Practice of Nursing Research Appraisal Synthesis 7th Edition By Grove Burns – Test Bank

Practice of Nursing Research Appraisal Synthesis 7th Edition By Grove Burns – Test Bank

Grove: The Practice of Nursing Research, 7th Edition

Chapter 08: Objectives, Questions, Hypotheses, and Study Variables

Instructor’s Manual

CHAPTER PURPOSE

This chapter focuses on formulating research objectives, questions, and hypotheses to direct the conduct of quantitative, qualitative, outcomes, and intervention studies. There is an emphasis on testing a variety of hypotheses through research. Different types of variables are also introduced, and a background is provided for developing conceptual and operational definitions for study variables and concepts.

OBJECTIVES

1. Differentiate among the types of hypotheses (simple versus complex, nondirectional versus directional, associative versus causal, and statistical versus research).
2. Describe the process for formulating and testing hypotheses through research.
3. Describe the types of variables and/or concepts that are manipulated or measured in research.
4. Describe the contextual, moderator, and mediator variables examined in intervention research.
5. Differentiate between conceptual and operational definitions of variables.
6. Critique the quality of objectives, questions, and hypotheses formulated to direct studies.
7. Formulate objectives, questions, or hypotheses for a study.
8. Develop conceptual and operational definitions for the variables or concepts of a study.
9. Differentiate the selection of research questions, hypotheses or problem, and purpose.
10. Describe the types and style of questions used in qualitative studies.

KEY TERMS

Associate relationship

Causal relationship

Concepts

Conceptual definition

Confounding variables

Contextual variables

Demographic variables

Dependent variable

Environmental variables

Extraneous variables

Hypothesis

Associative hypothesis

Causal hypothesis

Complex hypothesis

Directional hypothesis

Nondirectional hypothesis

Null hypothesis

Research hypothesis

Simple hypothesis

Statistical hypothesis

Testable hypothesis

Independent variable

Mediator variable

Moderator variable

Operational definition

Operationalizing a variable or concept

Research concepts

Research objectives or aims

Research question

Research variables

Sample characteristics

Variables

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

In-Class Activities

1. Discuss the difference between dependent and independent variables.
2. Provide a quantitative research article in class and discuss the key variables in the study, including the independent, dependent, demographic, and extraneous variables. Identify at least one concept and discuss how the operational definition of that concept made it measurable. (You may use the Morris, Grant, Repp, MacLean, Littenberg (2011) article listed below or provide one of your own.)
3. Describe the purpose statement, the research questions, and/or hypotheses in the article selected for use in question 2.

Online Activities

1. In an online discussion, have students post their viewpoints on the question, “How does a researcher select objectives, questions, or hypotheses for a study?”
2. In an online discussion, have students post their viewpoints on the question, “Identify extraneous variables that may affect the research” — both those noted by the student as well as those listed by the authors as limitations. Use the Morris, et al. (2011) article listed below or provide one of your own.

(As an alternative approach, if you offer both online and on-site weeks, you can have students draft their posts and bring them to the next class for an in-class discussion or a continuation of the online discussion.)

At-Home Self-Paced Learning Activities

1. Using the published study listed below, identify the objectives, questions, or hypotheses, and discuss their links to the study problem, purpose, and framework.

Quantitative article: Morris NS., Grant S., Repp A., MacLean C., Littenberg B. (2011). Prevalence of limited health literacy and compensatory strategies used by hospitalized patients. Nursing Research. 60(5), 361–366.

2. Select two variables that you would be interested in studying. Identify whether these are dependent or independent variables. Formulate research objectives, questions, or hypotheses that include these variables.

EVALUATION STRATEGIES

These evaluation strategies may be used to stimulate in-class discussion and improve understanding of the content presented in this chapter, or may be used as a graded assignment (online or in class).

1. Provide several examples of research study hypotheses from published articles. Have students differentiate simple and complex hypotheses, statistical and null hypotheses, and then label the variables in the hypotheses.

Matching Questions

1. Identify the type of hypothesis each description represents.

Hypotheses

1. Simple
2. Complex
3. Nondirectional
4. Null
5. Associative
6. Causal
7. Statistical
8. Research
9. Directional

Descriptions

Identifies variables that occur together in the real world (e)

Predicts the relationship between two or more independent or two or more dependent variables, or both (b)

Used for statistical testing (d)

States the existence of, but does not predict the nature of, the relationship (c)

States the relationship between two variables (a)

Another name for the null hypothesis (g)

One variable is thought to create an effect on a second variable (f)

States a specific relationship between two or more variables (i)

The alternative hypothesis for the null hypothesis (h)

2. Identify the type of hypothesis each description represents.

Hypotheses

1. Research—directional
2. Research—nondirectional
3. Null

Descriptions

Achievement of children in school is related to their birth order. (b)

Persons with a higher economic status have greater access to health care. (a)

The average birth weights of babies born to women who smoke and those who do not smoke are no different. (c)

The fewer social supports an elderly person has, the more likely he or she is to be institutionalized. (a)

There is a relationship between self-esteem and use of birth control measures in sexually active teens. (b)