Chapter 4

Question 1

What is IMRAD?

Answer 1

Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion – format of most research studies

Question 2

What is a journal article?

Answer 2

research reports published in journals

-sometimes journals have restrictions on formatting that make articles a bitch to read

Question 3

What do journals start with?

Answer 3

title and abstract

Question 4

what is the abstract? why do i care about it?

Answer 4

a brief description of the study placed at the beginning of the study.
NOTE: When searching for potential articles, the abstract should help as a filter
to know when to read further or move on to a new article.

Question 5

questions addressed in the introduction section of IMRAD

Answer 5

What is being studied?
§ What result is expected?
§ What does previous literature discuss?
§ Why is the study necessary?

(why is this level of detail necessary for me to memorize to pass nursing school?)

Question 6

introduction components

Answer 6

The central phenomena, concepts, or variables under study, a purpose, a question, a hypothesis, a literature review (sometimes), a theoretical or conceptual framework (sometimes), and the need for the study

Question 7

must an article have a specific literature review section

Answer 7

nope

Question 8

The parts in the introduction that have citations from other sources can be assumed to be part of ________ if the paper does not include a formal section itself.

Answer 8

literature review

Question 9

what is the methods section of IMRAD

Answer 9

explain to the reader what the researchers do to address the research problem.

Question 10

components of methods section

Answer 10

• research design
• sampling plan
• measuring variables and data collection
• study procedures
• data analysis

Question 11

whats up with the research design section of the methods section in IMRAD?

Answer 11

describes the type of study (ex. clinical trial, observation study, a
phenomenological study, etc.)
NOTE: some articles may only define their article as quantitative or qualitative,
but, others may be more descriptive/specific

Question 12

whats up with the sampling plan section of the methods section in IMRAD?

Answer 12

discusses who the researchers chose to study (and can include people,
gender, ages, health conditions, or any restrictions used to prohibit people from being
included in the study)

Question 13

whats up with the measuring variables and data collection section of the methods section in IMRAD?

Answer 13

discussion of what instruments were used to
collect data and how often data was collected

NOTE: If a specific tool is used it may be described in detail as well as a discussion of if the tool is reliable for the study. Sometimes the specific study tool is discussed in the introduction section.

Question 14

whats up with study procedures section of the methods section in IMRAD?

Answer 14

describe the details of the study

Ex., A study that tested the effect of a medication for a response would describe
that for a six-month time period patients were administered this medication when a specific event occurred, and the results were recorded and documented for six months.
NOTE: Another procedural concern is addressing human rights. The
procedure for this could include several options such as informing the patients and getting informed consent or getting institutional review board approval for the study.

Question 15

whats up with data analysis section of the methods section in IMRAD?

Answer 15

describes the method used to analyze the results, and this is expounded
upon in the results section

Question 16

whats up with results section of the methods section in IMRAD? quantitative vs qualitative

Answer 16

discuss all findings that are obtained after analyzing the data!
Quantitative Articles: Names of statistical tests used, Value of the calculate statistic, statistical significance
Qualitative: organized by themese

Question 17

what is stastitical significance

Answer 17

Statistical significance means the results are more likely to be true and
the results would be replicated with a new sample. A p-value of 0.05 or less is
considered good.

EXTRA: 0.05 converted to a percent is 5%. A p of 0.05 means there is
only a 5% chance that the results would not be repeated in a new sample,
therefore 95% of the time the results would be the same.

Question 18

components of disucssion section of IMRAD

Answer 18

Interpretation of Results
Clinical and Research Implications
Study Limitations and Ramifications (for the believability of results)

Question 19

whats up with the interpretation of results section of the discussion section in IMRAD?

Answer 19

The results section will provide all the statistical tests and results for each part, but the
discussion section will describe which results are important for describing an outcome.

Question 20

whats up with the clinical and research implications section of the discussion section in IMRAD?

Answer 20

describe if the results of the study support a new change in

practice or if it requires more studies performed with a different or larger sample.

Question 21

whats up with the Study Limitations and Ramifications of the discussion section in IMRAD?

Answer 21

With research articles, limitations are specific to the study itself, how it was conducted,
or if other variables were not considered. Unlike formal papers, limitations for a
research report does not include an analysis of grammar or language.
•
The discussion section of most articles will identify limitations such as a small sample
size, participants dropping out, reasons for bias, etc. The findings from a study can be
considered stronger if the researchers provide an honest discussion of limitations.
NOTE: On few occasions an article will not describe limitations, and in that case
it is up to the reader to determine the limitation

Question 22

What is reliability

Answer 22

the accuracy and consistency of information obtained

Question 23

Reliability is easier to determine if….

Answer 23

a specific device, tool, or algorithm is used to

measure the data

Question 24

If a tool is reliable it will provide ……

Answer 24

similar measurements under the same circumstances

Question 25

what is validity?

Answer 25

the soundness of a study’s evidence

Question 26

Validity determines if the methods are…..

Answer 26

• appropriate to study the outcome.

- and if the intervention is truly correlated to the result

Question 27

what is trustworthiness?

Answer 27

credibility, transferability, confirmability, dependability, and authenticity
of the data

Question 28

primary tool of assessing trustworthiness and how does it work?

Answer 28

Triangulation is the primary method to assess credibility in qualitative studies –
-triangulation is achieved by using multiple ways to measure the outcome.

Question 29

The quality of a study or its scientific merit is measured by assessing the ______ and ______of an article.

Answer 29

reliability and validity

Question 30

what is reliability

Answer 30

Reliability refers to the accuracy and consistency of information obtained from a study.

Question 31

what is bias?

Answer 31

bias is a distortion or influence that results in an error in
inference (a conclusion drawn from the study evidence using logical reasoning)

Question 32

how is bias reduced in studies?

Answer 32

• triangulation
• reflexivity
• randomness and blinding

Question 33

what is reflexivity?

Answer 33

process of reflecting critically on the self and keeping track of personal values. Being cognizant of one’s own beliefs and values helps to keep them influencing the data.

Question 34

what does randomness mean

Answer 34

assigning individuals to the intervention by chance

Question 35

what does blinding mean

Answer 35

the participants do not know if they are receiving the intervention or not
reduces the influence a participant’s belief or expectation of the
treatment.

Question 36

what is double blind?

Answer 36

A double-blind study makes the experimenters blind to who

is receiving the actual treatment as well to further reduce bias.

Question 37

what is research control in quantitative studies?

Answer 37

Research control aims to keep as
many variables as possible constant so that the intervention or independent variable
directly influences the outcome.

Question 38

Authors should discuss confounding variables, and in a best-case scenario find a way to
keep it _____

Answer 38

constant

Question 39

Keeping a variable constant doesn’t mean to have every participant the same age, but rather to ensure that age……

Answer 39

is random enough that it is less of an influence.

Question 40

Can the findings of a study be applied to other groups? qualitative vs quantitative

Answer 40

If a quantitative study is valid, reliable, and unbiased, it is more likely its results can be
generalizable or applied to other groups in other settings.
•
In a qualitative study the goal is transferability, the extent to which findings can be
transferred to other settings

Question 41

Which element is expected to be in the introduction of an article?
A) Hypothesis
B) Sample size
C) Limitations
D) Statistical value

Answer 41

Answer A, hypothesis.

The introduction includes the hypothesis. The methodology includes the sample size. The discussion includes limitations, and the results section includes the statistical value.

Question 42

Which element is expected to be in the method section of an article?
A) Literature review
B) Sampling plan
C) Study purpose
D) Research implications

Answer 42

Answer: B, sampling plan.

The literature review and purpose would be in the introduction and the research implications would be in the discussion section.

Question 43

The accuracy and consistency of information obtained in a study is the definition of what?
A) credibility
B) triangulation
C) validity
D) reliability

Answer 43

Answer: D, reliability.

This is the definition of reliability.

Question 44

What method is used in qualitative studies to increase the trustworthiness of the study data?
A) Triangulation
B) Blinding
C) Randomness
D) Selecting a large sample

Answer 44

Answer A, triangulation.

Blinding, randomness, and selecting a large sample are methods used in quantitative studies to reduce bias.

Question 45

What factors influence the generalizability of a study? (Select all that apply).
A) reliability
B) validity
C) sample population
D) study environment

Answer 45

Answer: A, B, C, and D, reliability, validity, sample population, and the study environment.

All of these factors are important. The larger and more diverse a sample population, the easier it can be applied to other settings. A specific and isolated study environment would limit the ability of the results to be applied to other settings. If a study is not reliable or valid then the results are less likely to be applied to other settings.