Question 1

A nurse researcher is seeking studies whose outcomes are described with a measure of precision about the studies' results.Which statistical descriptions would the researcher seek? (Select all that apply.)

Accepted Answer

A)  The t test 
B)  Correlation 
C)  Standard deviation 
D)  CI 
E)  Mean

Question 2

When a nurse wants to answer a question about a patient's likely course in a disease trajectory,what kind of study would be most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

A)  Experimental 
B)  Longitudinal 
C)  Cross-sectional 
D)  Methodological 
E)  Quasi-experimental

Question 3

A research mentor is advising a new researcher on aspects of the literature review.Which type of research findings would the mentor recommend as strongest available evidence?

Accepted Answer

A)  Meta-analysis 
B)  Descriptive 
C)  Case study 
D)  Narrative

Question 4

Which type of support for a nursing intervention is reduced or eliminated by EBP?

Accepted Answer

A)  Expert advice 
B)  Dated rituals 
C)  Case studies 
D)  Qualitative research findings

Question 5

A nursing researcher is describing likelihood ratios.What is the significance of a diagnostic test with a large positive likelihood ratio?

Accepted Answer

A)  It provides only limited predictive value for disease. 
B)  It provides a high degree of certainty that the patient has the suspected disorder. 
C)  It mandates other supportive diagnostic tests. 
D)  It provides little assistance in clinical decision making.

Question 6

How is relative risk reduction calculated?

Accepted Answer

A)  EER + CER 
B)  EER - CER|/CER 
C)  EER - CER 
D)  EER/CER

Question 7

Applying study results to individual patients or to a specific patient population and communicating findings to patients in a meaningful way is the hallmark of:

Accepted Answer

A)  Scientific perspectives 
B)  Clinical practice 
C)  Meta-analysis 
D)  EBP

Question 8

A nurse is investigating the literature on a clinical topic and is particularly interested in studies that are experimental.What other terms may the nurse encounter in a literature search? (Select all that apply.)

Accepted Answer

A)  Randomized controlled trials 
B)  Intervention studies 
C)  Individual studies 
D)  Prognostic studies

Question 9

A nursing student critiquing a research study notes that a CI is too large for a new therapy to be clinically meaningful.What factor likely contributed to this statistical outcome?

Accepted Answer

A)  Strong power level 
B)  Quantitative experimental design 
C)  Statistical analysis 
D)  Too small a sample

Question 10

Skills needed to consult the literature and answer a clinical question are most accurately referred to as:

Accepted Answer

A)  Informatics 
B)  Database searching 
C)  Information literacy 
D)  Evidence-based practice (EBP)

Question 11

Types of EBP clinical categories include (select all that apply):

Accepted Answer

A)  Therapy 
B)  Diagnosis 
C)  Prognosis 
D)  Harm 
E)  Hazard

Question 12

In a clinical trial,the arithmetic difference in rates of bad outcomes between experimental and control patients is most accurately referred to as:

Accepted Answer

A)  Absolute risk increase 
B)  Number needed to harm 
C)  Relative benefit increase 
D)  Relative risk increase

Question 13

How should the nurse researcher interpret a relative risk that is greater than 1.0?

Accepted Answer

A)  There is no difference between the experimental and control group outcomes. 
B)  The risk of the event is reduced in experimental event rate (EER) compared with control event rate (CER). 
C)  The risk of an event is greater in EER compared with CER. 
D)  Difference in risk of outcome between patients who have had the event and those who have not.

Question 14

In an experiment,when a value is obtained that shows no difference between the treatment and control group,the value is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

A)  Causal 
B)  Sensitivity 
C)  Null 
D)  Positively predictive

Question 15

A nurse researcher is seeking evidence about the efficacy of pressure-reduction surfaces on development of pressure ulcers in surgical patients.Which database is most likely to yield the highest-level evidence?

Accepted Answer

A)  Psychological abstracts 
B)  Google.com 
C)  Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) 
D)  Cochrane Review

Question 16

A term that is used for the ability of a test or technique to detect a disease when it is truly present is

Accepted Answer

A)  Specificity 
B)  CI 
C)  Survival curve 
D)  Sensitivity

Question 17

What statistic should a nurse researcher choose to use in a meta-analysis?

Accepted Answer

A)  Survival curve 
B)  Odds ratio 
C)  Measure of central tendency 
D)  Measure of dispersion

Exam 18: Tools for Applying Evidence to Practice