1. What are the major differences between qualitative and quantitative research designs?

Qualitative data is a much less straightforward process than quantitative data. Using words versus numbers to explain phenomena, which is both more subjective and more labor intensive. Qualitative reasoning is primarily deductive and the role of the researcher is more controlled and structured. Attribute Quantitative Qualitative One reality that can be Multiple realities that are Philosophical perspective objectively viewed by the subjective, occurring researcher within the context of the situation Type of reasoning Role of researcher Strategies Primarily deductive Controlled and structured Control and manipulation of situations Analysis of numbers with statistical tests Larger number of subjects Primarily inductive Participative and ongoing Possible designs Naturalistic; allows situations to unfold without interference Analysis of words to identify themes Smaller numbers of participants Phenomenology Ethnography Grounded theory Historical

Nonexperimental Correlational Quasiexperimental Experimental

2. What are the reasons for studying research for a BSN student? Because BSN students use research to generate new knowledge or validate and refine existing knowledge that directly or indirectly influences nursing practice. Without research, nursing practice would be based on tradition, authority, trial and error, personal experiences, intuition, and borrowed evidence, As a nursing student you must have the skills to read, evaluate, and apply nursing research so that as an early adopter you can be instrumental in moving an innovation to the point of care. 3. What type of questions do phenomenology studies ask? Grounded-theory studies? Ethnography studies? Phenomenology study o Studies experiences and the ways in which we put them together to develop a worldview o The focus is lived experience

What is lived experience of a woman dying from breast cancer?

Grounded-theory o The method of choice when the research wants to discover the process of something o The focus is process What is the process of recovery following breast cancer? Ethnography study o involves studying groups and making collective observations, and is considered the method of choice for studying cultures o The focus is culture What are the self-care practices of Athabascan Indians in Glenallen, Alaska? 4. How are qualitative studies critiqued? There are four essential elements of evaluation that are used to critique qualitative studies: Credibility o Persistent observation, peer debriefing, referential adequacy, member checks Transferability o Thick descriptions, audit trail, adequate sampling Dependability o Record keeping, reflective writing, peer debriefers Confirmability o open-ended interview questions, member checks, record keeping 5. What is the difference between experimental, quasi-experimental, and nonexperimental research designs? Experimental o Provides the best evidence for claiming that a cause and effect relationship exists (before and after design) Quasi-experimental o It is like experimental design as they involved the manipulation of IV but do not meet one of the other essential components of experimental designthey either lack randomization or a control group, which makes claims of cause and effect weaker Non-experimental

o Descriptive design that details the phenomenon of interest. The primary difference between non-experimental and other quantitative designs is that researchers do not actively manipulate the IV. 6. What are the three essential components of an experimental design? Randomization o Randomly selecting subjects from the target population and randomly assigning subjects to a group Control group for comparison o A control group for comparison to the experimental group Manipulation of the independent variable o Researchers must be able to manipulate the IV for a design to be considered experimental 7. What is an example of a null hypothesis? Hypothesis that says nothing is happening, no relationship, chance only A statement that there is no actual relationship between variables Assumes equality and represents no relationship between variables (x and y) Operates as the comparison for the research hypothesis o Example: Female offenders do not receive different treatment than mal offenders Example: There is no significant difference in the anxiety level of children of high IQ and those of low IQ 8. Know how to identify independent and dependent variables? Independent variable (X) o Influences the dependent variable, or outcome o Relates to/causes the problem of interest (must occur before the dependent variable, X) Dependent variable (Y) o The outcome influenced by X 9. What are extraneous variables (Z)? Factors that interfere with the relationship between the independent and dependent variables o Influence the outcome of the experiment, though they are not the variables that are actually of interest

10. What is a theoretical framework? Why is it important to a research study? The theoretical framework of the study is a structure that can hold or support a theory of a research work Presents the theory which explains why the problem under study exists o Thus, the theoretical framework is but a theory that serves as a basis for conducting research. Important because: o Helps researcher see clearly the variables of the study o Provides researcher with a general framework for data analysis o Essential in preparing a research proposal using descriptive and experimental methods 11. What is the difference between conceptual and operational definitions? Provide an example of each. Conceptual definition o The definitions of the theorys concepts o Describes what a concept means by relating it to other abstract concepts Operational definition o The definitions that explicitly state how the variable will be measured or operationalized o Describes a concept in terms of its observable and measurable characteristics or behaviors, by specifying how the concept can be observed in actual practice Difference? o A conceptual definition tells you what the concept means, while an operational definition only tells you how to measure it. o A conceptual definition tells what your constructs are by explaining how they are related to other constructs. This explanation and all of the constructs it refers to are abstract. o On the other hand, your operational definitions describe the variables you will use as indicators for you or constructs and the procedures you will use to observe or measure the variables. Example: Construct: The construct in question is trust in a work context. Conceptual definition At the level of conceptual definition, you begin to specify the different aspects of a construct. For example: Trust (in a work setting) can be conceptually defined as composing these aspects: 1. keeping commitments; 2. negotiating fairly;

3. avoiding taking excessive advantage. Operational definition At the level of operational definition, you are describing how someone would know if a constructs specific aspects are present. In this case, the presence of the various aspects of trust can be known by having people answer the following questions. So, the constructs observable indicators are the answers to the questions listed below, and these indicators are observed by asking the questions. Keep commitments: We feel we can depend on (person) to move our joint projects forward. We feel that (person) tries to get out of commitments. We think (person) lets us down. Negotiate fairly We feel that (person) negotiates with us honestly. We feel that (person) misrepresents his/her capabilities. We think that (person) is open in describing its strengths and weaknesses when negotiating joint projects. Avoid taking excessive advantage We feel that (person) takes advantage of us. We feel that (person) takes advantage of people who are vulnerable. 12. What is an institutional review board? An Institutional Review Board (IRB) is charged with protecting the rights and welfare of people involved in research IRB reviews plans for research involving human subjects Institutions that accept research funding from the federal government must have an IRB to review all research involving human subjects (even if a given research project does not involve federal funds) The Food and Drug Administration and the Office of Protection from Research Risks (part of the National Institutes of Health) set the guidelines and regulations governing human subjects research and IRBs. 13. What are vulnerable populations? Vulnerable populations o Groups needing protection because of their limited ability to provide informed consent or risk for coercion i.e. children, pregnant women, the unborn, frail elderly, prisoners, and individuals with some level of mental incapacity

o Factors such as ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, education, and language may create potential vulnerability for certain subjects 14. What is the difference between a full, expedited, and exempt review? Full review o conducted by an institutional review board (IRB) when there is a potential risk to human subjects such as vulnerable populations or when risks are not minimal Expedited review o May be conducted by an IRB if there is minimal risk to human subjects Exempt reviews o Certain low-risk studies not requiring consent from individuals, but still need IRB approval (Table 2-7 list 6 exempt categories of research p.58) 15. What is the difference between population and sample? Population o The entire group of elements that meet study inclusion criteria Sample o A select group of subjects that is representative of all eligible subjects. 16. What is the difference between probability and non-probability samples? Probability sampling o occurs when every element in the accessible population has an equal chance of being selected for inclusion in the study o Three conditions that must be met an accessible population must be identifiable the researcher must create a sampling frame random selection must be used to choose elements from the sampling frame Non-probability sampling o differs because these samples are not randomly selected and are less likely to be representative of the target population 17. What is random assignment? What are strategies for randomizing subjects to groups? Random assignment o All subjects in the sample (not the population) have an equal chance of being assigned to either the treatment or the control group o Allows researchers to be more confident that it was the independent variable rather than the extraneous variables that caused the effect on the dependent variable.

 Strategies for randomizing subjects to groups o Increases the likelihood that extraneous variables that may affect the dependent variable will be equally distributed between the two groups 18. What are the advantages and disadvantages of convenience sampling? Advantage of convenience sampling o Researchers are able to select elements for inclusion in the sample because they are easy to access. Disadvantages o Impossible for the researcher to create a sampling frame and randomly select subjects o Has the highest probability of bias o May not be representative of the target population. 19. What are inclusion and exclusion criteria? Inclusion criteria o Used to determine subjects to be included in the sample o Researchers identify characteristics that each element must possess to be included in the sample Exclusion criteria o Characteristics of elements that will not be included in a sample o The use of exclusion criteria may decrease the risks of certain characteristics impacting the results of a study.

20. What is level of significance (p value)? What level of significance do most studies use? The level of significance (p value) is the amount of evidence required to accept that an event is unlikely to have happened by chance. The level of significance most studies use is 0.05. 21. What is internal and external validity? Internal validity o degree to which one can conclude that it was the IV not the extraneous variables, that produced the change in the DV o establish internal validity, researchers must demonstrate that results obtained were caused by the IV Threats to internal validity o Selection Bias

 o History o Maturation o Testing

occurs when the change in the DV is a result of differences in the characteristics of subjects before they entered a study, rather than a s a result of the IV can be minimized by the use of random assignment to groups

occurs when the DV may have been influenced by some event, other than the IV, that occurred during the course of the study

in the course of study, subjects may change either by growing or becoming more mature more likely to influence the DV when a study continues over time

occurs when a pretest influences the way subjects respond on a posttest; repeated testing can cause familiarity with the test itself and answers may reflect subjects abilities to remember how questions were answered previously rather than reflecting current knowledge and beliefs

o Instrumentation when there are changes made in the way variables are measured e.g. measuring BP using aneroid sphygmomanometer but later measurements are taken using an automated device e.g. data collected by observation or interview using different data collectors o Mortality refers to the loss of subjects before the study is completed; loss of subjects may be a threat to internal validity if there is a difference in the characteristics of the subjects who dropped out compared to those who completed the study difference in the loss of subjects between the experimental and control groups mortality tends to increase the longer the study emotional states (depression, anxiety), physical states (fatigues) may influence drop outs (attrition rate: drop out rate) when appraising a study for threat of mortality, important to compare the number of subjects who entered the study with the number of subjects in the final sample

o Statistical Conclusion Validity refers to the confidence one has that the results of the statistical analysis accurately reflect the true relationship between the IV and the DV

does not happen when researchers make a type II error (error that occur when researchers inaccurately conclude that there is no relationship between the IV and DV when an actual relationship does exist) likely to occur in a small sample size; often large samples are needed to detect the effect of IV on DV low reliability of the measures is another factor that can interfere with accurate relationship between IV and DV

External validity o refers to the degree to which the results of the study can be generalized to other subjects, settings, and times Threats to external validity o Construct Validity whether the instrument is really measuring the theoretical concept under investigation can lead to unintentional confounding of the results consider information presented in the methods section of the article which contains information on the reliability of the instrument used and details as to how the validity of the instrument was established o Reactivity Subjects are influenced by participating the study; changes noted in the DV can be a result of subject reactivity (HAWTHORNE EFFECT) o Experimenter Expectancy another type of reactivity that threatens external validity; when researchers have desired outcomes in mind, they may inadvertently affect how interventions are conducted and how they interact with subjects o Double blind experimental designs used to control for threats of reactivity; neither subjects nor individuals administering the treatments know if subjects are receiving experimental interventions or standard of care o Effects of Selection limit the ability to generalize to the population Interaction of Treatment and Selection of Subjects difference between the accessible population and the target population of interest o Interaction of Treatment and Setting concerned with whether results from an intervention conducted in one setting can be generalized to another setting where the same intervention is used

o Interaction of Treatment and History concerned with how the effects from the intervention might be changed by events occurring in the past or in the future 22. Describe the threats to internal validity See above 23. Name the level of measure (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio): nominal o weakest level of measurement o used to classify or categorize variables o numbers assigned to each category are just labels and do not indicate any value for example, responses of yes and no on a survey are often assigned numbers one and two o e.g. martial status, gender, race and diagnosis ordinal o categorical data o represents second lowest level of measurement o continuum of numeric values is used with small umbers representing lower levels on the continuum, while larger numbers represent higher values while values ordered or ranked, intervals not meant to be equal for example, in a marathon the distance and time among those who finish in first, second and third is not equal; however, there is value to the number assigned interval o uses continuum of numeric values o values have meaning and intervals are equal o in interval scales, zero point arbitrary and not absolute zero not indication of the true absence of something e.g. Celsius degrees, 0 Celsius does not mean the absence of temperature other examples: intelligence measures, personality and manual muscle Ratio o Highest level of measurement o Uses continuum of numeric values with equal intervals and a zero point that is absolute o E.g. age, weight, height, income, Hemoglobin A1C 24. Why is the level of measure important? to select appropriate statistical tests for analyzing data to correctly appraise evidence

nominal: weakest level of measurement ordinal: 2nd lowest interval: 3rd level ratio: highest level of measurement

25. What is the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics? Descriptive statistics o Deal with the collection and presentation of data used to explain characteristics of variables found in a sample; describe, summarize, and synthesize collected data o Explaining characteristics of variables found in sample in a manageable form Inferential statistics o Use data to reach conclusions that extend beyond the immediate data o Can findings be applied to the population? 26. What is a mean, median and mode? Mean: o average data value (sum of data divided by # data) o greatly affected by outliers because every value in the data set is included in the calculation; best measure of central tendency if there are no extreme values Median: o middle data point (half the data is less, half is more); best measure of central tendency if there are extreme values Mode: o the most frequently occurring value in a data set 27. Know how to use Table 11-12 (1st ed). Inferential Tests Commonly Used in Nursing variety of tests are used to analyze data to determine if there is statistically significant difference among the groups researchers must consider: o -number of groups o -what level variables are measured (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio) Chi Square Test: o used when looking at nominal and ordinal data o nonparametric o commonly used to compare observed data with data we would expect to obtain according to a specific hypothesis were deviations the result of chance or were they due to other factors?

 T-statistic: o used when looking at internal or ratio data o parametric o determine if there is statistically significant difference between 2 groups (experimental group versus the control group) ANOVA (analysis of variance): o used when looking at internal or ratio data o parametric o used when there are more than two groups o used to see whether there is statistically significant difference between several groups 28. Why is an instruments reliability important? (pg. 200) instruments considered reliable when researchers obtain consistent measurements over time (instrument can be reliable but not valid) 29. Describe Likert scales. (pg. 192 and notes) scale consists of statements on which respondents indicate whether they agree or disagree on a continuum used to collect data e.g. when several Likert scares are used in a questionnaire, the positive number or indicators should consistently be in the same position, for example: 1 = strongly agree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree 30. What are the advantages and disadvantage to using a questionnaire to collect data? (from notes) Advantages: o cheap, anonymity, reduced interviewer bias Disadvantages: o may be incomplete, possibly low response rates, not suitable for some populations 31. What is evidence-based practice? What type of evidence is used? pg. 4: conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of theory-derived, research-based information in making decisions about care delivery to individuals or groups of patients and in consideration of individual needs and preferences Types of evidence (pg. 79-80) o primary sources original information by person or people responsible for creating them paintings, speeches, diary entries, autobiographies, interviews

o secondary sources commentaries, summaries, reviews, or interpretations of primary sources textbooks, systematic reviews, biographies, general magazines o Peer review rigorous evaluation by experts and editors o Scholarly, trade, and popular literature categories: Scholarly written and edited by professional in the discipline for other colleagues trade

written for professionals within discipline but written with more casual tone

popular literature written to inform and entertain general public

o periodicals, journals, and magazines: periodical published periodically, usually on a set schedule journal resources of scholarly or professional nature magazine resource targeted for general reading audience from notes) Other sources of evidence: traditional, authority, trial and error, personal experiences, intuition, borrowed evidence, scientific research 32. What are levels of evidence? Why is evidence ranked? What are some examples of rating systems? Levels of evidence: evidence is graded by examining the risk versus benefit and quality or strength of the evidence o ranked to determine if the results are transferable to a clinical setting o also used to make recommendations about practice changes Examples: o evidence hierarchy: systematic reviews, meta-analysis, and EBP guidelines are at the top AHRQ A, B, C, D, or I Cochrane Collaboration Levels of evidence I-IV Joanna Briggs Grades A E

GRADE (Grades of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) High, moderate, low, and very low

33. What are background and foreground questions? (from notes) Background questions: o seeking general information, usually in the form of the 7 Ws (who, what, where, why, for whom, and how well) Foreground questions: o patient-focused or patient-centered o seeks specific information to answer questions of etiology, diagnosis, therapy, prevention, and harm o focusing on a knowledge gap for a patient with a specified disease or disorder. 34. What is an example of a PICO question? (from notes) P: patient, population, or problem I: intervention or area of interest C: comparison intervention O: outcome Ex.) Does maintaining laboring women in an upright position during the second stage of labor positively affect maternal and fetal outcomes? 35. What are practice guidelines? What are they used for? Where can they be found? (pg. 241-242) Practice guidelines: o systematically developed statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances o created by a group of experienced experts and key affected groups who read, critique, and prioritize the pertinent evidence o developed to improve patient and system outcomes o consistent care delivery o enhance efficient use of resources Guidelines should have the following characteristics: validity, reliability/reproducibility, clinical applicability, clinical flexibility, clarity Can be found: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) or National Guidelines Clearinghouse 36. What type of studies are found in the Cochrane Library? Systematic Reviews evidence-based summaries written in an easy to read style

37. What are some reasonable strategies for incorporating evidence-based nursing into your practice? Five step approach for Evidence-Based Nursing Practice (from notes): 1. Ask o identify research question; determine if question is well constructed to elicit a response or solution 2. Acquire o search literature for preappraised evidence or research; secure best evidence available 3. Appraise o conduct a critical appraisal of literature and studies; evaluate for validity and determine applicability to practice 4. Apply o institute recommendations and findings and apply them to nursing practice 5. Assess o evaluate application of findings, outcomes, and relevance to nursing practice