NUR 5201 - Introduction to Statistical Methods

Week 1
Research Principles

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 Research Principles

1. Research Questions
2. Treatment and Control Groups
These fundaments 3. Rationale for Random Assignment
will get things
started. 4. Statistical Hypothesis Test
5. Significance Level and P-value
6. Levels of Measure
7. Types of Variables
8. Statistical Selection

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 Research Questions
• Statistics can be used to answer a
variety of research questions
• Choice of statistics depends on:
– the research question
– how the data were gathered
– data configuration
– type(s) of variables in the data set

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 Research Questions
• Descriptive Statistics (Chapter 4)
– Descriptive statistics can be used to
describe and summarize a data set of
any size.
– Graphs (histograms with normal curve
and bar charts) provide further insight
of the data.

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 Research Questions
• Descriptive Statistics (Chapter 4)
– Questions answered:
• What percentage of students graduated?
• What’s the lowest age?
• What’s the highest age?
• What’s the average age?

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 Research Questions

• T-Test and Mann–Whitney U Test

(Chapter 5)
– Compares scores of two groups
– Usually involves a Treatment group
and a Control group
– Indicates if one groups significantly
outperformed the other group

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 Research Questions
• T-Test and Mann–Whitney U Test
(Chapter 5)
– Questions answered:
• What is the best way to teach a subject:
Method A or Method B?
• Which drug produces the best result:
Placebo or Drug A 20 mg?
• What lighting source enables fastest
reading: Regular room lighting or Acme
reading lamp?

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 Research Questions
• ANOVA and Kruskal–Wallis Test
(Chapter 6)
– Similar to the t-test
– Compares the scores of three or more
groups
– Usually involves a control group and
two or more treatment groups
– Indicates if any group significantly
outperformed any of the other groups
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 Research Questions
• ANOVA and Kruskal–Wallis Test
(Chapter 6)
– Questions answered:
• What is the best way to teach a subject:
Method A, Method B, or Method C?
• Which drug produces the best result:
Placebo, Drug A 20 mg, or Drug A 40 mg?
• What lighting source enables fastest
reading: Regular room lighting, reading
Acme lamp, or generic reading lamp?

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 Research Questions
• Paired T-test and Wilcoxon Test
(Chapter 7)
– Similar to t-test, but instead of two
groups, the sample is contained within
a single group
– Each member of the (single) group is
administered the same test twice:
(1) Pretest  Treatment  (2) Posttest

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 Research Questions
• Paired T-test and Wilcoxon Test
(Chapter 7)
– Questions answered:
• Does chocolate cake improve mood?
• Does a change in lighting enhance
productivity?
• Does a treatment reduce fever?

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 Research Questions
• Pearson Correlation and
Spearman Correlation
(Chapter 8)
– Compare two continuous variables to
determine their relationship to each
other

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 Research Questions
• Pearson Correlation and
Spearman Correlation
(Chapter 8)
– Questions answered:
• What is the relationship between grade and
homework hours?
• What is the relationship between income and
happiness?
• What is the relationship between height and
self-esteem?

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 Research Questions
• Chi-Square Test (Chapter 9)
– Compares categorical variables to
detect differences in proportions
among categories

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 Research Questions
• Chi-Square Test (Chapter 9)
– Questions answered:
• Is gender (Female, Male) associated with
ice cream flavor preference (Chocolate,
Strawberry, Vanilla)?
• Does parent’s marital status (Married,
Single) associated with high school
graduation (Graduated, Not graduated)?
• Is handedness (Right, Left, Ambidextrous)
associated with blood type (A-, A+, B-, B+,
AB-, AB+, O-, O+)?
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 Treatment and Control Groups

• Rationale for two-group system

– Using a Treatment group only would not
provide a basis for comparing the treatment to
doing nothing
– The Treatment group gets the innovative
treatment(s)/intervention(s)
– The Control group provides a baseline
(comparison) score and may receive no
treatment, treatment as usual, or a placebo
– Statistical tests detect if the Treatment group(s)
significantly outperformed the Control group

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 Treatment and Control Groups

• Research question

– Does classical music enhance plant

growth?

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 Treatment and Control Groups
Example 1: 1 Group Design

Treatment Group

Observation: Plant did well with music.

Conclusion: Treatment had a positive effect (or did it?).
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 Treatment and Control Groups

Example 2: 2 Group Design

Treatment Group Control Group

Observation: Both plants did equally well.

Conclusion: Treatment had a neutral effect.
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 Treatment and Control Groups
Example 3: 2 Group Design

Treatment Group Control Group

Observation: Treatment group outperformed Control group.

Conclusion: Treatment had a positive effect.
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 Treatment and Control Groups

Example 4: 2 Group Design

Treatment Group Control Group

Observation: Control group outperformed Treatment group.

Conclusion: Treatment had a negative effect.
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 Random Assignment
• Controlling for group bias

– Assigning participants to Treatment/Control groups

may (unintentionally) bias the outcomes if it is done
improperly
– Some selection processes may route a
disproportionate amount of highly skillful participants
to one group, thereby biasing the outcome
– Random assignment (e.g., coin flip, lottery) helps
reduce group bias by balancing participants with
exceptional aptitudes/deficits fairly evenly across the
Treatment/Control groups

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 Statistical Hypothesis Test
• A statistical hypothesis test is a formal procedure used to
decide whether the data at hand sufficiently support a
particular hypothesis.

• Format of hypotheses
– Hypotheses are clear statements about the outcome
possibilities:
• H0 is the Null hypothesis
– It states that there is no difference when comparing the
results of the Treatment group with the results of the
Control group (the treatment had a Null effect)
• H1 is the Alternative hypothesis
– It states that the Treatment group outperformed the
Control group
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 Statistical Hypothesis Test

• Example of hypotheses

– H0: The flu shot does not help flu resistance

– H1: The flu shot helps flu resistance
• The statistics will answer the question: Is there a
statistically significant difference in flu prevalence
among those who did get the flu shot, compared
to those who did not get the flu shot?
• If there is a statistically significant difference
between the two groups, we would reject H 0,
otherwise we would reject H1

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 Significance level and P-value
• The significance level α for a given hypothesis
test is a value for which a P-value less than or
equal to α is considered statistically significant.
• Typical values for α are 0.1, 0.05, and 0.01.
These values correspond to the probability of
observing such an extreme value by chance.
• The most commonly used significance level is
α = 0.05.

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 Significance level and P-value

• P-value is a statistical measurement used to

validate a hypothesis against observed data.
• A p-value measures the probability of obtaining
the observed results, assuming that the null
hypothesis is true.
• A very low p-value means the probability of
obtaining the observed results is very low,
assuming that the null hypothesis H0 is true.
Hence, we reject H0 when p-value is very low.
• The lower the p-value, the greater the statistical
significance of the observed difference.
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 Significance level and P-value

• Example of a hypothesis test

– H0: The flu shot does not help flu resistance
– H1: The flu shot helps flu resistance
• Research question: Is there a statistically significant
difference in flu prevalence among those who did
get the flu shot, compared to those who did not get
the flu shot.
• Suppose we set significance level α = 0.05.
• If p-value ≤ 0.05, we would reject H0, and conclude
that there is a statistically significant difference in flu
prevalence among those who did get the flu shot,
compared to those who did not get the flu shot.
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 Level of Measure
• Nominal
– AKA: Discrete, Categorical
– Numbers represent categories, hence cannot
perform traditional arithmetic on them
– Represent categories that have no order
• Flavor: 1 = Chocolate, 2 = Strawberry, 3
= Vanilla
• Religion: 1 = Atheist, 2 = Buddhist, 3
= Catholic, 4 = Hindu, 5 = Jewish, 6 = Taoist, etc.
• Marital status: 1 = Single, 2 = Married, 3
= Separated, 4 = Divorced, 5 = Widow / Widower

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 Level of Measure
• Ordinal
– Similar to Nominal, but can be ordered (ranked)
– Numbers represent categories, hence cannot
perform traditional arithmetic on them
– Represent categories that have order
• Education: 1 = High school, 2 = AA, 3
= BA, 4 = MA, 5 = PhD
• Size: 1 = Small, 2 = Medium, 3 = Large
• Income: 1 = Low, 2 = Medium, 3 = High

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 Level of Measure
• Interval
– Numbers that are equally spaced (1, 2, 3,…)
– Range: -…+ (can be negative)
• Bank account balance: -$2.13…$6,578.09
• Temperature: -2°…95°
• Attitude: -5 = pessimistic…+5 = optimistic

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 Level of Measure
• Ratio
– Numbers that are equally spaced (1, 2, 3,…)
– Range: 0… (cannot be negative)
• Income: $0…$100,000
• Score: 0%…100%
• Age: 0…99

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 Types of Variables
• Variable type
(Categorical/Continuous) guides you
in selecting appropriate statistical
tests

Categorical Continuous
• Nominal • Interval
• Ordinal • Ratio

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 Statistical Selection
Statistic When to Use
Ch. 4 – Descriptive
Any continuous or categorical variable
Statistics
Ch. 5 – T-Test and
Two groups with continuous variables
Mann–Whitney U Test
Ch. 6 – ANOVA and More than two groups with continuous
Kruskal–Wallis Test variables
Ch. 7 – Paired T-Test and Compare pretest versus posttest
Wilcoxon Test (continuous variables within 1 group)
Ch. 8 – Correlation –
Two continuous variables
Pearson and Spearman
Ch. 9 – Chi-Square Test Two categorical variables

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