explicitly identified but can be inferred because it has to do with decreasing stress by providing a more appropriate environment for nurses to work in. Florence Nightingale’s theory did apply more to patient outcomes, but can be applied to nurses as well. The important concepts in this article is that nurses experience higher stress levels due to inappropriate light levels and noise levels on a unit. The concept of quiet time is introduced as a way to decrease light levels in hopes 4

RESEARCH ARTICLE APPRAISAL, PART ONE of decreasing the noise levels and stress levels of the nurses. The variables are essentially the concepts being examined during this study, light levels, noise levels, and stress levels. In this study quiet time, turning down the intensity of the lights, is initiated for two hours during a shift to see if it has an effect on noise levels and nurse stress levels. The researchers measured light, noise, and nurse stress levels four times, once before and three times during quiet time. Noise level did not change much with decreased light intensity, however, there was a strong correlation between decreasing the light intensity and decreased stress levels of the nurses. There are three diagrams that represent the data collection during this process, and one table that represent the diagrams. It is easy to see on the table the effect quiet time had on the noise levels and nurse stress levels. Variables The major variables that are present in this study are light levels, noise levels, and nurse stress levels. The light level in this study represents the independent variable. This is the concept that is being adjusted to see if it affects the other factors during this research. Noise levels and nurse stress levels are both dependent variables. Any changes in these two variables depend on the changes made with the light levels. The conceptual definition is that decreasing light levels will decrease noise and stress levels of nurses. The 100-point visual analog scale, digital sound meter, and the light meter provide the operational definition as these are all of the tools that were used to measure the variables in this research. The author explicitly mentioned that demographic variables were not measured, however, the fact that all participants were critical care registered nurses who work day shift could be considered as a possible demographic variable. Extraneous variables that were mentioned by the authors and resulted in results being excluded from the 5

RESEARCH ARTICLE APPRAISAL, PART ONE study include cardiopulmonary resuscitation of a patient and nurses not being present during the full two hours of quiet time. Research Design The study design used for this research is a longitudinal correlational design. The researchers were trying to identify if there was a correlation between quiet time (decreased light intensity) and nurse stress levels. A survey called 100-point visual analog scale was used to measure the stress of nurses several times throughout the two-hour period of quiet time. Because