organizational level When nurses in an organi-
zation effect practice changes
organizational priorities Situations of high
importance because of volume of patients or costs
outcome Consequence or visible result
outcomes research Studies about the ef-
fects of care and treatments on individuals and
populations
pandemic Epidemic that has spread worldwide
panel design Longitudinal design where the
same subjects, drawn from the general population,
provide data at multiple points in time
papers Manuscripts published in professional
journals
parallel form A test for instrument reliability
in which two different versions of new instru-
ments are given. Scores are correlated, and strong
positive correlations indicate good reliability; also
known as alternate form
parametric Inferential statistical tests involving
interval- or ratio-level data to make inferences
about the population
participant observation Role of the researcher
in qualitative methods when the researcher is not
only an observer but also a participant during
data collection
participants Individuals in a qualitative study;
informants
passive rejection Lack of consideration given to
adopting an innovation; hence, old practices are
continued
patient populations A group of patients with
similar characteristics
patient-related outcomes A type of outcome
related to patient behaviors or actions
Pearson’s r An inferential statistic used when
two variables are measured at the interval or ratio
level; Pearson product–moment correlation
peer debriefing A technique used in qualitative
research in which the researcher enlists the help of
another person, who is a peer, to discuss the data
and findings
peer review When experts and editors rig-
orously evaluate a manuscript submitted for
publication
percentage distributions Descriptive statistics
used to group data to make results more compre-
hensible; calculated by dividing the frequency of
an event by the total number of events
percentile A measure of rank representing the
percentage of cases that a given value exceeds
performance-related outcomes A type of out-
come related to how nurses perform their job
period prevalence The number of existing
cases of disease in a population during a specified
period of time
periodical A resource that is published on a set
schedule
persistent observation When the researcher
has spent sufficient quality time with participants
while attempting to describe and capture the
essence of the phenomenon
personal development file A compilation of
career accomplishments
personal narrative A way of conveying the
meaning of experiences through storytelling
phenomenology A type of qualitative research
that describes the lived experience to achieve un-
derstanding of an experience from the perspective
of the participants
physiological measures Data obtained from the
measurement of biological, chemical, and micro-
biological phenomena
PICOT model A model in EBP used to formu-
late EBP questions; the acronym stands for patient
population, intervention of interest, comparison
of interest, outcome of interest, and time frame
used to formulate EBP
pilot A small study to test a new intervention
with a small number of subjects before testing
with larger samples; adopting an innovation on a
trial basis
plagiarism The use of another’s work without
giving proper credit524 GLOSSARY