RESEARCH NRSG 450 EXAM 1
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Why should the registered nurse practicing bedside nursing be concerned about
research for the delivery of quality nursing care?
A. Research provides the nurse with knowledge needed to make sound clinical
decisions.
B.One study can change nursing practice dramatically.
C. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations requires all
nurses to be consumers of research.
D. Traditional nursing care is no longer appropriate for 21st century nursing. ✅Answer:
A
Rationale: Clinical decisions should be based on knowledge about patient outcomes,
not just tradition. Option B, C, and D are incorrect: Practice should never change on the
basis of just one study. The Joint Commission regulates health care settings, not the
practice of nursing. Much of "traditional" practice has been found to lead to positive
patient outcomes.
Why should the average consumer of health care be concerned about nursing
research?
A. Research provides evidence that nursing care makes a difference.
B. The nursing profession needs to define its place in the health care system.
C. Accrediting agencies must determine how best to use the technology needed to
provide nursing care.
D. Nurses must justify the cost of their services for reimbursement purposes.
✅Answer: A
Rationale: Nursing is accountable to consumers when they can demonstrate the safety
and effectiveness of nursing care. Options B and C focus on the nursing profession, not
the consumer, and therefore do not answer the question. Nursing research builds
knowledge about effective nursing interventions, as well as the cost-effectiveness of
nursing care.
,The nurse in an intensive care unit is engaged in nursing practice that is evidence
based. The nurse recognizes which sequence of steps that will culminate in evidence-
based practice?
A. Evaluate, act, appraise and assess, gather, and ask
B. Appraise and assess, act, ask, gather, and evaluate
C. Ask, gather, assess and appraise, act, and evaluate
D. Gather, ask, evaluate, act, and appraise and assess ✅Answer: C
Rationale: The correct sequence of steps involved in the process of evidence-based
practice consists of ask, gather, assess and appraise, act, and evaluate.
To be important to nursing practice, which best supports nursing theory?
A. Educational environment
B. Nursing research
C. Patient outcomes
D. Expansive body of science ✅Answer: B
Rationale: Although nursing research cannot prove or disprove a theory, it can support
the theory. Nursing theory arises from clinical practice and has been developed by both
practitioners and educators. Because theory cannot be tested directly, patient outcomes
cannot directly support theory. Theory is part of an expansive body of science.
A nurse researcher is searching for the purpose of a study in a research report. Where
is the most likely place to find the purpose in the report?
A. At the end of the research design section
B. At the end of the literature review section
C. At the end of the sampling section
D. At the end of the conclusion section ✅Answer: B
Rationale: The purpose of a study is usually located at the end of the researcher's
introduction, the end of the literature review, or conceptual framework section. The
purpose of a study is usually not located in the research design section, sampling
section, or conclusion section.
The best way to determine that a research study met ethical standards is by locating
which information?
A. The reliability and validity of each measure were discussed.
B. The data analysis procedures are thoroughly discussed.
C. The study was approved by an institutional review board.
,D. The sampling techniques used were discussed. ✅Answer: C
Rationale: Approval of the study by an institutional review board ensures that the study
met ethical standards. Although the discussion of the reliability and validity of
instruments, the procedures used for data analysis, and the sampling techniques used
are important, they do not indicate that the study met ethical standards.
The nurse researcher wants to summarize several studies that focus on early detection
of ovarian cancer. The nurse intends to use specific statistical methods that will allow
conclusions to be drawn by the focus area. In this case, which is the best systematic
review to choose?
A. Meta-analysis
B. Integrative review
C. Meta-synthesis
D. Meta-summary ✅Answer: A
Rationale: A meta-analysis summarizes a number of studies focused on a one question
or topic using a specific statistical methodology to synthesize the findings in order to
draw conclusions about the area of focus. An integrative review is a focused review and
synthesis of either research or theoretical literature on a particular area that follows
specific steps of literature integration and synthesis without statistical analysis and can
include both quantitative and qualitative articles. A meta-synthesis is the synthesis of a
number of qualitative research studies on a focused topic using specific qualitative
methodology. A meta-summary is the synthesis of a number of qualitative research
studies on a focused topic using specific qualitative methodology.
For which research question would qualitative methods be most appropriate?
A. Which pain medications decrease the need for sleep medication in elderly patients?
B. What is the meaning of health for migrant farmworker women?
C. Under what conditions does a decubitus ulcer heal most quickly?
D. How does frequency of medication administration affect the degree of pain
experienced following knee replacement surgery? ✅Answer: B
Rationale: Option B seeks to explore a phenomenon (health) for a specific population.
Option A seeks to understand a cause-and-effect interaction between the use of pain
medication and the need for sleep medication, making it a quantitative study. Option C
seeks to discover a cause-and-effect interaction between treatment and speed of
, healing, making it a quantitative study. Option D seeks to discover a cause-and-effect
interaction between medication administration and the degree of pain experienced,
making it a quantitative study.
The nurse is attempting to locate the legal-ethical issues of a qualitative research study.
The best place for the nurse to look for this in the study is where?
A. Discussion section
B. Procedure section
C. Design section
D. Sample section ✅Answer: B
Rationale: The legal-ethical issues of a study are usually included in the procedure
section of the report.
Which is the best strategy for a nurse researcher to use in order to read a research
study critically?
A. Read the study through once very thoroughly.
B. Use a research text to clarify unfamiliar terms.
C. Underline the study's findings.
D. Use the abstract to select the parts of the study needing closer perusal. ✅Answer:
B
Rationale: A research text is an excellent resource for clarifying unfamiliar terms.
Multiple readings are necessary for a critical understanding of the study. Although
underlining critical components of the study may be useful, the study's findings are
easily located in one section of the report. The abstract can provide only a general
overview. The entire report should be scanned before closer scrutiny of specific parts.
Which is the best way for a nurse to use research appropriately?
A. Follow the study researcher's recommendations.
B. Read many studies in the same content area and follow the recommendations of the
studies with similar findings.
C. Explore the strength of the evidence available.
D. Replicate studies in their own settings to make sure recommendations are
contextually appropriate. ✅Answer: C
