Deck 9: Research Samples

Question 1

A study's sampling plan can compensate for a

A) design shortcoming in controlling threat to validity.
B) failure to examine ethical considerations.
C) lack of time and resources for the study.

Answer 1

design shortcoming in controlling threat to validity.

Question 2

The general term for describing individual units of a sample is

A) elements.
B) informant
C) respondent.

Answer 2

elements.

Question 3

A nurse research team conducting a study about perceptions of body changes after a stroke sought participants who (1) were female, (2) were over age 65, (3) could read and speak English, and (4) had no serious cognitive or linguistic deficit. In this case, a "cognitive or linguistic deficit" constitutes a(n)

A) exclusion criterion.
B) inclusion criterion.
C) qualifying criterion.

Answer 3

exclusion criterion.

Question 4

"All nursing students who smoke" is an example of a

A) population.
B) sample.
C) stratum.

Question 5

If a population was defined as "American men who have had coronary artery bypass surgery," one possible stratum would be

A) men under age 50 who have had bypass surgery.
B) men who have never had bypass surgery.
C) women who have had bypass surgery.

Question 6

If a population was defined as "Russian immigrant children attending elementary school in Spokane," an element would be

A) an elementary school in Spokane.
B) elementary school children in Spokane who are Russian.
C) Russian immigrant children in an elementary school in Spokane.

Question 7

Sampling bias refers to bias resulting from

A) inappropriate specification of eligibility criteria.
B) over- or under-representation of population segments.
C) a sample that is too small.

Question 8

A researcher who is studying stress management techniques used by nursing students samples every twentieth student on an enrollment roster. This method of sampling is referred to as

A) network sampling.
B) quota sampling.
C) systematic sampling.

Question 9

A researcher who is studying grief among individuals who have divorced a gay/lesbian spouse obtains a sample by asking study participants if they know of anyone else who has divorced for this reason. This method of sampling is referred to as

A) convenience sampling.
B) purposive sampling.
C) snowball sampling.

Question 10

A research team studied alcohol use among nursing students at private universities. The first sampling selected eight states, then randomly selected two universities in each state, and then randomly sampled students from each program. This sampling process is referred to as

A) cluster sampling.
B) purposive sampling.
C) systematic sampling.

Question 11

Which type of sample carries the greatest risk for sampling error?

A) Cluster sample.
B) Stratified random sample.
C) Systematic sample.

Question 12

Sampling error is smaller in

A) homogeneous samples
B) random samples.
C) small samples.

Question 13

A pair of nurse researchers recruited participants for their qualitative study about resilience in elderly women who had never married by posting flyers about their study in area churches. This method of sampling is referred to as

A) convenience sampling.
B) purposive sampling.
C) referral sampling.

Question 14

A researcher recruits study participants from students using the nursing library on weekends. The first 50 junior students and the first 50 senior students are asked to complete a survey. This method of sampling is referred to as

A) purposive sampling.
B) quota sampling.
C) stratified random sampling.

Question 15

A researcher randomly draws the names of 100 nurses from a list of all nurses who have been employed full-time for at least 5 years at the study hospital. This list of nurses constitutes

A) the accessible population.
B) a probability sample.
C) a sampling frame.

Question 16

Which is true when estimating sample size needs for a quantitative study?

A) Larger samples can compensate for weaknesses in the study design.
B) Samples of less than 30 are generally inadequate.
C) Smaller samples are needed in experimental compared to quasi-experimental research.

Question 17

The procedure that should be used to calculate needed sample size in a quantitative study is

A) power analysis.
B) stratification.
C) weighting.

Question 18

The overriding criterion for sampling adequacy in a qualitative study is

A) informational quality.
B) representativeness.
C) sample size.

Question 19

In quantitative studies, a larger sample is needed when the

A) difference between groups is expected to be large.
B) expected incidence of a phenomenon is expected to be small.
C) population is homogeneous.

Question 20

A team of qualitative nurse researchers makes an effort to include men and women of different ages and ethnic groups in their sample. This reflects

A) homogeneous sampling.
B) maximum variation sampling.
C) typical case sampling.