Which statement is an operational definition of a concept? a. ...

[Evvie72]

Which statement is an operational definition of a concept?
 
  a. Death anxiety is an uncomfortable feeling on contemplation of one's own death, measured by Templar's Death Anxiety Scale (Templar, 1986).
  b. Pain is a pattern of responses to protect the organism from harm (Sternbach, 1979).
  c. Maternal identity entails maternal cognitions and affect with regard to the maternal-infant relational system (Walker and Montgomery, 1994).
  d. Spirituality is a way of being or experiencing that comes about through an awareness of a transcendent dimension and one's identifiable values with regard to self, other, nature, and whatever one considers to be ultimate (Elkins, 1988).

Question 2

When reading a report of results of a nursing research study, the nurse notices that the theoretical framework is drawn from a discipline other than nursing.
 
  When critiquing the theoretical framework, the nurse should determine the answer to which of these questions?
  a. Does the research have implications across disciplines?
  b. Is the researcher a recognized leader in the discipline of nursing?
  c. Does the author have special expertise or education in the discipline from which the theoretical framework is derived?
  d. Has the author clearly indicated the meaning of the theoretical framework to the study and linked it to nursing?

[britb2u]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: A

Feedback
A An operational definition of death anxiety is provided because it states how death anxiety will be measured.
B This statement is a conceptual definition of pain.
C This statement is a conceptual definition of maternal identity.
D This statement is a conceptual definition of spirituality.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: D

Feedback
A The author should cite the implications of the research for nursing.
B The author of a research article need not be a recognized leader in nursing.
C The author should have an understanding of the framework but does not need to have expertise in the discipline from which it is derived.
D The theoretical framework does not have to come from nursing but should be linked to the practice of nursing.