Chapter 1: Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice

Question 0

Evidence-based practice

Answer 0

The conscientious integration of best research evidence with clinical expertise and patients values and needs in the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective health care.

Question 1

Nursing research

Answer 1

Scientific process that validates and refines existing knowledge and generates knowledge that directly and indirectly influences clinical nursing practice.

Question 2

Best research evidence

Answer 2

Produced by the conduct and synthesis of numerous, high quality studies in a health-related area. The best research evidence is generated in the areas of health promotion; illness prevention; and the assessment, diagnosis, and management of acute and chronic illnesses.

Question 3

Clinical expertise

Answer 3

A practitioner’s knowledge, skills, and past experience in accurately assessing, diagnosing, and managing an individual patient’s health needs.

Question 4

Description

Answer 4

Identification of the characteristics of nursing phenomena, or of the relationships among these phenomena.

Question 5

Explanation

Answer 5

Clarification of relationships among variables and identification of reasons why certain events occur.

Question 6

Prediction

Answer 6

Estimation of the probability of a specific outcome in a given situation that can be achieved through research.

Question 7

Control

Answer 7

Writing of a prescription to produce the desired outcomes in practice. In research, the imposing of rules by the researcher to decrease the possibility of error and increase the probability that the study’s findings are an accurate reflection of reality.

Question 8

Case study

Answer 8

In-depth analysis and systematic description of one patient or a group of similar patients to promote understanding of nursing interventions.

Question 9

Outcomes research

Answer 9

Important scientific methodology that was developed to examine the end results of patient care. The strategies used in outcomes research are a departure from the traditional scientific endeavors and incorporate evaluation research, epidemiology, and economic theory perspectives.

Question 10

Knowledge

Answer 10

Information that is acquired in a variety of ways, is expected to be an accurate reflection of reality, and is incorporated and used to direct a person’s actions.

Question 11

Traditions

Answer 11

Truths or beliefs that are based on customs and past trends.

Question 12

Authority

Answer 12

Person with expertise and power who is able to influence the opinions and behavior of others.

Question 13

Borrowing

Answer 13

Appropriation and use of knowledge from other disciplines to guide nursing practice.

Question 14

Trial and error

Answer 14

Approach with unknown outcomes used in an uncertain situation when other sources of knowledge are unavailable.

Question 15

Personal experience

Answer 15

Knowledge gained through participation in rather than observation of an event, situation, or circumstance. Benner described five levels of experience in the development of clinical knowledge or expertise: (1) novice, (2) advanced beginner, (3) competent, (4) proficient, and (5) expert.

Question 16

Role modeling

Answer 16

Process of teaching less experience professionals by demonstrating model behavior.

Question 17

Mentorship

Answer 17

Intense form of role modeling in which an expert nurse serves as a teacher, sponsor, guide, exemplar, and counselor for a novice nurse.

Question 18

Intuition

Answer 18

Insight or understanding of a situation or an event as a whole that usually cannot be logically explained.

Question 19

Reasoning

Answer 19

Processing and organizing ideas to reach conclusions; types of reasoning include problematic, operational, dialectic, and logistic.

Question 20

Inductive reasoning

Answer 20

Reasoning from the specific to the general, in which particular instances are observed and then combined into a larger whole or general statement.

Question 21

Deductive reasoning

Answer 21

Reasoning from the general to the specific or from a general premise to a particular situation.

Question 22

Premise

Answer 22

Proposition or statement of the proposed relationship between two or more concepts.

Question 23

Quantitative research

Answer 23

Formal, objective, systematic process used to describe variables, test relationships between them, and examine cause-and-effect interactions among variables.

Question 24

Qualitative research

Answer 24

Systematic, subjective methodological approach used to describe life experiences and give them meaning.

Question 25

Systematic review

Answer 25

Structured, comprehensive synthesis of quantitative and outcomes studies in a particular healthcare area to determine the best research evidence available for expert clinicians to use to promote evidence-based practice.

Question 26

Meta-analysis

Answer 26

Performing statistical analyses to integrate and synthesize findings from completed studies to determine what is known and not known about a particular research area.

Question 27

Integrative review of research

Answer 27

Review conducted to identify, analyze, and synthesize the results from independent studies to determine the current knowledge (what is known and not known) in a particular area.

Question 28

Qualitative research synthesis

Answer 28

Process and product of systematically reviewing and formally integrating the findings from qualitative studies.

Question 29

Metasummary

Answer 29

Synthesis of multiple primary qualitative studies to develop a description of current knowledge in the area.

Question 30

Metasynthesis

Answer 30

Synthesis of qualitative research involving the critical analysis of primary qualitative studies and synthesis of findings into a new theory or framework for the topic of interest.

Question 31

Evidence-based guidelines

Answer 31

Patient care guidelines that are based on synthesized research findings from meta-analyses, integrative reviews of research, and extensive clinical trials; supported by consensus from recognized national experts; and affirmed by outcomes obtained by clinicians.

Question 32

Critical appraisal of research

Answer 32

Examination of the strengths, weaknesses, meaning, and significance of nursing studies using four steps: comprehension, comparison, analysis, and evaluation.