EBP Exam 1

Question 1

Why is nursing important to the profession of nursing?

Answer 1

Nursing research is important to the profession of nursing because it keeps nurses up to date with new information to provide the highest quality of patient care, and offers creative approaches to old and new health problems.

Question 2

Why do nurses who do not conduct research need to understand the nursing process?

Answer 2

Nurses who do not conduct research need to understand the nursing process to be able to evaluate research for its relevance to clinical practice.

Question 3

What’s role does the nurse have, as knowledgeable consumer of research?

Answer 3

Nurses, as knowledgeable consumers of research, should be able to appraise research evidence, using existing standards to determine the merit and readiness of research for use in clinical practice. Looks for assumptions key concepts, ideas, reasons, justifications, supporting examples, implications, and consequences. Example: evaluating the credibility of research findings.

Question 4

What is evidence-based practice and what value does it have to nursing?

Answer 4

Evidence based practice is the collection, interpretation, and integration of valid research evidence, combined with clinical expertise and an understanding of patient and family values and preferences to inform clinical decision making.

Question 5

Define consistency and its application to appraising the body of evidence for practice.

Answer 5

Consistency refers to the degree to which other studies, with similar or different designs, investigating the same research question report similar findings.

Question 6

Identify the steps of the research process. Discuss the purpose of the sequence of these steps.

Answer 6

Ask: defined a specific question area 
Gather: review the relevant literature
Assess: examined the questions potential significance to nursing 
Appraise: Pragmatically examined the feasibility of studying the research question 
-Review of the literature 
-study design 
-sample
-setting: recruitment and data collection 
-data collection 
-data analysis 
-findings
-conclusions

Question 7

What does feasibility mean, and what factors contribute to the feasibility of a study?

Answer 7

Feasibility refers to the state or degree of being easily conveniently done. Factors that contribute to the feasibility of a study include: time, availability of subjects, facilites, equipment, and money. Does the researcher have the experience and skills necessary? Are there ethical issues?

Question 8

Define independent and dependent variables. Be able to identify examples of each in a scenario.

Answer 8

• Independent variable (x): presumed to have the effect on Y, manipulated
• Dependent variable (y): not manipulated but observed, this is the variable we are interested in understanding, varies depending on X.

Question 9

PICO

Answer 9

Population: patient, or problem
Intervention: dimension of health care interest and asks if intervention is a useful treatment
Comparison: standard care or no intervention
Outcome: Addresses the effect of the treatment

Question 10

What is the purpose of the initial literature review when in the planning stages of developing a research question?

Answer 10

• integrate research evidence to sum up what is known and not known
• shape research questions
• suggest methods
• point to conceptual framework
• assistance with interpretation of findings

Question 11

What makes a high quality literature review?

Answer 11

• reproducible, with justifiable decision rules
• comprehensive, but relevant
• current or seminal
• unbiased
• organized
• persuasive

Question 12

What is the significance of publishing research in a peer reviewed or referred journal?

Answer 12

The credibility of a published theoretical or research article is strengthened by the peer-review process. Article has to meet standards of the journal.

Question 13

What is a blind review?

Answer 13

A blind review is used is used when the manuscript to be reviewed does not include the name of the author. Prevents bias.

Question 14

Be able to give examples of primary sources and secondary sources

Answer 14

Primary sources are research articles and books by the original author(s). Secondary sources are published articles or books that are written by the persons other than the individual who conducted the research study or developed the theory.

Question 15

How do you perform a search for nursing research articles?

Answer 15

use CINAHL

Question 16

For systematic reviews to guide EBP?

Answer 16

To best perform a search for systematic reviews to guide EBP use Cochrane systematic review.

Question 17

What are Boolean operators and how are they used when performing a search?

Answer 17

Boolean operators define the relationships between words or groups of words in a literature search. The following are example: 
-and 
-or 
-not 
Refines the search

Question 18

What is the definition of theory?

Answer 18

Theory is a set of interrelated concepts that provides a systematic view of phenomenon. It allows relationships to be proposed and predictions made, which in turn can suggest potential actions.

Question 19

How does theory connect with practice?

Answer 19

-Theory is generated as the outcome of a research study (qualitative design)
-theory is used as a research framework, as the context for a study (qualitative or quantitative designs)
-research is undertaken to test a theory (quantitative design)
Using research in practice

Question 20

What benefit does practice have to theory and what benefit does theory have to practice?

Answer 20

Practice to theory helps define gaps in patient care. Theories to practice theories promote better patient care.

Question 21

What is the focus of the researcher in qualitative research?

Answer 21

Seeks to answer difficult “why” questions.

• explanatory and descriptive
• discovery oriented; explanatory, descriptive, and inductive in nature; uses words rather than numbers to explain a phenomenon
• paradigm
• formulate an understanding of the phenomenon

Question 22

What types of research questions, purpose, or aims lend themselves to a qualitative approach? Identify examples of research questions appropriate for a qualitative study.

Answer 22

Qualitative approach used when attempting to understand the nature of a phenomenon. Some examples of research questions appropriate for a qualitative study include:

• “what is the nature of…”
• “how do members…”
• tell me about your meds. Tell me what you were thinking when ups decided to get pregnant

Question 23

What kind of data are analyzed in qualitative research?

Answer 23

Data: usually words, either an interview or a description