-identified with a specific ethnic group.
B) Providing direct quotations from study participants.
C) Identifying the basic social psychological process (BSP) under study.
D) Determining usefulness of the data outside of the study.
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Chapter 8: Introduction to Quantitative Research
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Q1) When reviewing a research report, the nurse determines that all aspects of a study systematically and logically follow from the research problem. Which condition has been met?
A) Accuracy
B) Feasibility
C) Internal validity
D) External validity
Q2) Which factors would be considered threats to internal validity? (Select all that apply.)
A) Time
B) Selection effects
C) History
D) Testing
E) Subject availability
F) Cost
G) Selection bias
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Chapter 9: Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs
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Q1) The nurse researcher is planning a study in which subjects will not be randomly assigned to groups. Which type of design would be appropriate for this study?
A) Nonequivalent control group design
B) Posttest only control group design
C) Solomon four-group design
D) True experimental design
Q2) A research study in a laboratory setting incorporates four groups (two control and two experimental) in which only one experimental group and one control group are pretested, while all four groups are posttested. Which descriptions of the design are accurate? (Select all that apply.)
A) Experimental design
B) After-only experimental design
C) Real-world experimental design
D) Quasi-experimental design
E) Solomon four-group design
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Chapter 10: Nonexperimental Designs
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Q1) What threat to internal validity is most closely associated with a longitudinal design?
A) Instrumentation effects
B) Mortality effects
C) History effects
D) Selection bias
Q2) A nurse researcher will choose to use a developmental study design to do what?
A) Allow comparison of the results of qualitative studies of a phenomenon to the results of quantitative studies of the same phenomenon
B) Allow reanalysis of existing data for a secondary purpose not stated in the original research
C) Allow exploration of the changing nature of relationships between variables over time
D) Allow development or refinement of a tool or instrument
Q3) Which statement about cross-sectional studies is most accurate?
A) More than one group can be compared.
B) Only descriptive data can be measured.
C) Data are collected retrospectively rather than prospectively.
D) Data collection and data analysis can occur simultaneously.
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Chapter 11: Systematic Reviews and Clinical Practice
Guidelines
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Q1) ___ plain language summary
Q2) ___ type of studies reviewed
Q3) ___ analysis of the located studies
Q4) What is known to contain bibliographic information on articles and books on reviewing research and methodological studies?
A) Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
B) Database of Abstracts of Review of Effects
C) Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials
D) Cochrane Methodology Register
Q5) ___ data collection
Q6) ___ authors and contact person
Q7) ___ methods for selecting studies for review
Q8) ___ background of the question
Q9) What terms means a summation and assessment of research studies found in the literature based on a clearly focused question?
A) Meta-analysis
B) Systematic review
C) Cochrane collaboration
D) Integrative review Page 13
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Chapter 12: Sampling
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Q1) A nurse researcher has made a generalization on the basis of the experience of a small number of participants. What will the result of this be?
A) The small sample will invalidate the hypotheses.
B) The researcher will be unable to eliminate his or her bias.
C) The data obtained from a small number will inadequately represent the phenomenon.
D) The small number of participants will increase the threat to internal validity influenced by history.
Q2) Which statement regarding sample size is most accurate?
A) Studies with smaller sample sizes have more accurate results.
B) Studies with smaller sample sizes are more likely to be representative of the target population.
C) Studies with larger sample sizes have more accurate results.
D) Studies with larger sample sizes are more likely to be representative of the target population.
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Chapter 13: Legal and Ethical Issues
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Q1) The nurse researcher is planning a research study that will use human subjects and their choice to participate in a specific treatment. The ethical principle guiding the research study that describes the nurse researcher's obligation to benefit others is what?
A) Justice
B) Beneficence
C) Confidentiality
D) Respect for persons
Q2) An adult participant receives an informed consent form to participate in a study on breast cancer in women younger than the age of 35. The study's informed consent process should include which elements? (Select all that apply.)
A) The participant's meeting the IRB members who approved the study
B) The participant's being informed of risks associated with the study
C) The participant's being informed of the study protocol
D) The participant's being given the right to decline participation at any time
E) The participant's being assured that her confidentiality will be maintained
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Chapter 14: Data Collection Methods
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Q1) The nurse researcher is attempting to answer specific questions about families' perceptions of caring for elderly parents with dementia. What would be the most appropriate method of data collection for this study?
A) Field notes
B) Structured interview
C) Unstructured interview
D) Physiologic instrumentation
Q2) A nurse researcher would choose physiologic data collection methods for which reason?
A) Cost and subject acceptance
B) Reduced researcher time
C) Data collection of patient body weights
D) No need for interrater reliability
Q3) Which data collection method would be most appropriate in studying bullying behavior in elementary school-aged girls?
A) An unstructured interview
B) Asking parents about their children's experience with bullying
C) Responses of the children on a paper-and-pencil bullying scale
D) Concealment of the researcher without intervention in children's behavior
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Chapter 15: Reliability and Validity
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Q1) An ear temperature probe that consistently reports body temperature at a degree lower than the patient's actual temperature has what type of reliability or validity problem?
A) Reduced reliability, systematic error
B) Reduced validity, random error
C) Increased validity, systematic error
D) Increased validity, random error
Q2) In testing an instrument consisting of 25 items for homogeneity using the "item-to-total" correlation, 8 items were found to have a low correlation to the total. The nurse researcher interprets this information to mean that the researcher should do what?
A) Use the instrument without changes.
B) Use the instrument only with a multitrait-multimethod approach.
C) Retain the 8 items with low correlation and delete the other 17 items.
D) Delete the 8 items with low correlation and retain the other 17 items.
Q3) Which type of validity is most difficult to establish?
A) Content validity
B) Construct validity
C) Predictive validity
D) Concurrent validity
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Chapter 16: Data Analysis: Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
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Q1) Which characteristic is an essential criterion for categorizing an object, event, or fact as nominal level data? (Select all that apply.)
A) The degree of the characteristic must be positively related to the number assigned.
B) Rank orders must be calculated for meaningful interpretation.
C) Categories must be mutually exclusive.
D) Category ranges cannot overlap.
Q2) The nurse researcher is using the percentage of nurses holding various nursing degrees as a variable in a research study. Which type of statistics is most appropriate in this case?
A) Inferential statistics
B) Descriptive statistics
C) Nonparametric statistics
D) Mathematical statistics
Q3) Which term represents the most frequent score in a frequency distribution?
A) Mean
B) Mode
C) Median
D) Percentile
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Chapter 17: Understanding Research Findings
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Q1) Which section of the report allows the nurse researcher to discuss the analysis choices?
A) Results
B) Discussion
C) Literature review
D) Methods
Q2) A problem with the study's validity would be classified as what?
A) Unsupported data
B) Poor interpretation of results
C) Limitation
D) Lack of objectivity
Q3) The nurse researcher questions the strength, quality, and consistency of the evidence provided by the findings. This is described in which part of the discussion section?
A) Inferences
B) Summary
C) Limitations
D) Recommendations
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Chapter 18: Appraising Quantitative Research
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Q1) A study abstract includes the following statement: "There was a negative relationship between infants with difficult behavioral styles and maternal involvement." The most accurate interpretation of the statement is what?
A) The more difficult the infant was, the more involved the mother was.
B) The more difficult the infant was, the less involved the mother was.
C) The less difficult the infant was, the less involved the mother was.
D) There was no relationship between infant behavior and maternal involvement.
Q2) Evaluating a research report for issues of scientific merit includes which factors? (Select all that apply.)
A) Quality of data collection
B) Appropriateness of statistical analysis
C) Comprehensiveness of literature review
D) Design match to research question
E) Presentation of typeface in article
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Chapter 19: Strategies and Tools for Developing an
Evidence-Based Practice
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Q1) The vertical line in a graphic of a systematic review represents what?
A) An odds ratio of 1
B) The 95% CI
C) The findings from an individual study
D) The amount of information in an individual study
Q2) Which term is used to describe the reduction of risk because of an experimental treatment?
A) Relative risk reduction
B) Number needed to treat
C) Control event rate
D) Absolute risk reduction
Q3) Absolute risk reduction is most accurately calculated as what?
A) EER + CER
B) EER - CER/CER
C) EER - CER
D) EER/CER
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Chapter 20: Developing an Evidence-Based Practice
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Q1) ___ use data to assist staff in modifying or integrating the evidence-based practice change
Q2) To determine the guiding steps involved in actualizing EBP, the researcher should expect to study the Iowa Model of Evidence-Based Practice to Promote Quality Care in conjunction with what?
A) Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews
B) Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
C) Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Model
D) The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)'s National Guideline Clearinghouse
Q3) The nurse researcher is synthesizing the findings from research critiques and is creating a summary table. Essential information to include consists of what?
A) Stakeholders involved
B) Objectives of the study
C) Type of research design
D) Evaluation of study findings' usefulness
Q4) ___ train data collectors
Q5) ___ provide "on-site" feedback to staff regarding the progress in achieving the practice change
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Chapter 21: Quality Improvement
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Q1) What is a standardized survey and data collection method for measuring patients' perspectives on hospital care?
A) Physician Quality Reporting Initiative
B) Home Health Compare
C) The Leapfrog Group
D) Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems
Q2) Focused and prioritized improvement opportunities
A)Customer focus/patient focus
B)Leadership
C)Involvement of people
D)Process approach
E)System approach to management
F)Continual improvement
G)Factual approach to decision making
H)Mutually beneficial supplier relationships
Q3) External drivers of quality improvement include what? (Select all that apply.)
A) Accreditation
B) Financial incentives
C) Performance measurement
D) Public reporting
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