Fall Semester 2025 – December WGU C784 Applied Healthcare Statistics Complete Objective Questions Study Guide | 300+ High-Yield Practice Questions, Data Analysis, Probability, Hypothesis Testing, Descriptive & Inferential Statistics, Excel Applications &

Fall Semester 2025 – December WGU C784 Applied
Healthcare Statistics Complete Objective Questions
Study Guide | High-Yield Practice Questions, Data
Analysis, Probability, Hypothesis Testing, Descriptive &
Inferential Statistics, Excel Applications & Exam-
Focused Review for Nursing and Healthcare Students
Question 1:
What is the primary purpose of using descriptive statistics in healthcare data analysis?
• A) To summarize and describe the characteristics of a dataset
• B) To predict future trends based on current data
• C) To test hypotheses about populations
• D) To determine causality between variables
CORRECT ANSWER: A) To summarize and describe the characteristics of a dataset
Rationale: Descriptive statistics are used to summarize the main features of a dataset,
providing simple summaries about the sample and the measures.


Question 2:
Which of the following is an example of a continuous variable in healthcare research?
• A) Blood type
• B) Number of hospital visits
• C) Patient age
• D) Gender
CORRECT ANSWER: C) Patient age
Rationale: Continuous variables can take any value within a given range, with patient
age being a prime example, unlike categorical variables like blood type or gender.


Question 3:
In a healthcare study, what does a p-value less than 0.05 generally indicate?
• A) The null hypothesis is accepted
• B) The results are statistically significant
• C) There is no effect
• D) The sample size is too small

,CORRECT ANSWER: B) The results are statistically significant
Rationale: A p-value less than 0.05 suggests that there is strong evidence against the
null hypothesis, indicating that the results are statistically significant.


Question 4:
What type of chart is most commonly used to display the distribution of a continuous
variable?
• A) Bar chart
• B) Pie chart
• C) Histogram
• D) Line chart
CORRECT ANSWER: C) Histogram
Rationale: A histogram is specifically designed to show the distribution of continuous
data by grouping data points into ranges or bins.


Question 5:
Which statistical measure is used to describe the variability in a dataset?
• A) Median
• B) Mode
• C) Standard Deviation
• D) Mean
CORRECT ANSWER: C) Standard Deviation
Rationale: Standard deviation quantifies the amount of variation or dispersion in a set
of values, providing insight into the dataset's variability.
Question 6:
What does the term "bias" refer to in statistical studies?
• A) Random error in data collection
• B) Systematic error that skews results
• C) Variation due to sample size
• D) The tendency to favor the null hypothesis
CORRECT ANSWER: B) Systematic error that skews results

,Rationale: Bias is a systematic error that consistently skews results in a particular
direction, potentially affecting the validity of conclusions drawn from the data.


Question 7:
In healthcare research, what is the primary goal of inferential statistics?
• A) To summarize data
• B) To make predictions about a population
• C) To visualize data
• D) To calculate averages
CORRECT ANSWER: B) To make predictions about a population
Rationale: Inferential statistics allow researchers to make generalizations and
predictions about a larger population based on sample data.


Question 8:
Which of the following is a non-parametric test?
• A) t-test
• B) ANOVA
• C) Chi-square test
• D) Linear regression
CORRECT ANSWER: C) Chi-square test
Rationale: The Chi-square test is a non-parametric test used to determine whether
there is a significant association between categorical variables.


Question 9:
What is the purpose of a control group in experimental studies?
• A) To eliminate outliers
• B) To provide a comparison to the treatment group
• C) To increase the sample size
• D) To ensure statistical significance
CORRECT ANSWER: B) To provide a comparison to the treatment group
Rationale: A control group serves as a baseline to compare the effects of the treatment
being studied, helping to isolate the effect of the intervention.

, Question 10:
Which measure of central tendency is most affected by outliers?
• A) Mean
• B) Median
• C) Mode
• D) Range
CORRECT ANSWER: A) Mean
Rationale: The mean is highly sensitive to outliers, as extreme values can skew the
average significantly.


Question 11:
What does a confidence interval represent?
• A) The exact value of a population parameter
• B) The likelihood of data being normally distributed
• C) The range of values within which a population parameter is expected to lie
• D) The probability of observing a certain outcome
CORRECT ANSWER: C) The range of values within which a population parameter is
expected to lie
Rationale: A confidence interval provides a range estimates around a sample statistic,
indicating the uncertainty associated with estimating the population parameter.


Question 12:
In a study, if the correlation coefficient between two variables is 0.85, what does this
imply?
• A) No relationship
• B) Weak positive relationship
• C) Strong positive relationship
• D) Strong negative relationship
CORRECT ANSWER: C) Strong positive relationship
Rationale: A correlation coefficient of 0.85 indicates a strong positive linear
relationship between the two variables.