D this study showed no significant difference between

d
.
This study showed no significant difference between the two charting methods, in terms of compliance.
e. Had the level of significance been set at 0.15, the findings would have reached statistical significance.
ANS: A, C, D, E
Unpredicted nonsignificant or inconclusive results are the most difficult to explain. These results are often referred to as negative
results. The negative results could be a true reflection of reality. In this case, the reasoning of the researcher or the theory used by
the researcher to develop the hypothesis is in error. If so, the negative findings are an important addition to the body of
knowledge. With nonsignificant results, it is important to determine if adequate power of 0.8 or higher was achieved for the data
analysis. Thus, the researcher needs to conduct a power analysis to determine if the sample size was adequate to prevent the risk
of a type II error. A type II error means that in reality the findings are significant, but, because of weaknesses in the methodology,
the significance was not detected. Negative results, in any case, do not mean that there are no relationships among the variables
or differences between groups; they indicate that the study failed to find any.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Application REF: Page 594

4. A nurse manager in a trauma intensive care unit conducts a quality improvement evaluation project. During this
process, she discovers that patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome almost always have better outcomes when they are
placed in the five beds located further away from the nursing station. Examining the data, she discovers that the room doors in
these five rooms are consistently half-closed or three-quarters closed. In addition, nurses have been documenting that these
patients sleep more than the other ten patients on the unit. What are the nurse’s options for generalizing the findings?
a. There is no practical use for this research; no generalization is appropriate.
b
.
Findings should be generalized immediately, and in print. These are important findings.
c. The nurse can present the findings at conferences, but generalization is limited to the hospital in which the data were
collected.
d
.
The nurse manager can obtain permission from an institutional review board to conduct a formal research study, in order to
formally test hypotheses, and then generalize the findings of this second study.
e. Arrangements should be made immediately on the unit to keep all patients’ doors half-closed or three-quarters closed.
ANS: C, D
Methodological limitations limit the credibility of the findings and restrict the population to which the findings can be
generalized. Methodological limitations result from factors such as nonrepresentative samples, weak designs, single setting,
limited control over treatment (intervention) implementation, instruments with limited reliability and validity, limited control
over data collection, and improper use of statistical analyses. Quality improvement research, by definition, is methodologically
limited, because of its location-specific findings and lack of controls.