Exam 1 Vocab Flashcards
Clinical Significance
The practical importance of research results in terms of whether they have genuine, palpable effects on the daily lives of patients or on the health care decisions made on their behalf.
Constructivist Paradigm
There are multiple interpretations of reality and that the goal of research is to understand how individuals construct reality within their context
Evidence-Based Practice
Making clinical decisions based on an integration of the best available evidence, most often from disciplined research, with clinical expertise and patient preferences
Generalizability
The degree to which the research methods justify the inference that the findings are true for a broader group than study participants; in particular, the inference that the findings can be generalized from the sample to the population
Nursing Research
Systematic inquiry designed to develop knowledge about issues of importance to the nursing profession
Positivist Paradigm
The paradigm underlying the traditional scientific approach, which assumes that there is an orderly reality that can be objectively studied
Qualitative Research
The investigation of phenomena, typically in an in-depth and holistic fashion, through the collection of rich narrative materials using a flexible research design
Quantitative Research
The investigation of phenomena that lend themselves to precise measurement and quantification, often involving a rigorous and controlled design
Evidence Heirarchy
A ranked arrangement of the validity and dependability of evidence based on the rigor of the method that produced it; the traditional evidence hierarchy is appropriate primarily for cause-probing research
PICOT
A framework for asking well-worded questions, and for searching for evidence, where P = population, I = intervention of influence, C = comparison, and O = outcome
Quality Improvement
Systematic efforts to improve practices and processes within a specific organization or patient group
Systematic Review
A rigorous synthesis of research findings on a particular research question, using systematic sampling and data collection procedures and a formal protocol
Cause and Effect Relationship (causal)
A relationship between two variables wherein the presence or value of one variable (the “cause”) determines the presence or value of the other (the “effect”)
Clinical Trial
A study designed to assess the safety, efficacy, and effectiveness of a new clinical intervention, often involving several phases
Data
The pieces of information obtained in a study
Dependent Variable
The variable hypothesized to depend on or be caused by another variable (the independent variable); the outcome of interest
Ethnography
A branch of human inquiry, associated with anthropology, that focuses on the culture of a group of people, with an effort to understand the worldview and customs of those under study
Experimental Research
Research using a design in which the researcher controls (manipulates) the independent variable and randomly assigns people to different treatment conditions; randomized controlled trials use experimental designs
Grounded Theory
An approach to collecting and analyzing qualitative data that aims to develop theories about social psychological processes grounded in real-world observations
Hypothesis
A statement of predicted relationships between variables
Independent Variable
The variable that is believed to cause or influence the dependent variable; in experimental research, the manipulated (treatment) variable; the independent variable is both the “I” and the “C” in the PICO framework
Intervention Protocol
The specification of what the intervention and alternative (control) treatment conditions are and how they should be administered.
Literature Review
A critical summary of research on a topic, often prepared to put a research problem in context or to summarize existing evidence
Non-experimental Research
Studies in which the researcher collects data without introducing an intervention; also called observational research
Outcome Variable
Result of one or more independent variable
Phenomenology
A qualitative research tradition, with roots in philosophy and psychology, that focuses on the lived experience of humans
Population
The entire set of individuals or objects having some common characteristics; the “P” in the PICO framework
Research Design
The overall plan for addressing a research question, including
strategies for enhancing the study’s integrity
Sample
A subset of a population comprising those selected to participate in a study
Study Participant
An individual who participates and provides information in a study
Theory
An abstract generalization that presents a systematic explanation about relationships among phenomena
Variable
An attribute that varies, that is, takes on different values (e.g., body temperature, heart rate)
Abstract
A brief description of a study, located at the beginning of a report
Bias
Any influence that distorts the results of a study and undermines validity
Findings
The results of the analysis of research data
IMRAD Format
The organization of a research report into four main sections: the Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion sections
Reliability
The extent to which a measurement is free from measurement error; more broadly, the extent to which scores for people who have not changed are the same for repeated measurements
Statistical Significance
A term indicating that the results from an analysis of sample data are unlikely to have been caused by chance, at a specified level of probability
Validity
A quality criterion referring to the degree to which inferences made in a study are accurate and well-founded; in measurement, the degree to which an instrument measures what it is intended to measure
Bibliographic Database
An organized online collection of references to published written works like journal and newspaper articles, conference proceedings, reports, government and legal publications, patents and books
CINAHL
Database for nursing related articles, journals
Keyword
An important term used to search for references on a topic in a bibliographic database.
MEDLINE
Database for articles related to healthcare
Primary Source
Firsthand reports of facts or findings; in research, the original report prepared by the investigator who conducted the study
PubMed
Database for articles related to healthcare from MEDLINE
Secondary Source
Secondhand accounts of events or facts; in research, a description of a study prepared by someone other than the original researcher
Directional Hypothesis
A hypothesis that makes a specific prediction about the direction of the relationship between two variables
Nondirectional Hypothesis
A research hypothesis that does not stipulate the expected direction of the relationship between variables
Null Hypothesis
A hypothesis stating the absence of a relationship between the variables under study; used primarily in statistical testing as the hypothesis to be rejected
Problem Statement
An expression of a dilemma or disturbing situation that needs investigation
Research Hypothesis
The actual hypothesis a researcher wishes to test (as opposed to the null hypothesis), stating the anticipated relationship between two or more variables
Research Problem
A disturbing or perplexing condition that can be investigated through disciplined inquiry
Research Question
A specific query the researcher wants to answer to address a research problem
Statement of Purpose
A declarative statement of the overall goals of a study
Blinding
The process of preventing those involved in a study (participants, intervention agents, data collectors, or health care providers) from having information that could lead to a bias, particularly information about which treatment group a participant is in; also called masking
Cause
Makes something happen
Correlational Research
Research that explores the interrelationships among variables of interest, with no researcher intervention
Cross-sectional Design
A study design in which data are collected at one point in time; sometimes used to infer change over time when data are collected from different age or developmental groups
Descriptive Research
Research that typically has as its main objective the accurate portrayal of people’s characteristics or circumstances and/or the frequency with which certain phenomena occur
Experiment
A scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact
Longitudinal Design
A study design in which data are collected at more than one point in time, in contrast to a cross-sectional design
Nonexperimental Study
Research that lacks the manipulation of an independent variable
Posttest Data
Data collected after introducing an intervention
Prestest-Posttest Design
An experimental design in which data are collected from research subjects both before and after introducing an intervention
Quasi-Experiment
A type of design for testing an intervention in which participants are not randomly assigned to treatment conditions; also called a nonrandomized trial or a controlled trial without randomization
Randomization
The assignment of subjects to treatment conditions in a random manner (i.e., in a manner determined by chance alone); also called random assignment
Randomized Control Trial
A full experimental test of an intervention, involving random assignment to treatment groups; sometimes, an RCT is phase III of a full clinical trial.
Retrospective Design
A study design that begins with the manifestation of the outcome variable in the present (e.g., lung cancer), and a search for a presumed cause occurring in the past (e.g., cigarette smoking)
Statistical Power
The ability of a research design and analytic strategy to detect true relationships among variables
Threats to validity
In research design, reasons that an inference about the effect of an independent variable (e.g., an intervention) on an outcome could be wrong
Validity
A quality criterion referring to the degree to which inferences made in a study are accurate and well-founded; in measurement, the degree to which an instrument measures what it is intended to measure
Biophysiologic Measure
The measurement of biological and physiological function
Consecutive Sampling
The recruitment of all people from an accessible population who meet the eligibility criteria, over a specific time interval or for a specified sample size
Convenience Sampling
Selection of the most readily available persons as participants in a study
Eligibility Criteria
The criteria designating the specific attributes of the target population, by which people are selected for inclusion in a study
Likert Scale
Traditionally, a type of scale to measure attitudes, involving the summation of scores on a set of items that respondents rate for their degree of agreement or disagreement; more loosely, the name attributed to summated rating scales
Measurement
The assignment of numbers to objects according to specified rules to characterize quantities of some attribute
Nonprobability Sampling
The selection of sampling units (e.g., people) from a population using nonrandom procedures (e.g., convenience and quota sampling)
Power Analysis
A procedure for estimating either the needed sample size for a study or the likelihood of committing a Type II error
Probability Sampling
The selection of sampling units (e.g., participants) from a population using random procedures (e.g., simple random sampling)
Purposive Sampling
A nonprobability sampling method in which the researcher selects participants based on personal judgment about who will be most informative
Questionnaire
A document used to gather self-report data via self-administration of questions
Quota Sampling
A nonrandom sampling method in which “quotas” for certain subgroups, based on sample characteristics, are established to increase the representativeness of the sample
Rating Scale
A scale that requires ratings of an object or concept along a continuum
Reliability
The extent to which a measurement is free from measurement error; more broadly, the extent to which scores for people who have not changed are the same for repeated measurements
Sample
A subset of a population comprising those selected to participate in a study
Sample Size
The number of people who participate in a study; an important factor in the
power of the analysis and in statistical conclusion validity in quantitative research
Sampling Bias
Distortions that arise when a sample is not representative of the population from which it was drawn
Scale
A composite measure of an attribute, involving the adding together of several items that have a logical and empirical relationship to each other, resulting in the assignment of a score to place people on a continuum with respect to the attribute
Self-Report
A data collection method that involves a direct verbal report by study participants (e.g., by interview or questionnaire)
Simple Random Sampling
Basic probability sampling involving the selection of sample members from a sampling frame at random
Stratified Random Sampling
The random selection of study participants from two or more strata of the population independently
Systematic Sampling
The selection of sample members such that every kth (e.g., every 10th) person or element in a sampling frame is chosen
Visual Analog Scale
A scaling procedure used to measure certain clinical symptoms (e.g., pain, fatigue) by having people indicate on a straight line the intensity of the symptom; usually measured on a 100-mm scale with values from 0 to 100
