TEST BANK
Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for
Nursing Practice
Denise Polit, and Cheryl Beck
11th Edition
,Table of Contents
Chapter 01 Introduction to Nursing Research in an Evidence-Based Practice Environment 1
Chapter 02 Evidence-Based Nursing-Translating Research Evidence into Practice 12
Chapter 03 Key Concepts and Steps in Qualitative and Quantitative Research 24
Chapter 04 Research Problems, Research Questions, and Hypotheses 35
Chapter 05 Literature Reviews-Finding and Critically Appraising Evidence 44
Chapter 06 Theoretical Frameworks 54
Chapter 07 Ethics in Nursing Research 62
Chapter 08 Planning a Nursing Study 73
Chapter 09 Quantitative Research Design 84
Chapter 10 Rigor and Validity in Quantitative Research 95
Chapter 11 Specific Types of Quantitative Research 106
Chapter 12 Quality Improvement and Improvement Science 116
Chapter 13 Sampling in Quantitative Research 127
Chapter 14 Data Collection in Quantitative Research 138
Chapter 15 Measurement and Data Quality 149
Chapter 16 Developing and Testing Self-Report Scales 161
Chapter 17 Descriptive Statistics 172
Chapter 18 Inferential Statistics 182
Chapter 19 Multivariate Statistics 193
Chapter 20 Processes of Quantitative Data Analysis 205
Chapter 21 Clinical Significance and Interpretation of Quantitative Results 215
Chapter 22 Qualitative Research Design and Approaches 224
Chapter 23 Sampling in Qualitative Research 235
Chapter 24 Data Collection in Qualitative Research 245
Chapter 25 Qualitative Data Analysis 256
Chapter 26 Trustworthiness and Rigor in Qualitative Research 267
Chapter 27 Basics of Mixed Methods Research 277
Chapter 28 Developing Complex Nursing Interventions Using Mixed Methods Research 289
Chapter 29 Feasibility and Pilot Studies of Interventions Using Mixed Methods 299
Chapter 30 Systematic Reviews of Research Evidence 309
Chapter 31 Applicability, Generalizability, and Relevance Toward Practice-Based
Evidence 323
Chapter 32 Disseminating Evidence-Reporting Research Findings 335
Chapter 33 Writing Proposals to Generate Evidence 346
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Test Bank - Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice, 11th Edition (Polit, 2021)
Chapter 1: Introduction to Nursing Research in an Evidence-Based Practice
Environment
1. Which group is best served by clinical nursing research?
a. Nursing administrators
b. Practicing nurses
c. Nurses’ clients
d. Nurse researchers
ANS: C
Feedback:
Nursing research is systematic inquiry designed to develop trustworthy evidence about
issues of importance to the nursing profession. Although nursing research addresses such
areas as nursing education, administration, and informatics, clinical nursing research has
become prominent because it is the basis for evidence-based practice. Clinical nursing
research is designed to guide nursing practice and to improve the health and quality of life
of nurses’ clients, not the researchers who conducted the study or nursing administrators.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
REF: Page and Header: 2,What Is Nursing Research?
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Application NOT: Multiple Choice
2. Which sentence is an example of a clinical nursing research question?
a. What percentage of nurses has a master’s or doctorate degree?
b. What factors influence clients’ weight gain following a smoking cessation
intervention?
c. In what ways do nursing students benefit from a course on evidence-based
practice?
d. What is the appropriate course of action when a nurse is faced with a moral
dilemma?
ANS: B
Feedback:
The answers to clinical nursing research questions have the potential to improve the health
and quality of life of their clients. Clinical nursing research questions focus directly on
clients’ needs, experiences, and health behaviors, and the answers to such questions can
inform nurses’ decisions or lead to strategies to improve nursing practice.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
REF: Page and Header: 2, What Is Nursing Research?
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Application NOT: Multiple Choice
3. Which goal is the highest priority for research in the nursing profession?
a. To generate evidence to inform nurses’ decisions and actions
b. To conduct research focused on the context of nursing practice
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Test Bank - Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice, 11th Edition (Polit, 2021)
c. To document the role that nurses serve in society
d. To establish priorities for areas of study by nurse researchers
ANS: A
Feedback:
There is considerable agreement that research findings from rigorous studies can provide
especially strong evidence for informing nurses’ decisions and actions. Nurses are accepting
the need to base specific nursing actions and decisions on research evidence indicating that
the actions are clinically appropriate, cost- effective, and result in positive outcomes for
clients.
PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
REF: Page and Header: 2, The Importance of Research in Nursing
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Application NOT: Multiple Choice
4. In the United States, in what area does research play an important role for the nursing
profession?
a. Nurses’ opportunities for practicing internationally
b. Credentialing and the status of nursing
c. Nurses’ salaries and work environments
d. Nurses’ education
ANS: B
Feedback:
In the United States, research plays an important role in nursing in terms of credentialing
and status. In particular, research and efforts to promote evidence- based practice (EBP) are
key elements of the Magnet Recognition Program. Changes to nursing practice now occur
regularly because of EBP efforts, and these efforts enhance the status of the profession.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
REF: Page and Header: 2, The Importance of Research in Nursing
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Comprehension NOT: Multiple Choice
5. What is the role of consumers of nursing research?
a. Reading research reports to find evidence that is relevant to nursing practice
b. Participating in generating evidence by doing research
c. Gathering information from clients that can be used in research
d. Solving clinical problems and making clinical decisions
ANS: A
Feedback:
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Test Bank - Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice, 11th Edition (Polit, 2021)
Knowledge of nursing research enhances the professional practice of both consumers of
research (who read and appraise studies) and producers of research (who design and
undertake studies). Between these two points on the consumer– producer continuum lies a
rich variety of research activities in which nurses may engage. These activities include
contributing an idea for a study, advising clients about their participation in a study,
searching for research evidence, and making clinical decisions based on rigorous research.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
REF: Page and Header: 3, The Consumer–Producer Continuum in Nursing Research
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Analysis NOT: Multiple Choice
6. Which activity occurs in a journal club?
a. Development of an idea for a journal article
b. Presentation by a research article’s author about the article’s central ideas
c. Testing of participants on their comprehension of selected journal articles
d. Discussion of a research article regarding its relevance to practice
ANS: D
Feedback:
A journal club occurs in many practice settings, as an opportunity to share and discuss new
evidence of relevance to clinicians. Journal clubs sometimes involve face-to-face group
meetings but also can involve online discussions to accommodate diverse schedules.
Participants in a journal club do not develop ideas for a journal article, hear a presentation
by a researcher, or get tested on journal article content.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
REF: Page and Header: 3, The Consumer–Producer Continuum in Nursing Research
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Analysis NOT: Multiple Choice
7. On which topic did most nursing studies focus in the early 1900s?
a. Client satisfaction
b. Clinical problems
c. Translational research
d. Nursing education
ANS: D
Feedback:
Most studies in the early 1900s concerned nurses’ education rather than clinical or
client-related issues. In the 1960s, practice-oriented research on various clinical topics began
to emerge in the literature. During the 1970s, improvements in client care became a more
visible priority—signifying a growing awareness by nurses of the need for an evidence base
from which to practice and, more recently, the need to understand how to translate findings
into practice.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
REF: Page and Header: 3, Nursing Research in Historical Perspective
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Test Bank - Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice, 11th Edition (Polit, 2021)
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Comprehension NOT: Multiple Choice
8. Which broad goal most closely conforms to the priorities that have been suggested for
nursing research in the future?
a. Cultivating positive attitudes among nurses toward professional growth
b. Promoting excellence in nursing science
c. Improving nurses’ morale and reducing turnover
d. Increasing the number of healthcare organizations with Magnet® status
ANS: B
Feedback:
The broad priority for future nursing research is the promotion of excellence in nursing
science. Toward this end, nurse researchers and practicing nurses will be sharpening their
research skills and using those skills to address emerging issues of importance to the
profession and its clientele.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
REF: Page and Header: 5, Current and Future Directions for Nursing Research
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Application NOT: Multiple Choice
9. Which is emerging as a prominent direction for the future of nursing research?
a. Promoting journal clubs in healthcare settings
b. Converting consumers of research to producers of research
c. Emphasizing patient centeredness in research
d. Enhancing the use of inductive reasoning
ANS: C
Feedback:
Patient centeredness is a growing concern in research, as in the care of clients. More
attention is being paid to involving clients in research decisions and in ensuring that
research is relevant to clients and their caretakers. Promoting journal clubs, enhancing the
use of inductive reasoning, and increasing the cadre of nurse researchers are desirable but
are not prominent directions in nursing research.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
REF: Page and Header: 5, Current and Future Directions for Nursing Research
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Application NOT: Multiple Choice
10. If nurses make decisions by following “unit culture” practices, they are using which source
of evidence?
a. Tradition and authority
b. Intuition
c. Logical reasoning
d. Disciplined research
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Test Bank - Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice, 11th Edition (Polit, 2021)
ANS: A
Feedback:
Many decisions are made based on the guidance of an authority. These types of knowledge
are so much a part of a common heritage that few challenge their efficacy or seek
verification. Such “sacred cows” are widely used to guide practice but are a weaker form of
knowledge than disciplined research.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
REF: Page and Header: 6, Sources of Evidence for Nursing Practice
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Application NOT: Multiple Choice
11. What does the process of deductive reasoning entail?
a. Verifying assumptions that are part of our heritage
b. Developing specific predictions from general principles or theories
c. Drawing conclusions based on trial and error
d. Forming generalizations from specific observations
ANS: B
Feedback:
Deductive reasoning is the process of developing specific predictions from general
principles. Inductive reasoning is the process of developing generalizations from specific
observations. Deductive reasoning does not involve the verification of assumptions about
tradition nor coming to conclusions based on trial and error.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: Page and Header: 7, Logical Reasoning
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Comprehension NOT: Multiple Choice
12. What is a major assumption in the positivist paradigm?
a. Reality is “out there” and can be objectively studied, known, and understood
b. Objectivity is considered unrealistic and unattainable
c. Deconstruction is essential to understanding the real world
d. Reality is not fixed but is rather a construction of human minds
ANS: A
Feedback:
A fundamental assumption of positivists is that there is a reality “out there” that can be
scrutinized and understood through research. In the positivist paradigm, nature is assumed to
be ordered, and reality exists independent of human observation. Objectivity is considered
an important goal.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
REF: Page and Header: 8, The Positivist Paradigm
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Application NOT: Multiple Choice
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Test Bank - Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice, 11th Edition (Polit, 2021)
13. What is a central assumption of the constructivist paradigm?
a. Reality and natural phenomena are regular and orderly
b. Phenomena are not haphazard and result from prior causes
c. Reality is not fixed; it is multiply constructed and multiply interpreted by humans
d. Values can and should be held in check in studying the real world
ANS: C
Feedback:
In the constructivist (naturalistic) paradigm, in contrast to the positivist paradigm, it is
assumed that reality is not fixed and orderly but is rather a construction of human minds;
thus, “truth” is a composite of multiple constructions of reality. Researchers are not
expected to hold values in check in conducting research.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
REF: Page and Header: 8, The Constructivist Paradigm
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Application NOT: Multiple Choice
14. The traditional scientific method is associated with which paradigm?
a. Postmodern paradigm
b. Positivist paradigm
c. Constructivist paradigm
d. Naturalistic paradigm
ANS: B
Feedback:
The traditional scientific method involves the use of procedures that are orderly, systematic,
and objective, consistent with the positivist paradigm. A key assumption of this paradigm is
that values and biases of researchers can be held in check through disciplined strategies of
inquiry that are tightly controlled. The constructivist (naturalistic) paradigm does not adhere
rigidly to the tenets of the scientific method. Postmodernism is not a paradigm.
PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
REF: Page and Header: 9, The Scientific Method and Quantitative Research
NAT: Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment: Management of Care
TOP: Chapter: 1 KEY: Integrated Process: Nursing Process
BLM: Cognitive Level: Application NOT: Multiple Choice
15. Which is a characteristic of the traditional scientific method?
a. A flexible, emergent design
b. Inductive reasoning
c. A holistic view of a phenomenon, studied in a rich context
d. Systematic measurement and observation of natural phenomena
ANS: D
Feedback:
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