txt book: Understanding nursing research – building an evidence based practice 6th edition by Grove, Gray and Burns (2015)

RAC 1

1. Which one of the choices below best reflects the problem statement for the RAC article? (select all that apply)
a. Sleep is studied either subjectively through self-report or by objective measures.
b. There is a lack of actigraphy studies estimating patients’ objective sleep patterns after a stroke.
c. Sleep disruption can be a problem after stroke.
d. To our knowledge, subjective and objective sleep measures have not been compared during recovery in people with stroke.

2. Which of the choices below best reflects the purpose statement for this research study?
a. Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide.
b. Whether or not there are gender differences in sleep patterns in the stroke population is also not known.
c. The aims of this study were: (1) to compare sleep, using subjective and objective measures, in the acute phase and at 6 months follow-up; (2) to examine these data for gender differences.
d. Sleep disruption can be a problem after stroke.

3. According to Grove, Gray, and Burns (2015), which of the following statements are important when considering the significance and relevance of a study? (Select all that apply.)

a. Does it influence nursing practice?
b. Does it build on previous research?
c. Does it promote theory testing or development?
d. Does it address nursing research priorities?
e. Does it identify extraneous variables?
f. Does it consider ethical principles in its design?

4. When considering the feasibility of a study, Grove, Gray, and Burns (2015) suggest that several areas should be evaluated, including: researcher expertise, money commitment, ethical considerations, and availability of subjects, facilities, and equipment. Which of the following
statements accurately assesses the feasibility of this article?

a. The authors have credentials to design and conduct research.
b. No sources of funding were identified for this study.
c. Evidence of protection of the subject’s rights was not mentioned in this article.
d. The sample size was not adequate and the researchers had very little access to subjects
for this study.

Questions 5 – 7: Review of the Literature. (For help with these questions, refer to chapters 6 & 12.)

5. According to Grove, Gray, and Burns (2015), which one of the following is NOT a major purpose of the review of literature (ROL):

a. Describing the current knowledge of the practice problem
b. Identifying gaps in the knowledge base of the practice problem
c. Explaining how the current study contributes to the knowledge being built
d. To describe the abstract of the study in more detail

6. Select three major topics covered in the review of literature (ROL) from the list below:

a. Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide.
b. Sleep is studied either subjectively through self-report or by objective measures.
c. The sample size was not adequate and the researchers had very little access to subjects for this study.
d. Men have poorer sleep quality than women.
e. Women have poorer sleep quality than men.
f. Sleep may affect stroke rehabilitation.

7. Current knowledge in the review of literature (ROL) (as found in the Introduction and Background for this article) is considered to be articles that are within 5 years of the publication date of the article. This is often assessed by reviewing the citations that are used in the ROL and counting the number that have been published within the past 5 years. Which number below most closely reflects the number of current citations in the ROL?
a. 5
b. 10
c. 13
d. 17

Questions 8 – 9: Study Framework. (For help with these questions, refer to chapters 7 & 12)

8. Which of these statements best describes this study’s framework?
a. This study has an implicit framework, which is not fully developed or explained in the ROL.
b. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is the theoretical basis of this study.
c. The Biobehavioral Model of Altered Dysregulation in Circadian Systems theory is used to describe the sleep-wake disturbances for this study.
d. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 is the criteria for a theoretical framework described in this study.

9. What are the key concepts in this study’s framework?

a. Polysomnography is the gold standard for obtaining subjective measures of sleep.
b. Pain worsens sleep quality.
c. This study does not have any clearly defined concepts within a framework because it is an implicit framework.
d. There is a poor survival rate of stroke patients and many have sequelae.

Questions 10 – 14: Research objectives, questions, or hypotheses and research variables. (For help with these questions, refer to chapters 5 & 12)

10. The authors state: “The aims of this study were: (1) to compare sleep, using subjective and objective measures, in the acute phase after stroke and at 6-month follow-up; (2) to examine these data for gender differences.” Is this best described as a

a. Research question
b. Research objective
c. Research hypothesis
d. None of the above.

11. Identify two of the MAJOR study variables:
a. Sleep environment
b. Sleep in the acute phase after stroke
c. Gender differences
d. Cohort study

12. What is the conceptual definition (as defined in the review of the literature) of the following study variable: sleep quality
a. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) defines sleep quality.
b. Polysomnography is the gold standard for obtaining objective measures of sleep.
c. Actigraphy estimates sleep-wake patterns.
d. The sleep patterns that promote energy and capacity for participating in rehabilitation.

13. What is the operational definition (as defined in the methods section) of the following study variable: sleep quality
a. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) defines sleep quality.
b. The sleep patterns that promote energy and capacity for participating in rehabilitation.
c. The number of awakenings and wake time increase with age.
d. Women have longer sleep times.
14. Which demographic variables were assessed by the author for this study? (select all that
apply)

a. Age
b. Gender
c. Number of children
d. Diagnosis
e. Number of awakenings
f. No demographic variables were assessed by the authors.

Questions 15- 18: Research Design (For help with these questions, refer to chapters 1, 8, & 12)

15. Which phrase best describes the research design of this study? (Hint: Although the author uses different words to describe their study than the designs mentioned in the textbook, which textbook design comes closest to the design described in the study?)
a. Descriptive
b. Comparative Descriptive
c. Correlational
d. Quasi-experimental
e. Experimental
f. Mixed methods

16. Why is this study considered longitudinal?

a. The subjects are not monitored throughout the study period.
b. Data collection took place at the beginning of the study and after 6 months.
c. The subjects were in rehabilitation for a long time.
d. Data was collected at one point in time on the subjects.

17. Does the study include a treatment or intervention described in the methods section?
a. The questionnaires used in the study may be considered to be a treatment or intervention.
b. This study was not designed with a treatment or intervention.
c. 100 patients were invited to participate in the intervention.
d. Polysomnography is the intervention used in this study.

18. Does the author specifically mention that a pilot study was done prior to conducting this study?
a. Yes
b. No

RAC 2

Questions 1 – 8 Sample. (For help with these questions, refer to chapters: 9 & 12)

1. What sampling method or plan was used by the authors in this study?
a. simple random sampling
b. systematic sampling
c. convenience sampling
d. network sampling
e. none of the above

2. According to Grove, Gray, and Burns (2015), what are the potential biases of this sampling method?
a. this is a strong probability sampling method with very little potential for bias
b. this method is used when an ordered list of all members of the population are available, and provides a random but not equal chance for inclusion in the study.
c. this method provides little opportunity to control for bias because subjects are included in the study merely because they happen to be in the right place at the right time.
d. this method is specific to the individuals who were recruited and the information gained cannot be generalized to others who don’t share these types of experiences.
e. none of the above biases best describe the sampling method chosen by the author.

3. What was the final sample size reported by the authors for this study?
a. 1002 nurses
b. 40 nurses
c. 309 nurses
d. 240 nurses

4. Was a power analysis conducted? If so, which statement best describes the results of the power analysis?
a. The authors mention that a power analysis was conducted.
b. The authors mention that a power analysis was conducted, and 240 subjects were determined to be needed for the study.
c. The authors do not report that a power analysis was conducted.

5. Which of these statements would be considered to be an inclusion criterion for the sample in the research article? (Select all that apply.)

a. French-speaking registered nurses
b. Currently working in the public sector
c. Received their professional attestation (license) in 2004
d. Agreed to share their contact information for research
e. Working in the Canadian province of Ontario
f. Must be less than 22 years old at the time of the survey

6. What is the acceptance rate for this study?
a. 32.1%
b. 68.9%
c. 75%
d. 33.77%

7. Which of the following would be accurate for the attrition rate for this study?
a. 32.1%
b. 68.9%
c. 33.77%
d. There is no attrition rate recorded for this study because it is a cross-sectional study.

8. What was the setting for this research study? Was it appropriate for conducting this study?
a. The setting for this study was a natural or field setting and was appropriate for this study’s research design.
b. The setting for this study was a partially controlled setting and was appropriate for this study’s research design.
c. The setting for this study was a highly controlled setting and was appropriate for this study’s research design.
d. The setting for this study was not well described by the authors and therefore not appropriate for conducting this study.

Question 9 -13: Measurement Methods. (For help with these questions, refer to chapters 10 & 12.)

9. Which of these questionnaires or scales are used in this research study? (Select all that apply.)
a. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)
b. Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ)
c. Psychiatric Symptom Index (PSI)
d. Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey (YRBWBS)
e. Efforts-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire (ERI)

10. How do the authors describe the CURRENT reliability of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ).
a. they compared two pencil and paper forms of the test to determine their equivalence
b. they compared two observers of the same group of subjects to determine their equivalence in making observations
c. they tested the current group of subjects twice using the same questionnaire or scale.
d. they computed a Cronbach’s alpha on the questionnaires that were administered to this group of subjects.

11. Which type of validity (below) best describes the authors’ statements about the validity of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ)?
a. content validity
b. evidence of validity from contrasting groups
c. evidence of validity from convergence
d. evidence of validity from divergence

12. Did the authors develop a questionnaire or survey for this research study?
a. No, they used only previously developed questionnaires or surveys.
b. Yes, they developed the Efforts-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire (ERI)
c. Yes, they reported adding a few of their own “short-answer” questions at the end of the questionnaire.
d. This study did not use any questionnaires or surveys.

13. Did the authors use any physiological measurements in this study?
a. Yes
b. No

Question 14 – 15: Data Collection. (For help with these questions, refer to chapters 10 & 12)

14. Which one of the following best describes the data collection process used in this study.
a. questionnaires / surveys were completed and returned to the researchers
b. questionnaires / surveys were completed via the internet
c. data was collected by trained nurses
d. trained observers watched the subjects and collected the data
e. nurse researchers interviewed the study participants and transcribed the interviews
f. none of these data collection methods best describes the data collection used in this study

15. If there was more than one data collector for the study, would an estimation of inter-rater reliability be an important concept for the authors to report on for this study?
a. yes, and the authors reported their efforts to achieve inter-rater reliability.
b. yes, but the authors do not discuss any efforts to achieve inter-rater reliability.
c. no, the issue of inter-rater reliability does not apply here.

Question 16 -18: Data Analysis. (For help with these questions, refer to chapters 11 & 12)

16. What descriptive statistics are used in this study? (Select all that apply.)
a. mean
b. median
c. mode
d. range
e. standard deviation
f. scatterplot
g. standard error of the mean

17. What inferential statistics are used to examine the data obtained from the subjects? (Select all that apply.)
a. Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation
b. Factor Analysis
c. Regression Analysis
d. Chi-Square
e. t-Test
f. ANOVA
g. ANCOVA
h. None of the above inferential statistics were used in this study.

18. What is the level of significance (alpha) set by the authors for this study?
a. .05 or 5%
b. .10 or 90%
c. .01 or 1%
d. a level of significance was not specifically mentioned by the author.

Question 19 – 24: Researcher’s Interpretation of the Findings. (For help with these questions, refer to chapters 11 & 12)

19. Which one of these findings from the article would be considered a significant and predicted result.
a. The ability to generalize the results from this study to other nursing populations where healthcare is not government funded is limited.
b. Even if this convenience sample appears to have characteristics in common with the target population, the views of non-responders are unknown.
c. Psychological distress is related to high psychological demands and elevated job strain.
d. A lack of social support from peers does not impact the amount of psychological distress felt by the new nurse.
e. Psychological demands are related to decision latitude.

20. Which one of these findings from the article would be considered a non-significant result.
a. Psychological demands are not related to decision latitude.
b. The ability to generalize the results from this study to other nursing populations where healthcare is not government funded is limited.
c. Even if this convenience sample appears to have characteristics in common with the target population, the views of non-responders are unknown.
d. Psychological distress is related to high psychological demands and elevated job strain.
e. None of the above would be considered a non-significant result.

21. Which one of these statements from the article would be considered clinically important?
a. Even if this convenience sample appears to have characteristics in common with the target population, the views of non-responders are unknown.
b. The ability to generalize the results from this study to other nursing populations where healthcare is not government funded is limited.
c. The majority of the participants in the study were female.
d. Using a longitudinal design could help us better understand how dimensions of the psychosocial work environment could cause psychological distress in new generation nurses.
e. A need exists for strategies to mitigate the experience of psychological distress experienced by new generation nurses.

22. Which one of these statements from the article would be considered a limitation of the study?
a. Even if this convenience sample appears to have characteristics in common with the target population, the views of non-responders are unknown.
b. It is important to create a stable work environment for new nurses to promote socialization and deliver safe care.
c. Psychological distress is related to high psychological demands and elevated job strain.
d. A lack of social support from peers does not impact the amount of psychological distress felt by the new nurse.
e. Psychological demands are related to decision latitude.
23. Which one of these statements from the article would be considered a statement of generalization?
a. Psychological demands are related to decision latitude.
b. Psychological distress is related to high psychological demands and elevated job strain.
c. A lack of social support from peers does not impact the amount of psychological distress felt by the new nurse.
d. The ability to generalize the results from this study to other nursing populations where healthcare is not government funded is limited.
e. It is important to create a stable work environment for new nurses to promote socialization and deliver safe care.

24. Which one of these statements from the article would be considered a recommendation for future studies?
a. Using a longitudinal design could help us better understand how dimensions of the psychosocial work environment could cause psychological distress in new generation nurses.
b. Psychological demands are related to decision latitude.
c. Even if this convenience sample appears to have characteristics in common with the target population, the views of non-responders are unknown.
d. Psychological distress is related to high psychological demands and elevated job strain.
e. It is important to create a stable work environment for new nurses to promote socialization and deliver safe care.