Review Questions Flashcards
A nurse researcher should be particularly concerned about having a small sample size for which of the following reasons?
There is an increased risk of obtaining a non representative sample
A nurse researcher uses the technique of power analysis to do what?
To estimate the target sample size
A nurse researcher would hesitate to use non probability sampling because
It will result in less generalizability than if probability sampling were used
The nurse researcher selects matching as a technique in a research study. What does the technique of matching in a sampling strategy contribute to the research?
Increased equivalency of the characteristics of the study groups
The nurse researcher can most accurately determine sample size by considering which of the following
The design of the study
The researcher used word of mouth recruitment strategies to find potential participants that were known by enrolled participants. This is most accurately referred to as what?
Snowball sampling
Which of the following is a type of probability sampling?
Stratified random
What is the process of selecting representative units/subjects of a population for study in a research investigation?
Sampling
A nurse researcher is working with students experiencing test anxiety. Their nurse has the students take a test while she watches through a one way mirror. What does this approach incorporate?
Observation and concealment
A nurse researcher would choose physiologic data collection methods for which reason?
Data collected is sensitive and specific to the physiologic process being investigated
During a research project, the researcher notes that the subject completes each assigned task with a much higher level of performance than he would normally exhibit. How should a nurse researcher most accurately describe this change in the subjects behavior that is due to reacting to participating in a research study?
Social desirability
The training of data collectors to adhere strictly to a standard protocol for collecting data will affect the findings of the study by doing what?
Increasing consistency in data collection
What advantage is shared by both interview and questionnaire self report data collection methods?
Both seek to understand the attitudes, beliefs, and feelings of participants
What is the nurse researchers primary concern in data collection for research?
Objectivity and consistency in data collection
“Are the items appropriately close ended or open ended?” Refers to which data collection method?
Self report measures
An instrument that repeatedly and consistently obtains the same results has which of the following?
Reliability
When the validity of an instrument is determined, the nurse researcher accesses what?
Stability
Compared with a quasi-experimental design, which of these characteristics should a nurse expect to see only in a true experimental design?
Random assignment
Control is important in an experimental research study for which of these reasons?
It introduces one or more constants into the experimental situation
In a true experimental study which of the following describes the control group?
Receives the placebo treatment or usual treatment
Randomization strengthens an experimental study in which of these ways
It decreases the possibility that extraneous variables explain the study results
The experimental treatment initiated by a researcher can be described as
Independent variable
Which action would increase the control of an experimental study?
Establishing strict criteria for subject selection
Which of the following represents a weakness in the quasi-experimental research design, as compared to an experimental research design?
Weaker evidence for a cause and effect relationship between variables
A nurse researcher will choose to use a prospective developmental study design to do what?
Allow exploration of the changing nature of relationships between variables over time
What is the first question that should be asked in determining whether a cross sectional design versus a longitudinal design should be used in a quantitative study?
What is the nature of the problem being studied
A nurse researcher would choose to use a correlational study of multiple variables for which purpose?
To test whether one variable causes another variable
How does an experimental research design differ from a non experimental research design?
Nonexperimental designs attempt to test relationships among variables and experimental designs attempt to test cause and effect relationships
What threat to internal validity is most closely associated with a longitudinal design?
Mortality effects
Which of the following types of developmental studies collects data at only one point in time?
Cross sectional
Which of the following is considered to be a nonexperimental developmental study?
Cross sectional
Which of the following is a disadvantage to using a survey study design?
Information collected is relatively superficial
Why would a nurse researcher choose to use a correlational design for a nonexperimental study?
It represents an efficient method of collecting a large amount of data about a problem.
