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Part 6: Research Findings and Nursing Practice

Chapter 19: Critique of Quantitative Research Reports

Review Questions

Review Questions


This activity contains 12 questions.

	Select the true statement about the concepts of researcher qualifications, title abstract, introduction, purpose, and problem statement of a research report.   The introduction and purpose can be interchangeable. Usually an authority in a certain area is the best qualified to research that area; if an article is well written, the title need not be clear and concise. Abstracts or summaries of 100–200 words, placed at the beginning of articles, often determine whether a busy practitioner will take the time to read the whole report. Often the problem statement is defined and explained as part of the purpose.

	Which of the statements listed below concerning the literature section of a research report are correct? Select all that apply.   Both classic and current sources must be included. The review concludes with a statement as to how the present study will contribute to the existing body of knowledge in that subject area. The literature cited must be relevant to the research under consideration. A good literature review only presents supportive sources.

	Which of the following statements regarding the presentation of the theoretical framework is most important?   The framework has to be the one most appropriate to the study. The framework has to be identifiable. The framework can be based on nursing theory or one from another area. Concepts should be clearly defined, with relationships indicated and explained.

	What is true about assumptions, limitations, and hypotheses?   The reader makes assumptions, searches out the limitations, and should see that the hypotheses are empirically testable. All studies are based on assumptions, uncontrolled variables may affect research results, and hypotheses should be of the null type. Assumptions can be explicitly or implicitly stated by the author; but limitations should be openly and honestly stated. Hypotheses must be empirically testable. Assumptions must be explicitly stated, limitations should be limited, and hypotheses can contain several predictions.

	What is true about research design, setting, or population and sample?   Protection of subject rights is so important now that this is assumed and need not be addressed in this section. Sampling methods are only discussed in the methods section. Settings may be generalized for confidentiality, but the study sample is easily identifiable. The same criteria is used to evaluate quantitative and qualitative designs.

	Which of the following is a true statement concerning data-collection methods, data-collection instruments, or data analysis?   Five general questions must be answered in this section: “what, how, who, where and when”. Inferential statistics are the only important data reported in research studies. Only the main data-collection instrument needs to be described in detail; others may be listed in order of use. An advanced knowledge of statistics is needed to understand most reports.

	Which of the following is true concerning the discussion of findings?   When discussing the findings, the author interprets and discusses the clinical and statistical significance. Findings are expressed objectively here and in the findings section. It is important for the researcher to form the readers’ conclusions of the study’s limitations. Results that are statistically nonsignificant will also lack clinical significance.

	Which of the following statements concerning the conclusions section in a research report is true?   The author demonstrates the meaning and worth of the research in the conclusions section. The author cannot go beyond the data when presenting conclusions. The author may use subjective experiences when writing the conclusions. It is easy to write: all the information has been presented earlier.

	What is important about the implications section of a research report?   Change may still be recommended even if the results were not significant. This section discusses how things would have worked out if not for the limitations. Implications need to be explicitly identified for nursing practice, nursing education, and nursing research. The implication section demands that changes be made.

	What is true about the recommendations section?   Recommendations generally concern practice and education. Recommendations generally concern future nursing research. Limitations of the present study are rarely considered. “Reinventing the wheel” is a time-honored process.

	In addition to the research, what other considerations should be included in the evaluation of a research report?   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	How would you evaluate the accuracy and completeness of the reference list?   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

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