5060 midterm

• Critical appraisal is a systematic process for reviewing evidence
• Critique is the process of objectively and critically evaluating the content of a research report for scientific merit and application to practice, theory, or education
• Data is information systematically collected in the course of a study; the plural of datum
• Dissemination is the communication of research findings
• Evidence-based practice is the conscious, explicit, and judicious use of the current best evidence in the care of patients and the delivery of health care services
• Evidence-informed practice acknowledges and considers factors beyond evidence such as local indigenous knowledge, cultural and religious norms, and clinical judgement
• Phenomena are occurrences, circumstances, or facts that are perceptible by the senses
• Quality improvement is a systematic process for improving patient care
• Research is the systematic, rigorous, logical investigation that aims to answer questions about nursing phenomena
• The aim of inquiry is the goals or specific objectives of the research, which vary with the paradigm
• Concepts are images or symbolic representations of abstract ideas
• Conceptual definition is the general meaning of a concept
• Conceptual framework is a structure of concepts, theories, or both used to construct a map for the study
• Constructivism is the basis for naturalistic (qualitative) research, a belief that reality is a construction of the people perceiving it
• Constructivist paradigm is the basis of most qualitative research, concerned with the ways in which people construct their worlds
• Context is the personal, social, and political environment in which a phenomenon of interest occurs
• Critical social theory uses qualitative and quantitative research to highlight historical and current experiences of suffering, conflict, and collective struggles
• Critical social thought suggests that reality and a person's understanding of reality are constructed by people with the most power at a particular point in history
• Deductive reasoning is a logical thought process in which hypotheses are derived from theory, moving from the general to the particular
• Epistemology is the theory of knowledge, concerned with how people know what they know or what is known to be the "truth"
• Hypothesis is a best guess or prediction about the relationship between variables
• Inductive reasoning is a logical thought process in which generalizations are developed from specific observations, moving from the particular to the general
• Methodology is discipline-specific principles, rules, and procedures that guide the process through which knowledge is acquired
• Model is a symbolic representation of a set of concepts created to depict relationships
• Ontology is the science or study of being or existence and its relationship to nonexistence
• Operational definition is the description of how a concept is measured and what instruments are used to capture the essence of the variable
• Paradigm is a set of beliefs and practices shared by communities of researchers that guide the knowledge development process
• Philosophical beliefs are the system of motivating values, concepts, principles, and the nature of human knowledge of an individual, group, or culture
• Positivism suggests that a material world exists and can be sensed
• Post-positivism suggests that a "reality" exists that can be observed, measured, and understood, but science offers an imperfect understanding of the world
• Qualitative research is a systematic, interactive, and subjective research method used to describe and give meaning to human experiences
• Quantitative research tests relationships, differences, and cause-and-effect interactions among variables using objective, precise, and highly controlled measurement techniques
• Text is data in a contextual form, narrative or words written from recorded interviews and then transcribed
• Theoretical framework is a structure for concepts, theories, or both used to construct a map for the study based on a philosophical or theorized belief of why the phenomenon under study exists
• Values are the personal beliefs of the researcher
• Theory is a set of interrelated concepts, definitions, and propositions that present a systematic view of phenomena for explaining and making predictions
• Worldview is the way people in society think about the world, a synonym for paradigm
• Nursing knowledge is created and interpreted at various levels of abstraction, ranging from the most abstract to the most concrete thinking
• Abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of a study at the beginning of an article
• Assumptions are accepted truths, key concepts and ideas, reasons and justifications, supporting examples, parallel experiences, implications and consequences, and any other structural features of the written text used to interpret and assess it accurately and fairly