SCS Research Methods in Spiritual Care 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which ethical principle is most directly violated if a spiritual care researcher publishes patient spiritual history data without obtaining informed consent?
- Beneficence
- Justice
- Respect for autonomy (Correct answer)
- Non-maleficence
Correct answer: Respect for autonomy
Respect for autonomy requires that participants voluntarily agree to have their information used in research after being fully informed.
Question 2: In a grounded theory study on spiritual coping in ICU families, the primary goal of constant comparative analysis is to:
- Calculate inter-rater reliability between coders
- Continuously compare data to emerging categories to develop theory (Correct answer)
- Replicate findings from prior studies
- Confirm hypotheses stated before data collection
Correct answer: Continuously compare data to emerging categories to develop theory
Constant comparative analysis iteratively compares new data with existing codes and categories to build and refine grounded theory.
Question 3: A chaplain researcher asks participants to keep weekly journals about their spiritual experiences during cancer treatment. This data collection method is called:
- Structured observation
- Solicited diary method (Correct answer)
- Clinical audit
- Delphi technique
Correct answer: Solicited diary method
Solicited diaries are researcher-prompted participant journals used to capture longitudinal, first-person accounts of experience.
Question 4: When reporting a systematic review of spiritual care interventions, PRISMA guidelines primarily help researchers:
- Design randomized trials
- Transparently report the search, selection, and synthesis process (Correct answer)
- Analyze qualitative themes
- Obtain IRB approval
Correct answer: Transparently report the search, selection, and synthesis process
PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) provides a checklist ensuring transparent, reproducible reporting of systematic reviews.
Question 5: A researcher wants expert consensus on core competencies for spiritual care in palliative settings. The most appropriate method is:
- Randomized controlled trial
- Ethnographic immersion
- Delphi technique (Correct answer)
- Case-control study
Correct answer: Delphi technique
The Delphi technique uses iterative rounds of expert questionnaires to build consensus on complex or undefined topics.
Question 6: Which sampling strategy would a spiritual care researcher use to deliberately include participants from diverse faith traditions?
- Simple random sampling
- Convenience sampling
- Purposive sampling (Correct answer)
- Systematic sampling
Correct answer: Purposive sampling
Purposive sampling intentionally selects participants based on specific characteristics—here, religious diversity—to meet study goals.
Question 7: In spiritual care outcome research, a 'ceiling effect' means that:
- The study budget has been exhausted
- Most participants score near the maximum on a measure, limiting ability to detect improvement (Correct answer)
- Spiritual distress scores are too high to treat
- The intervention exceeded ethical boundaries
Correct answer: Most participants score near the maximum on a measure, limiting ability to detect improvement
A ceiling effect occurs when scores cluster at the top of a scale, making it statistically difficult to demonstrate further improvement.
SCS Research Methods in Spiritual Care 3
Which ethical principle is most directly violated if a spiritual care researcher publishes patient spiritual history data without obtaining informed consent?