Research Problem and Variables Quiz

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Questions and Answers

What is a problem statement?

A problem statement articulates the problem to be addressed and indicates a need for the study.

What is a research question?

A specific query that a researcher wants to answer in addressing the research problem.

What does IV stand for in research?

Independent Variable

What does DV stand for in research?

Dependent Variable Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes a mediator variable?

A variable that explains the relationship between the IV and DV. Signup and view all the answers

A null hypothesis states that there is no relationship between variables.

True Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between a simple and complex hypothesis?

A simple hypothesis expresses a relationship between one IV and one DV, while a complex hypothesis involves two or more IVs and DVs. Signup and view all the answers

What is a directional hypothesis?

A hypothesis that specifies the direction of the relationship. Signup and view all the answers

A literature review is an article written by an authority on a _____.

topic Signup and view all the answers

What is a statement that articulates the problem to be addressed and indicates a need for the study?

Problem Statement Signup and view all the answers

What is a specific query that a researcher wants to answer in addressing the research problem?

Research Question Signup and view all the answers

What is a factor, characteristic, or condition of a person or event that takes on values that can be measured categorically or quantitatively?

Variable Signup and view all the answers

What variable is introduced, removed, or manipulated to cause a change in the dependent variable?

Independent Variable Signup and view all the answers

What is the variable that is observed and measured to find out how it is affected by the independent variable?

Dependent Variable Signup and view all the answers

What variable affects the strength or direction of an association between the independent variable and the dependent variable?

Moderator Variable Signup and view all the answers

What variable intervenes between the independent variable and the dependent variable?

Mediator Variable Signup and view all the answers

What is a statement of predicted relationships between variables?

Hypothesis Signup and view all the answers

What type of hypothesis expresses an expected relationship between one independent variable and one dependent variable?

Simple Hypothesis Signup and view all the answers

What type of hypothesis expresses an expected relationship between two or more independent variables and two or more dependent variables?

Complex Hypothesis (or Multivariate Hypothesis) Signup and view all the answers

What is a hypothesis that specifies not only the existence but also the expected direction of the relationship between variables?

Directional Hypothesis Signup and view all the answers

What is a hypothesis that does not specify the direction of the relationship?

Non-Directional Hypothesis Signup and view all the answers

What is a hypothesis that states there is no relationship between variables?

Null Hypothesis Signup and view all the answers

What hypothesis states that there is a relationship between variables?

Alternative Hypothesis (or Research Hypothesis) Signup and view all the answers

What is the systematic identification, location, and analysis of documents containing information relevant to the research topic?

Literature Review Signup and view all the answers

What is the process of carefully reading and summarizing a piece of literature?

Abstracting Signup and view all the answers

What is a well-established principle developed to explain some aspect of the natural world?

Theory Signup and view all the answers

What is a research framework based on theory?

Theoretical Framework Signup and view all the answers

What are the four major concepts fundamental to nursing theory?

Person, Environment, Health, and Nursing Signup and view all the answers

What is a broad, abstract theory that provides a general framework for understanding nursing phenomena?

Grand Theory Signup and view all the answers

What theory is more limited in scope and focuses on specific concepts?

Middle-Range Theory Signup and view all the answers

What theory is specific to a particular situation or patient population?

Practice-Level Theory Signup and view all the answers

What is an abstract idea or phenomenon that is being studied?

Concept Signup and view all the answers

What is an abstraction that is deliberately and systematically invented by a researcher for a specific purpose?

Construct Signup and view all the answers

What is a definition that specifies the specific processes, tests, and measurements used to determine the presence or quantity of a variable?

Operational Definition Signup and view all the answers

What type of research method will be used in a study?

Research Design Signup and view all the answers

What research design involves manipulating variables?

Experimental Research Signup and view all the answers

What research design involves observing events or phenomena with few controls imposed?

Non-Experimental Research Signup and view all the answers

What research design is used to determine differences between groups of people?

Comparative Research Signup and view all the answers

What research design is used to determine the relationships among two or more variables?

Correlational Research Signup and view all the answers

What is the place where a research study will be conducted?

Research Locale Signup and view all the answers

What is the population of interest in a research study?

Population Signup and view all the answers

What is the process of selecting a subset of a population for a research study?

Sampling Signup and view all the answers

What is the instrument used to collect data in a research study?

Research Instrument Signup and view all the answers

What is the process of organizing and summarizing data?

Data Organization Signup and view all the answers

What is the process of interpreting data and drawing conclusions?

Data Interpretation Signup and view all the answers

What is a statistical test used to compare two means?

t-test Signup and view all the answers

What is a statistical test used to test the difference of the means among three or more groups?

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Signup and view all the answers

What is a statistical test used to relate two nominal variables?

Chi-square test Signup and view all the answers

What is a statistical test used to test the relationship between two variables?

Correlation Coefficient Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Stating the Research Problem

A research problem can be expressed as a problem statement or a research question.
A problem statement articulates the issue to be addressed and indicates a need for investigation.
A research question is a specific inquiry a researcher aims to answer in addressing the research problem.
Both problem statements and research questions identify the key variables, their relationships, and the population being studied.

Variables

A variable is a factor, characteristic, or condition that can be measured.
Variables are classified as independent or dependent.
The independent variable (IV) is introduced, removed, or manipulated to cause a change in the dependent variable (DV).
The DV is the variable observed and measured to assess how it's affected by the IV.
The DV is also referred to as the outcome, response, output, criterion, or attribute variable.
The IV is considered the presumed cause, and the DV is the presumed effect.

Moderator Variable

A moderator variable influences the strength or direction of the association between the IV and DV.
The IV is said to interact with the moderator variable, meaning its relationship with the DV is stronger or weaker for different values of the moderator.

Mediator Variable

A mediator variable intervenes between the IV and DV, explaining the relationship between them.
It's often difficult to distinguish definitively between moderator and mediator variables.
The term 'intervening variable' is often used in research to encompass both moderator and mediator variables.

Formulating Hypotheses

A hypothesis is a statement predicting the relationships between variables.
It's a prediction about the outcome of a research study based on the variables being studied.

Types of Hypotheses

A hypothesis can be simple or complex based on the number of variables involved.
A simple hypothesis expresses a relationship between one independent variable and one dependent variable.
A complex hypothesis (multivariate) involves two or more independent variables and two or more dependent variables.
Hypotheses can also be directional or non-directional based on the direction of the predicted relationship.
A directional hypothesis specifies both the existence and direction of the relationship.
A non-directional hypothesis only states the existence of a relationship but doesn't specify the direction.
A hypothesis can be a null hypothesis or an alternative hypothesis.
A null hypothesis (statistical hypothesis) states there is no relationship between variables.
An alternative hypothesis (research hypothesis) proposes an expected relationship between variables.

Review of Literature

A literature review involves the systematic identification, evaluation, and synthesis of existing research on a specific topic.
It provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge.
Literature reviews help researchers identify gaps in existing research and provide a foundation for their own study.

Research Terms

Problem Statement: This outlines the issue being addressed in the research, clearly stating the need for the study.
Research Question: This is a focused inquiry a researcher wants to answer to address the problem they are researching.
Variable: This represents a characteristic or condition that can be measured. It can be categorized in different ways or measured numerically.
Independent Variable: This is manipulated or changed in the study to see how it affects the dependent variable.
Dependent Variable: This is observed and measured to see how it is affected by the independent variable.
Moderator Variable: This variable influences the strength or relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
Mediator Variable: This variable helps to explain the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
Hypothesis: A statement that predicts the connection between variables.
Simple Hypothesis: This predicts a relationship between one independent variable and one dependent variable.
Complex Hypothesis: This predicts a relationship between two or more independent variables and two or more dependent variables.
Directional Hypothesis: This indicates the direction of the relationship expected between variables (e.g., higher levels of X lead to higher levels of Y).
Non-Directional Hypothesis: This states a relationship exists between variables, but doesn't suggest its specific direction.
Null Hypothesis: This states there is no relationship between the variables being examined.
Alternative Hypothesis: (also known as a Research Hypothesis) This states there is a relationship between the variables being studied.
Literature Review: This involves finding, analyzing, and summarizing documents related to the research topic.
Abstracting: The process of concisely summarizing a piece of literature.
Theory: An established principle explaining a phenomenon in the world around us.
Theoretical Framework: A research framework that is built on existing theory.
Nursing Metaparadigm: The main concepts in nursing theory: Person, environment, health, and nursing.
Grand Theory: A broad and abstract theory that outlines a general framework for understanding nursing phenomena.
Middle-Range Theory: A theory focusing on specific concepts and limited in scope.
Practice-Level Theory: A theory specific to a situation or patient group.
Concept: An abstract notion or idea being studied.
Construct: An abstract idea or phenomenon that is intentionally created by a researcher for study.
Operational Definition: A definition that describes the specific measurements used to determine the presence or quantity of a variable.
Research Design: The overall plan outlining how a study will be carried out.
Experimental Research: This involves manipulating the variable(s).
Non-Experimental Research: Observing events with limited or no control over variables.
Comparative Research: This examines differences between distinct groups of people.
Correlational Research: This analyses the relationships between two or more variables.
Research Locale: The physical location where the research study is conducted.
Population: The entire group that the research study applies to.
Sampling: The method of selecting a subset of the population to study.
Research Instrument: The tool used to collect data in a research study.
Data Organization: The process of arranging and summarizing collected data.
Data Interpretation: The process of examining and drawing conclusions from the data.
t-test: A statistical test to compare two means.
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA): This statistical test examines differences between three or more means.
Chi-square test: This statistical test is used to relate two nominal (categorical) variables.
Correlation Coefficient: This statistical test assesses the relationship between two variables.
Regression Analysis: Statistical method used to see if there is a relationship between a set of independent variables and a dependent variable. This can be linear (a straight line can show the relationship between variables) or nonlinear (a curved line is needed to show the relationship between variables).
Statistical Significance: A statistical measure showing the likelihood the observed effect is genuine and not due to chance.
Clinical Significance: Practical significance of the research findings for nursing practice.
Qualitative Research: Examines non-numeric data like text or images for understanding experiences, perceptions, and meanings.
Quantitative Research: Uses numerical data to examine relationships between variables.
Mixed Methods Research: Combines both qualitative and quantitative research approaches.
Informed Consent: Participants are informed about the study and give their voluntary consent.
Confidentiality: Protecting participants' identities and the information they share.
Anonymity: When participants' identities are unknown to the researchers even.
Research Ethics: Moral principles and guidelines for ethical research practices.
Peer Review: A process where research papers are evaluated by independent experts in the same field.
Dissemination: Sharing research findings with the broader research community and the public.

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Description

Test your understanding of formulating research problems and identifying key variables in studies. This quiz covers problem statements, research questions, and the distinctions between independent and dependent variables. Enhance your research skills by mastering these foundational concepts.