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Nursing Research & Evidence-Based Practice > Exam 2: Quanitative > Flashcards

Exam 2: Quanitative Flashcards

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1
Q

What are some characteristics of quantitative research ?

A
  • describes with numbers a variety of different variables
  • tests relationships and differences between variables
  • seeks to explain cause-and-effect relationship between variables
  • large samples
  • numeric data is summarized and analyzed using statistics
  • extraneous variables are controlled for in the research design
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2
Q

What is a independent variable ?

A

variable that is believed to be the cause or influence on the outcome of interest

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3
Q

What is a dependent variable ?

A

variable that is hypothesized to depend on or be caused by the independent variable
- outcome variable
- relationship does not imply causation

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4
Q

What is a extraneous variable ?

A

variables which confuse or confound the relationship between the independent and dependent variables

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5
Q

What is an experimental research design ?

A
  • tests difference in effectiveness of an intervention
  • participants are randomly assigned to the treatment or control
  • infer causation
  • manipulation of independent variable
  • control and randomization
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6
Q

What is a quasi-experimental research design ?

A
  • manipulation of the independent variable - lacks randomization or a control group
  • infer causation
  • researcher wants to test an intervention but for some reason can’t randomly assigned subjects to different groups
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7
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of an experimental design ?

A

Advantages:
- most powerful design
- most confidence in causation
Disadvantages:
- variables must be able to be manipulated
- may be impractical/not feasible/costly
- may be difficult to apply to the “real world”

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8
Q

What are some examples of quasi-experimental designs ?

A
  • non-equivalent control group design
  • after-only non-equivalent control group design
  • one-group design (pretest-posttest)
  • time series
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9
Q

What is a non equivalent control group design ?

A
  • similar to the true/classic experimental design
  • only difference is the lack of random assignment
  • has a experimental and control group
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10
Q

What is a after-only non-equivalent control group design ?

A
  • are missing the pretest (still has posttest)
  • lack of random assignment
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11
Q

What is a one-group design (pretest-posttest) ?

A
  • only 1 group is available for the study
  • no control and no randomization
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12
Q

What is a time series ?

A
  • only 1 group is available for the study
    • done over a longer period of time
  • measures/testing done more than just before/after
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13
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of a quasi-experimental design ?

A

Advantages:
- more practical, feasible, and generalizable
- more adaptable to “real world” application
Disadvantages:
- less confidence in cause-and-effect conclusion
- can’t control for differences within groups

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14
Q

What is a non-experimental quantitative research design ?

A
  • the independent variable is inherently nonmanipulable or there might not be one
  • preliminary studies in building a body of knowledge
    • hypothesis generating
    • collecting information
  • not used to establish causation
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15
Q

What are some examples of non-experimental quantitative study designs ?

A
  • descriptive
  • correlational
  • developmental
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16
Q

What is a descriptive study ?

A
  • accurate information about subjects (characteristics)
  • not looking at relationships between variables
    • no independent or dependent variables, but lets you think about possible relationships for a future study
  • focus on breadth of information more than depth
  • aka) exploratory or survey research
  • provide background for other studies
  • economical and accurate
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17
Q

What is a correlational study ?

A
  • seek to establish relationship(s) between/among variables
  • concerned with magnitude and the direction of the correlation between variables
  • correlation does not establish causation
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18
Q

How are correlational studies measured ?

A

with magnitude (how big the relationship is)
- correlations can range from 0 to 1
- the closer the correlation is to 1, the stronger the relationship
- direction= is the relationship positive or negative
- can range from -1 to 1

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19
Q

What is a developmental study ?

A
  • uses a time perspective
  • can assess relationships and/or differences between variables
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20
Q

What are some examples of developmental studies ?

A
  • cross-sectional: data collected at one timepoint
  • retrospective: using data that has already been collected to link to present events & can’t manipulate IV
  • longitudinal: collect data from the same group at different points in time (more than one timepoint=better description of the variable)
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21
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages to non-experimental designs ?

A

Advantages:
- efficient/effective
- large amounts of data
Disadvantages:
- least ablet o demonstrate a potential causal relationship
- least amount of control over relationships

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22
Q

What is internal validity ?

A

the degree of confidence that the relationship or difference the researcher is testing is not influences by other factors or variables

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23
Q

What is instrumentation ?

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A

changes in measurement or observational technique that may account for changes in the obtained measurement (outcome)

24
Q

What is attrition ?

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A

aka mortality
- loss of subjects over time due to death or dropping out of study

25
How does testing affect validity ?
testing someone more than once may influence their responses on a follow up post-test
26
How does diffusion affect validity ?
participants in one group become familiar with the treatment of another group - they can then either copy that treatment or are just otherwise affected by what they have learned - no longer "naive" and this changes their behavior
27
What is external validity ?
the degree of confidence that the findings of the study are applicable to different groups of people or environments - aka generalizability - no study can be fully generalizable
28
What is selection effects ?
results of findings are not generalizable to other populations
29
What are reactive effects of external validity threats ?
subjects responses to being studied - subjects may respond to the investigator just because they are being studied (hawthorne effect)
30
Wha is measurement effects ?
if you are doing a pretest, your study findings may not be applicable to other populations
31
What is the Hawthorne effect ?
people change their behaviors when they know they're being studied
32
What are some characteristics of observational measures ?
directly observing behaviors of people under certain conditions - requires a standardized and systematic plan for observing and recording data
33
What are some pros and cons of observational measures ?
Pros: - direct assessment of your outcome of interest vs. asking about the behavior - provides more depth and variety then self-report measures Cons: - Hawthorne effect - reliability - privacy/ethics
34
What are some pros and cons of self-report measures ?
Pros: - easy to administer, data less complex but easier to analyze - used for when you are collecting outcomes that cannot be observed Cons: - individuals may be telling you what they want you to hear - respondent burden: surveys can be long and tire out your participant
35
What are some types of self-report measures ?
- interview: face-to-face, phone, virtual - questionnaire: open vs. closed questions - scales: visual analog, Likert scale
36
What are some pros and cons of using existing data for data collection ?
Pros: - accessibility - no subject burden/cost effective Cons: - data often incomplete or inaccurate - can't measure things how you would prefer - privacy
37
What is sampling ?
process of selecting a portion of the designated population for study in a research investigation - purpose is to use information for a portion of the population to represent an entire population - if your sample doesn't represent your population then this affects generalizability
38
What is random (probabilty) sampling ?
each person in the accessible population has a statistically equal chance of being selected in your sample - few studies have access to an entire population - costly, time consuming, and resource intensive
39
What is non random (non-probability) sampling ?
unequal chance of being selected, so can be less generalizable - far more common since its more feasible/realistic
40
What are some types of random sampling ?
- simple random - stratified random - cluster
41
What is simple random sampling ?
each member has an equal chance of being selected and each member selected independently - Ex.) draw names from hat, table of random numbers, computer generated
42
What is stratified random sampling ?
total population is divided into strata/subgroups then are randomly selected from those groups to create smaller groups which comprise your sample - goal: achieve a greater degree of representativeness - ex.) people divided by age and then randomly assigned
43
What is cluster sampling ?
you divide the population into small clusters/groups and then the clusters are randomly selected to create a sample - difference from stratified is you're randomly selecting sites/groups before randomly selecting people
44
What are some types of non-random sampling ?
- convenience - quota - purposive - network
45
What is convenience sampling ?
you create a sample from people easily accessible to you - higher risk of selection bias
46
What is quota sampling ?
you set a quota for a certain characteristic and then you keep selecting until you have our desired number
47
What is purposive sampling ?
conscious selection of subjects you want based on more complex criteria - very common in qualitative studies where the researcher is intending to recruit pt's that are typical of the population - may be bias on the part of the researcher regarding who is targeted and the reason
48
What is network sampling ?
- subjects are asked to refer others - aka snowball sampling - often used when samples are difficult or impossible to locate - social media or in-the-field sampling is often used to connect to communities
49
What is content validity ?
experts say you're measuring what you think you're measuring
50
What is criterion-related validity ?
degree to which a participant's performance on an instrument and their actual behavior are related - whether a test can accurately predict something it’s supposed to measure, based on a comparison with another related test or real-world outcome.
51
What is construct validity ?
fits into the theoretical model you have developed based on your review and appraisal of current literature - ensuring that the test is truly assessing what it claims to assess, rather than something else.
52
What is reliability ?
extent to which the instrument yields the same results on repeated measures (consistency) - concerned with stability, homogeneity, and equivalence
53
What is test-retest method (stability) ?
the same test (measurement) is administered 2 times - same subjects each time - correlate results
54
What is homogeneity (internal consistency) ?
do all the items or question represent or measure the same concept
55
What is equivalence ?
agreement between alternate forms of an instrument - both versions of a test should score the same
56
What is a power analysis ?
statistical calculation for sample size based on the minimum sample needed to detect a significant effect in the study

Nursing Research & Evidence-Based Practice (2 decks)

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