Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
1) What is the best reason that scholars consider Florence Nightingale to be the first nurse
researcher?
A) She changed nursing by basing her practice on her research findings.
B) She identified a body of knowledge unique to nursing.
C) She collected data in a systematic fashion.
D) She communicated the data collected to other nurses.
Answer: A
Explanation: A) Florence Nightingale used the research process as an entity and did not merely
use some aspects of the research process. She used this systematic approach and its resultant
findings to change nursing practice.
B) Only in recent years have nurses concentrated on establishing a unique body of nursing
knowledge. This has occurred in the years since Nightingale.
C) Although Nightingale did begin systematically making and recording data, it was her
admonishment that all nurses do the same that began to change nursing.
D) Whereas Nightingale used observations to influence practice in her sphere of control, it is
unclear how widely she was able to disseminate the information.
Cognitive Level: Applying
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Implementation
Learning Outcome: LO 05. Summarize the development of nursing research and future
priorities.
2) Research is important to the nursing profession for many reasons. What is the ultimate goal of
nursing research?
A) Document the cost-effectiveness of nursing care.
B) Ensure credibility of the nursing profession.
C) Promote evidence-based practice in nursing.
D) Provide accountability for the nursing profession.
Answer: C
Explanation: A) Whereas cost-effective nursing care is important, it is not as important as
providing optimum care. Many would argue that cost-effectiveness is a part of optimum care.
B) Whereas nursing research will help to establish credibility of the nursing profession, this
result is not as important as providing optimum care to the client.
C) The major reason for conducting research is to foster optimum care for clients. Evidence-
based practice is nurses making clinical decisions based on the best research evidence, the
nurse's clinical expertise, and the health preferences of the client.
D) Whereas nursing research does provide rationale for nursing actions, thereby promoting
accountability, this is not as important as providing optimal care to the client.
Cognitive Level: Applying
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Planning
Learning Outcome: LO 02. Describe four goals for conducting nursing research.
1
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3) The National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR) establishes research priorities. Which
option reflects a study that meets the current mission of the NINR?
A) The effect of nurse-led community education on the prevalence of heart disease
B) The number of students entering nursing programs
C) The efficacy of a specific medication therapy for congestive heart failure
D) The job satisfaction level of currently employed nurses
Answer: A
Explanation: A) Promoting health and preventing disease is an area of research emphasis for the
NINR. Evaluating the effects of nurse-led community education about health matches this area
of emphasis.
B) Nursing workforce numbers is not an area of the NINR's current research emphasis. The areas
are promoting health and preventing disease and disability, managing symptoms, and improving
palliative and end-of-life care.
C) Research into medication efficacy is not an area of the NINR's current research emphasis. The
areas are promoting health and preventing disease and disability, managing symptoms, and
improving palliative and end-of-life care.
D) Job satisfaction among nurses is not an area of the NINR's current research emphasis. The
areas are promoting health and preventing disease and disability, managing symptoms, and
improving palliative and end-of-life care.
Cognitive Level: Applying
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Assessment
Learning Outcome: LO 05. Summarize the development of nursing research and future
priorities.
4) Nurses involved in research assume different roles, based on their level of education. Which
best describes the role of the BSN-prepared nurse in research?
A) Collaborates with other nurses to design research studies
B) Critiques research studies and applies research to clinical practice
C) Develops policy based on nursing research findings
D) Assumes the role of primary investigator in an independent research study
Answer: B
Explanation: A) This is the role of the master's-prepared nurse.
B) BSN-prepared nurses should read research critically and determine if results are ready to be
used in practice.
C) This is the role of the nurse who holds a practice-focused doctorate.
D) This is the role of the nurse who holds a research-focused doctorate.
Cognitive Level: Applying
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Implementation
Learning Outcome: LO 04. Describe the various roles of nurses in research.
2
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5) Which option reflects the "authority" approach to knowledge development?
A) The nurses on the unit have used a variety of approaches to a client care problem, trying to
find one that is effective.
B) A nurse approaches a client care situation in a specific manner because "that is what seems to
be the best thing to do."
C) When asked why client care is organized in the current manner, the nurse manager states,
"We've always done it that way."
D) When faced with a question regarding provision of nursing care, the nurse consults a nursing
textbook for instruction.
Answer: D
Explanation: A) A series of attempts to solve a problem until a solution is reached is called trial
and error.
B) This approach is the use of nursing intuition.
C) This statement reflects the use of "tradition" in the use of nursing knowledge.
D) This nurse is gaining nursing knowledge by using an authority source, the nursing textbook.
Cognitive Level: Applying
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Evaluation
Learning Outcome: LO 05. Summarize the development of nursing research and future
priorities.
6) The nurse researcher is conducting a study to help a nursing unit solve the problem of
increased postprocedure infections in clients who have undergone transurethral prostatectomy.
Which type of nursing research is this researcher conducting?
A) Basic research
B) Applied research
C) Quantitative research
D) Qualitative research
Answer: B
Explanation: A) Basic research is conducted to develop, test, and refine theories and generate
new knowledge.
B) Applied research is directed toward generating knowledge that can be used in seeking
solutions to current clinical problems, whereas basic research is conducted to generate new
knowledge.
C) Quantitative research is concerned with objectivity, tight controls over the research situation,
and the ability to generalize findings. There is not enough information in this question to
determine if this is a quantitative study.
D) Qualitative research is concerned with the subjective meaning of experience to individuals.
There is not enough information in this question to determine if this is a qualitative research
study.
Cognitive Level: Applying
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Implementation
Learning Outcome: LO 02. Describe four goals for conducting nursing research.
3
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7) What is generally considered the most valid means of developing the knowledge base of
nursing?
A) Scientific research
B) Evidence-based practice
C) Qualitative research
D) Outcomes research
Answer: A
Explanation: A) Through scientific research, nurses can determine what they do, how they do it,
and what distinguishes them from other groups in healthcare. These are attributes of a
profession's unique body of knowledge.
B) Evidence-based practice involves the use of research findings but does not entail the broader
perspective of a body of nursing knowledge.
C) Qualitative research is concerned with the subjective meaning of an experience to an
individual and is a type of research approach. Whereas qualitative research may be used to
develop nursing knowledge, this is not a complete answer to this question.
D) Outcomes research is concerned with measurable outcomes of interventions and the cost-
effectiveness of care. Whereas outcomes research may be used to develop nursing knowledge,
this is not a complete answer to this question.
Cognitive Level: Understanding
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Planning
Learning Outcome: LO 01. Identify the importance of research to nursing.
4
Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
9) Acting as principle investigator on a project, a nurse discovers that study results do not
support some of the researcher's long-held beliefs. What is the most significant danger in this
situation?
A) The researcher may tire of the topic before the study is completed.
B) The researcher may abandon the project.
C) The researcher may be unable to remain unbiased in the interpretation of data.
D) The researcher may feel obligated to ask another nurse researcher to act as the principle
investigator on the project.
Answer: C
Explanation: A) Although it is true that the researcher may grow tired of the project, this is not
the most significant danger.
B) Although it is true that the researcher might have thoughts of abandoning the project, an
ethical researcher would continue the investigation. This is not the most significant danger
because if the study is abandoned, no unreliable data would be published.
C) This is the most significant danger. A researcher must be able to separate personal feelings
from data interpretation. If this cannot be done, the data and findings published may be biased or
erroneous.
D) If the researcher's feelings are strong enough, this might be a consideration.
Cognitive Level: Analyzing
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Implementation
Learning Outcome: LO 02. Describe four goals for conducting nursing research.
10) Which research study will most likely be conducted using a qualitative approach?
A) A study comparing the results of two antihypertensive medications given to patients who
have diabetes mellitus
B) A study tracking change in reading level for children treated with behavioral therapy for
attention-deficit activity disorder
C) A study investigating changes in family dynamics following the sudden death of a child
D) A study designed to measure weight-loss trends in middle adults who increase walking
Answer: C
Explanation: A) This study will measure blood pressure numbers, which is a quantitative
measure.
B) This study will measure reading levels, which are reported in numbers and are a quantitative
measure.
C) This study will look at the lived experiences of a family. Such studies are qualitative.
D) This study will measure weight-loss numbers, which is a quantitative measure.
Cognitive Level: Applying
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Assessment
Learning Outcome: LO 03. Compare qualitative and quantitative research.
5
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11) Which situations suggest studies that would be classified as nursing research? Select all that
apply.
A) Nurses wonder if using a different hand soap would decrease postoperative infections.
B) A nurse is curious about a new surgical technique that was developed.
C) Nurses discuss how tired they are at the end of a 12-hour shift.
D) A nurse reads about a wound care technique used by rural mothers in the 1940s.
E) A nurse overhears a discussion about a new medium used for growing cultures in the
laboratory.
Answer: A, C, D
Explanation: A) Investigation of a new hand soap for the purpose of decreasing postoperative
infections is nurse focused and would directly affect patient care. This is a good topic for nursing
research.
B) Choice of surgical technique is not within nursing's scope of practice. Learning more about
the technique would be interesting but is not specifically linked to nursing research.
C) Being tired at the end of a shift directly impacts care provided by nurses. This topic fits the
criteria for nursing research.
D) Nurses often have autonomy in choosing wound care techniques, so this question fits the
criteria for nursing research.
E) Choosing the methods of growing cultures in the laboratory is not within the scope of nursing
practice so this information would not spark a question answerable by nursing research.
Cognitive Level: Analyzing
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Planning
Learning Outcome: LO 01. Identify the importance of research to nursing.
12) A nurse has tried several methods to contain wound drainage so that a patient can be
ambulatory. The first three attempts were unsuccessful, so the nurse devised a fourth dressing
type. What is the primary disadvantage of this plan?
A) It does not add information to nursing's body of knowledge.
B) It is not systematic or orderly.
C) The reasons the dressings did not work are not determined or documented.
D) The focus is on problem solving, not on developing a generalizable dressing technique.
Answer: C
Explanation: A) Information is being added to this nurse's body of knowledge. This is not the
most comprehensive answer to the question.
B) A benefit of the scientific process is that it is systematic and orderly, but not all knowledge
increasing activities are or need to be.
C) A major disadvantage of "trial-and-error" is that the reasons an intervention did not work are
not fully investigated so that the nurse understands why they were unsuccessful.
D) Individual nurses often focus on solving the clinical problem at hand. Problem solving is not
as generalizable as broad-based research, but generalization is not this nurse's goal.
Cognitive Level: Analyzing
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Evaluation
Learning Outcome: LO 01. Identify the importance of research to nursing.
6
Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
13) What is the purpose of the Cochrane Collaboration?
A) To help various individuals and groups of people make well-informed healthcare decisions
B) To form coalitions to support the rights of healthcare workers
C) To establish the United States as the premier provider of healthcare in the world
D) To develop a centralized clearinghouse for nursing research proposals
Answer: A
Explanation: A) The Cochrane Collaboration was established as an international nonprofit
organization with the goal of helping various individuals and groups of people make well-
informed healthcare decisions.
B) The Cochrane Collaboration does not address rights of healthcare workers.
C) The Cochrane Collaboration is an international organization.
D) The Cochrane Collaboration focuses on reviews of research already conducted, not on
proposals for new research.
Cognitive Level: Understanding
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Implementation
Learning Outcome: LO 05. Summarize the development of nursing research and future
priorities.
14) The nurse has been asked to participate as a study subject in a research project examining
stress and family role definition. What should the nurse do?
A) Decline the invitation because nurses do not have sufficient free time to participate in such
activities.
B) Decline the invitation because nurses have knowledge that would prevent their study answers
from being unbiased.
C) Accept the invitation if permission from the nurse's employer can be obtained.
D) Accept the invitation if the nurse is interested and willing to participate.
Answer: D
Explanation: A) Nurses are autonomous and may make decisions about projects in which they
wish to participate. Because nursing can be a stressful profession, nurses would make good study
participants for this particular study.
B) There is no indication that the nurse's knowledge would skew research results.
C) Permission from the employer is not necessary for this research. The nurse is autonomous.
D) Nurses may act as subjects or participants in research if they are willing and interested.
Cognitive Level: Applying
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Planning
Learning Outcome: LO 04. Describe the various roles of nurses in research.
7
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15) What is TRUE of how research priorities in nursing are set? Select all that apply.
A) One central organization sets research priorities for nursing.
B) Some priorities are set based on a sampling of a wide range of nurses.
C) Different specialty groups in nursing may set priorities specific to their practice.
D) Research money is available only to projects authorized by Sigma Theta Tau International.
E) Nursing research priorities focus on clinical research.
Answer: B, C
Explanation: A) No central organization assumes this role for all research in nursing.
B) Because nurses should always be watchful for researchable problems, these samplings are
useful in determining priorities.
C) Specialty groups often identify researchable problems and priorities within their own practice.
D) Sigma Theta Tau International does fund many nursing research projects, but it is not the only
funding source.
E) A good deal of nursing research is clinical research, but many studies are also conducted on
nonclinical areas.
Cognitive Level: Applying
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Planning
Learning Outcome: LO 05. Summarize the development of nursing research and future
priorities.
8
Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
16) Which findings may represent qualitative research results? Select all that apply.
A) Use of a specific integrative medicine technique reduces participants' blood pressure by 25%.
B) Six of the eight study participants reported sadness when their oldest child left home for
college.
C) The majority of nurses in the study report that the use of a pain scale is "important" to their
patient care.
D) Half of the 35,000 study participants reduced their weight by more than 5 pounds by using the
study drug.
E) A retrospective review of the medical records of all persons admitted with myocardial
infarction reveals 40% did not experience shortness of breath.
Answer: A, B, C
Explanation: A) There is no reason that results from a qualitative study cannot include statistics.
This study could be qualitative, depending upon the number of participants and how the study
was organized.
B) Qualitative studies have small numbers of participants and often involve personal reports of
lived experiences.
C) This study could be qualitative as the results discuss the nurse's perceptions of the value of
using a pain scale. More information about number of participants and study design are
necessary for a definite answer.
D) The number of participants in this study cues the reader to know this study is not qualitative.
E) A retrospective review of medical records is not a qualitative study. Qualitative studies
depend upon interviews with participants.
Cognitive Level: Analyzing
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Assessment
Learning Outcome: LO 03. Compare qualitative and quantitative research.
9
Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
17) Which situations demonstrate a nurse taking accountability for individual practice? Select all
that apply.
A) The nurse chooses to use exam gloves rather than sterile gloves for a clean procedure.
B) The nurse reads practice journals to learn about new procedural techniques.
C) The nurse considers whether a newly prescribed medication dose is safe for a patient.
D) The nurse presents evidence about the effect of nurse-patient ratios on quality of care during a
meeting about a new staffing plan.
E) The nurse wears a well-pressed lab coat to a meeting of the hospital's risk management team.
Answer: B, C, D
Explanation: A) Technically, either type of glove could be used safely for this procedure. The
nurse is demonstrating attention to cost-effectiveness by this action.
B) Reading journals to stay abreast of changes in the profession demonstrates the nurse's
accountability for personal practice.
C) Considering whether any intervention is correct for a patient demonstrates accountability for
personal nursing practice.
D) Basing information in evidence demonstrates accountability for personal nursing practice.
E) Presenting oneself professionally supports the credibility of nursing.
Cognitive Level: Analyzing
Client Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Client Need Sub: Management of Care
Nurs./Integ. Concepts: Nursing Process: Evaluation
Learning Outcome: LO 02. Describe four goals for conducting nursing research.
10
Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.