population; the starting point on the list is ran-
domly selected
systematic review A rigorous and systematic syn-
thesis of research findings about a clinical problem
systems A level in the pyramid of 5 Ss involving
electronic medical records integrated with prac-
tice guidelines
t statistic Inferential statistical test to determine
whether a statistically significant difference be-
tween groups exists
tailedness The degree to which a tail in a distri-
bution is pulled to the left or to the right
target population All elements that meet the
study inclusion criteria
team leadership skills Behaviors that collabora-
tively engage others while working toward a goal
team membership The composition of a team
with respect to expertise and leadership
temporal ambiguity The inability to control for
confounding variables and the inability to deter-
mine whether the exposure truly occurred before
the disease
testing A threat to internal validity when a pretest
influences the way subjects respond on a posttest
test-retest reliability A test for instrument reli-
ability when new instruments are given at two
different times under the same conditions; scores
are correlated, and strong positive correlations
indicate good reliability
theoretical framework The structure of a study
that links the theory concepts to the study vari-
ables; a section of a research article that describes
the theory used
theoretical sampling Nonprobability sampling
method used in grounded theory to collect data
from an initial group of participants
theory A set of concepts linked through propo-
sitions to explain a phenomenon
therapeutic imperative An ethical rule stating
that nurses should perform actions that benefit
the patient
trade literature Works written for professionals
in a discipline using a more casual tone than used
in scholarly literature
traditional literature review Article based on
common or uncommon elements of works with
little concern for research methods, designs, or
settings; narrative literature review
transferability One of four criteria for a trust-
worthy qualitative study that relates to whether
findings from one study can be transferred to a
similar context; application of findings to a differ-
ent situation
translational research Research for the purpose
of linking research findings to the point of care
translational research model A model that pro-
vides specific strategies organizations can use to
improve adoption of an evidence-based innovation
trend A type of longitudinal design to gather
data from different samples across time
triangulation Use of different research methods
in qualitative research to gather and compare data
truncation A search strategy that uses a symbol
at the end of a group of letters that form the root
search term
trustworthiness The quality, authenticity, and
truthfulness of findings from qualitative research
Tuskegee study An unethical study about syphi-
lis in which subjects were denied treatment so that
the effects of the disease could be studied
two-group posttest-only designs Experimental
designs when subjects are randomly assigned to
an experimental or control group and measured
after the intervention
two-group pretest-posttest design Subjects are
randomly assigned to the experimental or control
group and measured before and after the interven-
tion; classic or true experiment
type I error When the researcher rejects the null
hypothesis when it should have been accepted
type II error When the researcher inaccurately
concludes that there is no relationship among the
independent and dependent variables when anGLOSSARY 529