Swift Research & Evidence-Based Practice 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In evidence-based practice (EBP), which hierarchy level provides the STRONGEST evidence for clinical decision-making?
- Expert opinion and case reports
- Randomized controlled trials (RCTs)
- Systematic reviews and meta-analyses (Correct answer)
- Cohort studies
Correct answer: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses synthesize results from multiple high-quality studies, placing them at the top of the evidence hierarchy.
Question 2: A social worker wants to evaluate whether a new intervention reduced client anxiety. Which design is most appropriate when random assignment is not feasible?
- Randomized controlled trial
- Quasi-experimental design (Correct answer)
- Case study
- Delphi method
Correct answer: Quasi-experimental design
Quasi-experimental designs allow for comparison groups without random assignment, making them practical when randomization is ethically or logistically impossible.
Question 3: What does 'statistical significance' (p < 0.05) indicate in research findings?
- The intervention is clinically meaningful
- There is less than a 5% probability the result occurred by chance (Correct answer)
- The sample size was adequate
- The effect size is large
Correct answer: There is less than a 5% probability the result occurred by chance
A p-value below 0.05 means there is less than a 5% probability the observed result is due to random chance alone.
Question 4: Which sampling method gives every member of the target population an equal chance of being selected?
- Purposive sampling
- Snowball sampling
- Simple random sampling (Correct answer)
- Convenience sampling
Correct answer: Simple random sampling
Simple random sampling ensures each individual in the population has an equal and independent probability of selection, maximizing representativeness.
Question 5: In qualitative research, 'member checking' is used primarily to enhance which quality criterion?
- Reliability
- Transferability
- Credibility (Correct answer)
- Confirmability
Correct answer: Credibility
Member checking involves returning findings to participants for verification, which strengthens the credibility (internal validity equivalent) of qualitative data.
Question 6: A researcher studies social workers' perceptions without intervening or manipulating variables. This is best described as:
- Experimental research
- Descriptive research (Correct answer)
- Action research
- Evaluative research
Correct answer: Descriptive research
Descriptive research observes and records phenomena as they naturally occur without any manipulation of variables.
Question 7: Which measure of central tendency is MOST resistant to the influence of extreme outliers?
- Mean
- Mode
- Median (Correct answer)
- Standard deviation
Correct answer: Median
The median represents the middle value of a distribution and is not distorted by extreme high or low scores the way the mean is.
Swift Research & Evidence-Based Practice 2
In evidence-based practice (EBP), which hierarchy level provides the STRONGEST evidence for clinical decision-making?