Midterm 1 Flashcards
In the history of nursing research, what have studies focused on?
Nursing education
Who did nursing research begin with?
Florence Nightingale
What is the current focus of nursing research?
Outcomes research
What is deductive reasoning?
The process of making specific predictions from a generalized situation.
What are the major assumptions of the positivist paradigm?
Reality exists and it is driven by real, natural causes.
The researcher is independent from the subjects.
Objectivity is sought.
Deductive processes, emphasis on discrete, specific concepts.
What are the characteristics of quantitative research?
Observed available data about human behaviour are expressed in a numerical form.
Precise measurement is emphasized.
Testing of hypotheses is based on a sample of observations.
Statistical analysis of data.
Attempts to describe relationships among variables mathematically.
What are the characteristics of qualitative research?
Observed data about human behaviour exist in an non-numerical form.
Verbal descriptions and explanations of human behaviour are emphasized.
Social practices are carefully observed and described in detail in an attempt to understand how the participants experience and explain their own world.
The tools for gaining information include participant observation, in-depth interviews, or in-depth analyses of single cases.
What is the main purpose of nursing research?
To solve problems and answer questions pertinent to the nursing profession.
What is the purpose of basic research?
To collect information, enhance the base of knowledge, or to formulate or test an existing theory.
What is the focus of applied research?
To find a solution to a specific problem or help practitioners accomplish tasks.
Analysis
The division of the content into parts to understand each aspect of the study.
Concept
An image or symbolic representation of an abstract idea. Referred to as phenomena or topics in qualitative studies.
Constructs
Abstractions that are deliberately and systematically invented by researchers for a specific purpose.
Critique
The process of objectively and critically evaluating the content of a research report for scientific merit and application to practice, theory, or education.
Empirical data
Documented evidence gathered through direct observation, rather than information that reflects the subjective beliefs of the researchers.
Generalizability
The extent to which data can be inferred to be representative of similar phenomena in a population beyond the studied sample.
Scientific inquiry
The process of critically analyzing data systematically gathered about a phenomenon.
Scientific Method
A systematic research process that involves selecting and defining the problems; formulating research questions or hypotheses; collecting data; analyzing data; and reporting results.
Dependent Variables
Variables thought to be influenced by other variables.
The “effect” in a cause-effect relationship.
Independent Variable
The treatments or conditions that the researcher controls to test their effects on some outcome.
The “cause” in a cause-effect relationship.
Intervening Variable
Shows the link between an independent and dependent variable.
Represents an explanation of how the independent variable influences the dependent variable.
Five phases associated with the research process in quantitative studies.
- Conceptual phase
- Design and planning phase
- Empirical phase
- Analytic phase
- Dissemination phase
Steps of the conceptual phase (quantitative)
- Formulate and delimit the problem
- Review the related research literature.
- Undertake clinical fieldwork
- Define the framework and develop conceptual definitions
- Formulate hypothesis
Steps of the design and planning phase (quantitative)
- Select a research design
- Develop protocols for the intervention
- Identify the population to be studied
- Design the sampling plan
- Specify methods to measure variables
- Develop methods to protect rights
- Finalize and review research plan
Steps of the empirical phase (quantitative)
- Collect the data
2. Prepare data for analysis
Steps of the analytic phase (quantitative)
- analyze the data
2. Interpret the results
Steps of the dissemination phase (quantitative)
- Communicate findings
2. Utilize research evidence in practice
What is the research process for qualitative studies?
- Plan the study
- Develop data collection strategies
- Gather and analyze data
- Disseminate findings
T/F: Variables are inherently either dependent or independent
False
T/F: Body temperature could be a dependent variable, but not an independent variable
False
What are the typical components of a research article?
Abstract Introduction Method Results Discussion References
What is the abstract in a research article?
A concise summary of the research study.
What is the introduction section?
Covers the problem being investigated, the lit review, the theoretical framework, and the significance of the study.
What is the method section?
How the study was conducted.
Usually describes the study design, the sample, the setting, data collection procedures, and methods of measurement.
What is the results section?
Presents the research findings and usually includes a description of the study and statistics reports.
What is the discussion section?
Where it is explained what the results mean in relation to the purpose of the study.
What are the five rights outlines in the CNA guidelines that apply to everyone involved in research?
Right to self-determination Right to privacy and dignity Right to anonymity and confidentiality Right to fair treatment Right to protection from discomfort and harm
What are the three major ethical principles in nursing research?
Beneficence
Respect for human dignity
Justice
What is the principle of beneficence?
Involves the protection of participants from harm or exploitation.
Imposes a duty on researchers to minimize harm and maximize benefits.
Risk/benefit ratio
What is the principle of respect for human dignity?
Includes the right to self-determination, full disclosure, and informed consent.
Treat participants as autonomous agents who are capable of controlling their own activities, ensure they know what they are getting into, and be given both written and oral explanations regarding the study.
What techniques are used when researchers feel full disclosure may interfere with the outcome of the study?
covert data collection
deception
**considered problematic from an ethical point of view because they interfere with the participant’s right to make a truly informed decision
What is the principle of justice?
Includes the right to fair treatment and the right to privacy
What is the criteria for the right to fair treatment?
Participants must be treated fairly and equitably before, during, and after participation in study.
Risks or benefits will be equally shared.
No prejudicial treatment for people who choose not to participate or withdraw.
All agreements made between researcher and participant should be adhered to.
Professional assistance provided for those harmed during the course of the study.
Cultural differences must be respected.
What are the two ways to establish participants’ right to privacy?
Anonymity: researcher does not associate a given piece of information with a given person.
Confidentiality: researcher is able to link information to participants, but does not do so publicly.
What groups are considered vulnerable populations?
Children People with mental or emotional disabilities People with physical disabilities People who are institutionalized Women who are pregnant
Responsibility of research ethics boards
To help ensure that ethical principles are applied to research involving human subjects
When would a qualitative researcher typically make the most decisions about data collection and the research sample?
While the study in in progress in the field
What is a research problem?
An area of concern where there is a gap in the knowledge base needed for nursing practice.
Elements of a research problem
Significance of a problem
Background of a research problem
Problem statement
Sources of research problems
Personal and clinical experience Literature social issues Theories Ideas from others
What is a problem statement?
Describes the dilemma or clinical situation that needs investigation.
Includes the nature of the problem as well as its context and significance.
What is the statement of purpose?
One or two sentences that specify the overall goal and direction of the research.
Includes: what the researcher plans to do, the setting, and the subjects.
What is a research question?
A concise, interrogative statement written in the present tense and including one or more variables.
Characteristics of a research question
Must relate to recordable events Must be feasible Must be important to one or more groups Must be generalizable Must have some purpose for nursing and perhaps other fields
What is a research hypothesis?
A statement that explains or predicts the relationship or differences between two or more variables in terms of expected results or outcomes of a study
Purposes of hypotheses
To guide scientific inquiry for the advancement of knowledge
To provide direction for the research design and for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data
to provide a framework for reporting the conclusions of a study
Characteristics of a testable hypotheses
States the relationship between two or more variables
Implies the variables are amenable to scientific testing
Based on sound, justifiable material
Types of hypotheses
Simple vs complex
Non-directional vs. directional
Statistical vs research
Simple hypotheses
Predicts relationship between two variables
Complex hypotheses
States the relationship between three or more variables
Directional hypotheses
State the expected direction of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables
Non-directional hypotheses
Indicates the existence of a relationship but does not predict the direction of the relationship
Statistical (null) hypotheses
State that no relationship exists between the independent and dependent variable
Research hypotheses
States that there is a relationship between the independent and dependent variables
Purposes of a literature review
Determines what is known and unknown about a subject, concept, or problem.
Determines gaps, consistencies, and inconsistencies.
Discovers unanswered questions.
Discovers conceptual traditions used to examine problems
Uncovers new practice interventions, or provides support for current practice interventions, protocols, and policies
Promotes revision and development of new practice protocols, policies, and projects/activities related to nursing practice.
Generates useful research questions and hypotheses
Determines appropriate research design, methodology, and analysis for answering research questions or hypotheses based on strengths and weaknesses of earlier works.
Determines the need for replication of a study or for refinement of a study.
Synthesizes the strengths and weaknesses and findings of available studies on a topic/problem.
Stages of preparing a literature review
Input - searching for relevant literature
Throughput - processing the literature
Output - preparing the written literature review
Questions to ask when beginning a literature search
How many years back should you go?
What literature should you search?
How many articles and books do you need?
Do you need to go beyond the library resources for information?
Sources of relevant literature
Periodicals, journals, indexes Books Government documents Dissertations Abstracts Electronic literature searches Computer-assisted searches Microforms
Primary sources
Accounts of actual research that has been done. Should be the main basis for a literature review.
Secondary sources
Summarizes or quotes content from primary sources. Only use if you cannot find primary source or if they contain creative ideas.
Steps of writing a literature review
Identify the major ideas (2-3) that are related to the problem statement.
List the concepts either in descending order of importance or in terms of logical presentation.
Prepare an outline using the major concepts as major headings.
Divide each major heading into logical subheadings, if applicable.
In a sentence or two, summarize the major findings of each study.
Write an intro paragraph explaining the significance of the major concepts.
At the end of each section, summarize the findings for each group of studies.
Compile the entire literature review and scan for coherence, continuity, and smoothness of transition.
Characteristics of a good review
Supports the need for the study in light of what has already been done.
Includes all or most of the major studies that have been conducted on the topic of interest.
Organized in a way that the development of ideas is clear.
Identifies areas in need of further study.
Presents a specific study question to determine what is already known about the problem.
States if the study relates to a particular theory.
Covers all relevant literature, both conceptual and data-based.
Based on previous data, not opinion of the researcher.
Clearly identifies the need for the study.
Clearly identifies existing gaps in knowledge.
Written in logical sequence from the general problem to the specific problem.
Conceptual models
Sets of highly abstract, related constructs.
Broadly explains phenomena of interest, reflects assumptions, and presents a philosophical view.
Not considered testable by researchers.
The ladder of abstraction
A way to gain a perspective when reading and thinking about frameworks for research. Imagine the ladder having these components:
- World view; the highest level on the ladder: represents paradigms, beliefs, and assumptions.
- Framework, theories, and concepts; the middle portion of the ladder: articulate research problem, aim of study, and overall structure of the research.
- Variables; the lowest level: can be observed and measured.
Critiquing criteria for theoretical frameworks
Is the framework consistent with a nursing perspective?
Is it appropriate to guide research on the subject of interest?
Are the concepts and variable clearly and appropriately defined?
Did the study present sufficient literature to support the selected concepts?
Is there a logical, consistent link between framework, the concepts being studied, the method of measurement?
Are the study findings examined in relation to the framework?
Middle-range theories
Have clearly defined variables, are less abstract, and address specific phenomena
Theory
A set of interrelated concepts that provides a systematic view of a phenomenon
Paradigm
Beliefs and assumptions to which the research belongs
T/F: Deductive reasoning is the basic intellectual process used in developing a theory
False
T/F: Theories can never be positively proved
True
T/F: In theory-testing research, one goal of the researcher is to rule out competing explanations for the observed relationships
True
What is the overall purpose of a theory?
To make scientific findings meaningful and generalizable
What is the similarity between theories and conceptual models?
Use concepts as their building blocks
Experimental research
The most rigorously controlled method of scientific inquiry.
Explores cause and effect relationships.
Basic characteristics of experimental design
Intervention
Control
Randomization
Types of experimental designs
Basic
Factorial
Crossover
Basic Design
Random assignment of participants to two groups.
Data collection done after experiment has been completed.
Also could collect data before the intervention as well as after.
Factorial design
Two or more variables are manipulated simultaneously and subjects are assigned at random to a combination of treatments.
Crossover design
Involves the exposure of the same study participants to more than one intervention.
Advantages of Experiments
Greater corroboration than other designs that the independent variable affects the dependent variable
Disadvantages of Experiments
Not always possible to control or manipulate variables when research is conducted on humans.
Although many variables could technically be manipulated, ethical considerations may prohibit them.
Hawthorne effect - like a placebo effect. Changes that occur in the subjects’ responses because they are aware they are being studied.
How do quasi-experimental designs differ from experimental designs?
One of the elements is missing (either random assignment, control, or manipulation)
Types of quasi-experimental designs
Non-equivalent control group design
Time-series design
Non-equivalent control group design
Involves an experimental treatment and two or more groups of subjects.
Groups are not randomly selected.
Time-series design
Involves examining a series of observations on some variable over time
Advantages of quasi-experiments
Practicality
Feasibility
Disadvantages of quasi-experiments
Cause-and-effect inferences cannot be made as easily as with true experiments
Types of Non-experimental research
Ex-post-facto research (correlational research)
Descriptive research
Ex-post-facto (correlational) research study types
Retrospective - attempt to link present events to events that occurred in the past. (i.e. Case-control design)
Prospective - explore a presumed cause and move ahead to a presumed effect. (i.e. Cohort design)
Descriptive research
Broad class of non-experimental research Purpose is to observe, describe, and document a phenomenon
Types of quantitative research
Surveys
Evaluations
Outcomes research
Internal validity
Concerned with the extent of control over influences external to the study, the extraneous variables that may influence or interfere with the study results. An extraneous variable confuses the relationship between the dependent and independent variable.
External validity
Refers to whether study findings are generalizable to other settings or populations
Threats to internal validity
History threat - events that occur during the study that have an effect on the dependent variables.
Maturation threat - processes occurring within the subjects during the study as a result of time
Testing - can affect post-test score
Instrumentation - changes in data collection methods
Mortality - when subjects do not continue throughout the experiment
Selection threat - the manner in which subjects are chosen
Temporal ambiguity - lack of clarity as to whether the independent variable preceded the dependent variable or vice versa
Threats to external validity
Adequacy of sampling design
Characteristics of the environment or research situation
Ethnographic Studies
Qualitative.
Field research in which the researcher attempts to understand aspects of another culture or subculture from an insider’s perspective.
Phenomenological Studies
Qualitative.
Philosophical research method in which the researcher attempts to develop a rich description of a phenomenon. The goal is to increase understanding of a lived experience.
Grounded theory research
Qualitative.
Used to generate new theory from data collected. An approach to the study of social processes and structures.
Guidelines for critiquing qualitative research designs
- Was the research tradition for the qualitative study identified? If none was identified, can one be inferred?
- Is the research question congruent with a qualitative approach and with the specific research tradition? Are the data sources and research methods congruent with the research tradition?
- How well was the research design described? Are design decisions explained and justified? Does it appear that the design emerged during data collection, allowing researchers to capitalize on early information?
- Did the design lend itself to a thorough, in-depth examination of the focal phenomenon? Was there evidence of reflexivity? What design elements might have strengthened the study?
- Was the study undertaken with an ideological perspective? If so, is there evidence that ideological goals were achieved?
Purpose of sampling
To be able to study a segment of the population and generalize the results to the entire population.
Non-probability sampling
Used in quantitative research.
Selecting a sample through non-random methods.
Findings are limited and not generalizable.
Methods of non-probability sampling
Convenience
Quota
Purposive
Convenience sampling (non-probability, quantitative)
Requires the use of the most readily available people as participants in the study (i.e. required study participation in psyc).
Weakest form of sampling strategy - risk of bias is high.
Quota sampling (quantitative)
Attempts to represent the actual population proportionately.
Not randomly selected - unknown source of bias that affects external validity.
Purposive sampling (quantitative)
Purposely selecting people who experience the phenomena of interest.
Bias increases with greater heterogeneity of population.
Limited ability to generalize.
Probability sampling (quantitative)
Random selection of elements from a population.
Avoids bias on part of researchers.
Likely the sample will be representative of the population.
Expensive and inconvenient
Time consuming
Probability sampling designs
Simple random sampling
Stratified random sampling
Cluster sampling
Systematic sampling
Simple random sampling
Each member of the population has an equal and independent chance of being selected.
No guarantee that sample will be representative of population. Laborious, but low risk of bias.
Stratified random sampling
Population divided into two or more strata (subgroups). Random sample drawn from each subgroup.
Helps ensure fair representation of population.
Cluster sampling
Groups, not individuals, are randomly selected.
Used when population is very large or spread over a wide geographic area.
Subject to more sampling errors, less representative.
Systematic sampling
All the elements from a list are systematically chosen for inclusion in the sample.
Bias in the form on non-randomness. Less representative.
Types of qualitative sampling
Convenience sampling
Snowball sampling
Purposive sampling
Convenience sampling (qualitative)
Participants who are readily available and represent the phenomenon of interest. Volunteer sample.
Snowball sampling (qualitative)
Asking early participants to make referrals to other study participants.
Purposive sampling (qualitative)
Researcher intentionally selects participants because they have certain characteristics that are related to the purpose of the research.
Alternative strategies used within qualitative purposive sampling
Maximum variation sampling Homogenous sampling Extreme/deviant case sampling Intensity sampling Typical case sampling Theory-based sampling
Maximum variation sampling
Involves purposefully selecting cases with a wide range of variation on dimensions of interest.
Homogenous sampling
Deliberately reduces variation and allows a more focused inquiry.
Extreme/deviant case sampling
Provide opportunities for learning from the most unusual and extreme informants
Intensity sampling
Consists of information-rich cases that manifest the phenomenon of interest intensely, but not as extreme or potentially distorting manifestations
Typical case sampling
Involves selection of participants who will illustrate or highlight what is typical or average
Theory-based sampling
Involves selection of people or incidents on the basis of their potential representation of important theoretical constructs
T/F: The one-group pretest - post-test design is an example of a pre-experimental design
True
T/F: the threat of maturation is one that primarily applies to studies involving children
False
The research design for a quantitative study involves decisions with regard to all of the following except:
A) Whether there will be a theoretical context
B) Whether there will be an intervention
C) What types of comparisons will be made
D) How many times data will be collected
A) Whether there will be a theoretical context
All of the following are issues that a qualitative researcher needs to attend to in planning a study except:
A) Selecting a site
B) Determining how best to gain entry to subject populations
C) Selecting data collection tools
D) Determining the maximum amount of time available for fieldwork
C) Selecting data collection tools
“What is the essence of men’s experiences of chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer?” is an example of a research question within which of the following traditions? A) Grounded theory B) Ethnography C) Phenomenology D) Ethology
C) Phenomenology
The type of non-probability design most likely to yield a representative sample
Quota sampling
In a qualitative study, sample size decisions are often guided by this principle
Data saturation
