Chapter 3: Introduction to Quantitative Research

Chapter 3: Introduction to Quantitative Research

 

Complete Chapter Questions With Answers

 

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

 

MULTIPLE CHOICE

 

1. A researcher conducts a study to determine the effectiveness of a special program of sensitivity training for nurse managers upon several outcomes, all related to the staff’s ability to identify and intervene appropriately when medication errors occur. This is an example of what type of quantitative research?

a.	Applied research
b.	Basic research
c.	Descriptive research
d.	Qualitative research

 

 

ANS:  A

Applied, or practical, research is a scientific investigation conducted to generate knowledge that will directly influence or improve clinical practice. The purpose of applied research is to solve problems, to make decisions, or to predict or control outcomes. Basic, or pure, research is a scientific investigation that involves the “pursuit of knowledge for knowledge’s sake,” or for the pleasure of learning and finding truth. The purpose of basic research is to generate and refine theory and build constructs; thus, the findings are frequently not directly useful in practice. However, because the findings are more theoretical in nature, they can be generalized to various settings. Descriptive quantitative research and qualitative research describe what exists but do not test specific interventions used in practice.

 

DIF:    Cognitive Level: Application           REF:   Page 35

 

2. A researcher randomly assigns a large group of subjects who are hospital patients either to receive magnesium at bedtime or not to receive magnesium at bedtime, and then measures sleep quality and duration. What type of research is this?

a.	Correlational research
b.	Experimental research
c.	Descriptive research
d.	Quasi-experimental research

 

 

ANS:  B

Control occurs when the researcher imposes “rules” to decrease the possibility of error and thus increases the probability that the study’s findings are an accurate reflection of reality. Descriptive and correlational studies are usually conducted with minimal control of the study design, because subjects are examined as they exist. In experimental research, the independent and dependent variables are highly controlled, the researcher exerts high control over the planning and implementation of the study, and often these studies are conducted in a laboratory setting on animals or objects. If a research study randomly assigns subjects to two different groups, applies an intervention to one of the groups, and then measures both groups and compares them, it is experimental design.

 

DIF:    Cognitive Level: Analysis                REF:   Page 36

 

Use the following information to answer Questions 3 through 7:

A research study contains the following in its Introduction section: “This study was undertaken to explore the effect of massage on total hours of sleep per 24-hour day, in persons averaging fewer than 7 hours of sleep per night, attributable to insomnia. . . . Presumably by increasing endorphin levels, massage seems to provide an immediate relaxation and an ability to sleep immediately following the session, but it is unclear whether these benefits actually extend to total sleep, despite anecdotal support. The claim that massage increases total hours of sleep has been inadequately researched. . . . Does massage increase the total number of hours of daily sleep? . . . It was posited that provision of daily late-morning massage would affect total hours of sleep per 24-hour day. The study’s causational explanation was based on the physiologic matrix of McCarthy, which includes effects of endorphins on sleep, learning ability, pain, digestive function, and cardiac output. . . . It was taken as established fact that massage is pleasant, that research subjects getting fewer than 7 hours of sleep per night were sleep-deprived, and that endorphins mediated the changes observed.”

 

3. What is the research problem?

a.	This study was undertaken to explore the effect of massage on total hours of sleep per 24-hour day, in persons averaging fewer than 7 hours of sleep per night, attributable to insomnia.
b.	It was posited that provision of daily late-morning massage would affect total hours of sleep per 24-hour day.
c.	It was taken as established fact that massage is pleasant, that research subjects getting fewer than 7 hours of sleep per night were sleep-deprived, and that endorphins mediated the changes observed.
d.	Presumably by increasing endorphin levels, massage seems to provide an immediate relaxation and an ability to sleep immediately following the session, but it is unclear whether these benefits actually extend to total sleep, despite anecdotal support.

 

 

ANS:  D

A research problem is an area of concern or phenomenon of interest about which there is a gap in the knowledge base needed for nursing practice. The problem identifies an area of concern or phenomenon of interest for a particular population and often indicates the concepts to be studied.

 

DIF:    Cognitive Level: Analysis                REF:   Page 39

 

4. What is the research framework?

a.	It was taken as established fact that massage is pleasant, that research subjects getting fewer than 7 hours of sleep per night were sleep-deprived, and that endorphins mediated the changes observed.
b.	Presumably by increasing endorphin levels, massage seems to provide an immediate relaxation and an ability to sleep immediately following the session, but it is unclear whether these benefits actually extend to total sleep, despite anecdotal support.
c.	It was posited that provision of daily late-morning massage would affect total hours of sleep per 24-hour day.
d.	The study’s causational explanation was based on the physiologic matrix of McCarthy, which includes effects of endorphins on sleep, learning ability, pain, digestive function, and cardiac output.

 

 

ANS:  D

A framework is the abstract, logical structure of meaning that will guide the development of a study and enable the researcher to link the findings to the body of nursing knowledge. In quantitative research, the framework is often a testable midrange theory that has been developed in nursing or in another discipline, such as psychology, physiology, or sociology.

 

DIF:    Cognitive Level: Analysis                REF:   Page 41