The great pleasure in life is doing

what
people say you cannot do.

Nursing Research
Concepts of Measurement Theory

Measurement
Determination of the quantity of a
characteristic that is present; involves
assigning of numbers or some other
classification.
Classification measures: measures that
involve sorting of subjects into categories
based on their characteristics

Rules to Guide Measurement

The way a measure is administered

Timing of the procedure
The exact protocol for collecting the results
How questions are worded
How the interviewer should read a question

Numbers: A Key Element

Objective
Standardized
Consistent
Precise
Statistically testable
Accurate representation of attributes

Determine a Measurement
Primary data
Collected directly from the subject for the
purpose of the research study

Secondary data
Collected for other purposes and used in the
research study

Five Assumptions
Data that are needed are present in the
record
Data in record are in a form that can meet
the variable definitions
Data are accurately recorded
Data recorded in more that one place?
Multiple entries are consistent
Data recorded in manner that is interpreted
in common way by reader

Levels of Measurement
Nominal scale
Data that can be named and placed into
categories but cannot be ranked or measured
on a scale

Levels of Measurement
Ordinal scale
Categorical data that can be put in rank order.
The scales used contain intervals between
entries that vary, limiting statistical analyses and
comparisons across the scales or between
subjects

Levels of Measurement
Interval scale
Data measured on a scale that has consistent
intervals between measurement units and
allows for broad selection of mathematical
operations and analytic options

Levels of Measurement
Ratio scale
Data measured on interval scales that have a
true zero

Levels of Measurement
Amount of emesis-ratio started at 0
Scores on the ACT, SAT, or the GRE interval because you
can stardiaze it
Height or weight- ratio starts at 0
High, moderate, low level of social support- nonminal
doesnt mean one is better than another
Satisfaction with nursing care-ordinal itervals arent same
width apart
Class ranking-ordinal, can compare
Number of feet or meters walked-ratio
Type A or Type B behavior-nominal
Body temperature measured with a centigrade
thermometer-interval
Body temperature measured with a Fahrenheit
thermometer-interval

Levels of Measurement

Hours spent in labor before childbirth-ratio

Religious affiliation-nominal
Time to first postoperative voiding-ratio
Responses to a single Likert scale item-ordinal (agree,
disagree
Nursing specialty area-nominal
Status on the following scale: in poor health, in fair health,
in good health, in excellent health ordinal
Pulse rate-ratio
Score on a 25-item Likert scale-can compare people,
ordinal
Highest college degree attained-ordinal

Measurement Error
Amount of difference between the true score
and the observed score
Difference between true score and observed
score is measurement error

Types of Errors
Random error- expected
1. human factors
2. confusion on how to respond to question
3. bias in response to question
4. variation in procedures
5. Bias because researcher is harsh
6. error in data processing

Systematic error-more serious, data

appears accurate but isn't

Random Error or Systematic Error?

The scale used to obtain daily weights was inaccurate by 3
pounds less than actual weight. systematic
Students chose the socially acceptable responses on an
instrument to assess attitudes toward AIDS patients.random
Confusion existed among the evaluators on how to score
the wound healing.-random
The subjects were nervous about taking the psychological
tests.-random

Data Analysis
Used to examine numerical data gathered in
a study
Preparation of data for analysis
Computers

Data Analysis
Description of sample
Obtain frequencies of descriptive variables
related to samples
Compare various groups in relation to variables

Reliability Analysis
Cronbachs alpha/coefficient alpha need a
Need a .7
Are the individual items consistent with overall
test results?

Guttman split half/split half alpha

Is first half of the test as reliable as the second
half?
Need .6

Test-retest reliability
Is instrument stable over time? Do results
change because of subjects or test?

Descriptive Statistics
Most common:
Counts of data-how many times or frequency
Measures of central tendency-mode median,
mean
Measures of variability-how far away people are
from the middle
Measures of position Graphical presentations-bar graphs, pie charts

Summarizing Data
Frequency: a count of the instances that an
event occurs in a data set

Summarizing Data
Frequency tables

Summarizing Data
Frequency distributions

Summarizing Data
Measures of central tendency
Mean-average
Median-middle number
Mode the number that occurs most often

Mean
1615131312109 8 3
99
divided by 9
11

16
15
13
9
3

Median
16
15
13
12
12
9
8
3

13
10
8

Summarizing Data
Variability of a data set-how far someone is
from the median, mean or mode
Range-big-small
Variance- the spread of scores around the
mean
Standard deviation-the average difference
scores

Summarizing Data
Measures of position
Percentile rank-were does in placed in relation
to everyone else
Standardized scores-use a z score- difference
btween your score what you should get
Standard normal distribution-bell shaped curve

Summarizing Data
Measures of relationship

Correlation analysis
+1 is perfect correlation .1-1.0
-1 is perfect is correlation but inverse -.1-1.0
No correlation
Strong correlation at least .7

Summarizing Data
Graphical presentations
Bar chart
Line graphs
Scatter plots

Summarizing Data
Common errors
Inappropriate statistics-use the wrong ones
Incorrectly entered data- didnt enter correctly
Selected data presented without presentation of
whole data set-just took a chunck of data
Lack of disclosure of frequency/percentage info
Over interpretation of results
Graphic representation that hides important
aspects of data set-

Interpreting Measures of
Correlation
Pneumonia length of stay in days andResults of pulmonary function test
Correlation coefficient

-0.850

1.The sign indicates inverse relationship; as

results of pulmonary function tests improve, length
of stay in days decreases.
2. The number means0.8-1.0 indicates a strong
relationship.

Interpreting Measures of
Correlation
Pneumonia length of stay in days andNumber of co-morbid conditions
Correlation coefficient

+0.678

1.The sign indicates a positive relationship; as

number of co-morbid conditions increases, length
of stay in days also increases.
2. The number means0.6-0.8 indicates a
moderately strong relationship.

Interpreting Measures of
Correlation
Pneumonia length of stay in days andNutritional status
Correlation coefficient

-0.488

1.The sign indicates a negative relationship; as

quality of nutritional status improves, length of
stay in days decreases.
2. The number means0.4-0.6 indicates a
moderate relationship.

Interpreting Measures of
Correlation
Pneumonia length of stay in days andAnnual Days absent from Work
Correlation coefficient

+0.213

1.The sign indicates a positive relationship; as

annual days absent from work increase, length of
stay in days increases.
2. The number means0.2-0.4 indicates a weak
relationship.