15 ST Quantitative Interpretation

Question 1

1. In Begley’s study of the effect of a foot massage versus care as usual on anxiety in nursing home patients, you consider whether the value of d encourages adoption.

A Credibility
B Precision
C Magnitude of effects

Answer 1

ANSWER: C Magnitude of effects
The index d is an effect size indicator that communicates the size of an intervention’s effect

Question 2

2. In Rogers’ study of the relationship between amount of nursing care and adverse outcomes to patients, you check whether the results are consistent with previous research.

A Credibility
B Precision
C Magnitude of effects

Answer 2

ANSWER: A Credibility
Verifying that results corroborate earlier findings is one approach to assessing the credibility of the results.

Question 3

3. You assess the risk of selection bias in Daly’s study of nurses’ job satisfaction in two hospitals, one of which is a Magnet hospital.

A Credibility
B Precision
C Magnitude of effects

Answer 3

ANSWER: A Credibility
Assessing the internal validity of study findings (here, by assessing selection bias) is one approach to assessing the credibility of the results.

Question 4

4. You look for confidence intervals in Paschke’s study about the percentage of CABG patients who are readmitted to hospital within 30 days of discharge.

A Credibility
B Precision
C Magnitude of effects

Answer 4

ANSWER: B Precision
Confidence intervals communicate how precise the statistical estimates in a study are. The wider the intervals, the less precise the estimates.

Question 5

5. You consider whether observational biases could have undermined the measurement of frustration in Cowdrick’s study of caregivers’ interactions with a dying family member.

A Credibility
B Precision
C Magnitude of effects

Answer 5

ANSWER: A Credibility
Assessing the presence and magnitude of biases is one approach to assessing the credibility of the results.