Table 2

 Prevalence of research publications with an empirical design during the first and second halves of the period studied

χ2 test for whole dataset
YearMethodTotal
Frequency Frequency ExpectedNot empiricalEmpirical
1990–199616811261807
69.1−69.1
1997–200319133092222
−69.169.1
Total35944354029
χ2=49, p<.0001
χ2 test for dataset without Nursing Ethics
1990–199616201041724
32.5−32.53
1997–200317521861938
−32.5332.5
Total33722903662
χ2=15.4, p. <0001