NURS 5366 Module 2 Quiz – Questions and Answers

NURS 5366 Module 2 Quiz – Questions and Answers 1. In the following purpose statement, what kind of variable is number of days absent from class? The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a generous weekly allowance and twice-weekly text messages from parents on number of days absent from class, in freshman college students. Answers: a. Dependent variable b. Extraneous variable c. Independent variable Response Feedback: A dependent variable is the response behavior, or outcome that the researcher wants to predict or explain. In this example, number of days absent from class is the dependent variable. An independent variable is a stimulus or activity that is manipulated or varied by the researcher to create an effect on the dependent variable. The independent variable is also called an intervention, treatment, or experimental variable. Demographic variables are attributes of the subjects that are measured during the study and used to describe the sample. Extraneous variables exist in all studies and can affect the measurement of study variables and the relationships among them. 2. The report of a research study on a new medication to treat hypertension included this statement: “There was no significant difference in gender or age between the treatment and control groups.” Based on the statement, the reader of the report recognizes that gender and age were Answers: a. confounding variables b. demographic variables c. Environmental variables d. moderator variables Response Feedback: Age and Gender are demographic variables 3. A researcher wishes to conduct a correlational study to determine whether there is a relationship between stress levels and relapse rates among patients who have chronic conditions. In order to determine the existence of a relationship between these two variables, the researcher will attempt to: Answers: a. manipulate the level of stress in study subjects. b. provide lengthy descriptions of subject's behaviors. c. randomly assign subjects to groups d. obtain a large range of possible scores. 4. A study’s hypothesis that a new surgical approach produces safer outcomes in immunosuppressed patients is tested in a fourteen-site research study across the United States. Subjects at all sites are randomly selected and randomly assigned to experimental versus control groups. What study design is used in this research project? Answers: a. Model testing design b. Counterbalanced design c. Randomized controlled trial d. Quasi-experimental design Response Feedback: A randomized clinical trial (RCT) contains random assignment to experimental and clinical groups and very often is multi-site. A fully randomized design contains both random selection and random assignment. Quasi-experimental designs facilitate the search for knowledge and examination of causality in situations in which complete control is not possible. Such designs lack a control group, or lack random assignment to group. The modeltesting design requires that all variables relevant to the model be measured, using correlational statistics. A large, heterogeneous sample is required. Crossover, or counterbalancing, is a strategy designed to guard against possible erroneous conclusions resulting from carryover effects. With counterbalancing, subjects are randomly assigned to a specific sequencing of treatment conditions. This approach distributes the carryover effects equally throughout all the conditions of the study, thus canceling them out. To prevent an effect related to time, the same amount of time must be allotted to each treatment, and the crossover point must be related to time, not to the condition of the subject. 5. Which of the following study designs focuses on finding a cause and effect relationship among variables, but uses a lower level of control? Answers: a. Experimental b. Phenomenology c. Descriptive d. Quasi- experimental 6. Which of the following is a properly stated research hypothesis? Answers: a. If a child is homeless, that child is likely to have poor verbal skills, more difficulty separating from parents, and a longer hospital stay. b. There is no relationship between children’s homelessness and length of hospital stay, verbal skills, and fear of separation from parents. c. Homelessness in children is associated with length of hospital stay, verbal skills, and fear of separation from parents. Response Feedback: A hypothesis is a formal statement of the expected relationship or relationships between two or more variables in a specified population. The hypothesis translates the problem and purpose into a clear explanation or prediction of the expected results or outcomes of the study. A hypothesis (1) specifies the variables the researcher will manipulate or measure, (2) identifies the population the researcher will examine, (3) indicates the type of research, and (4) directs the conduct of the study