Applied Statistics Q&A | Statistics
1. What is the purpose of using confidence intervals in health care research?
A) To estimate the population parameter
B) To determine the sample size
C) To measure the central tendency
D) To assess the variability of the data
Correct Answer: To estimate the population parameter
Rationale: Confidence intervals provide a range of values within which the
population parameter is likely to fall, offering an estimate of the parameter.
They allow researchers to quantify the uncertainty around sample estimates
and make inferences about the broader population.
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2. Which statistical test is most appropriate for comparing the means of two
independent groups?
A) Chi-square test
B) ANOVA
C) Paired t-test
D) Independent t-test
Correct Answer: Independent t-test
Rationale: The independent t-test is used to compare the means of two
independent groups to determine if there is a statistically significant
,difference between them. It is appropriate when the groups are unrelated
and the dependent variable is continuous.
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3. A researcher measures blood pressure in 50 patients. This is an example
of which type of data?
A) Qualitative data
B) Continuous quantitative data
C) Discrete quantitative data
D) Nominal data
Correct Answer: Continuous quantitative data
Rationale: Blood pressure is measured on a continuous scale and can take
any value within a range, making it continuous quantitative data. It is
numerical and can be meaningfully divided into smaller increments.
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4. The average number of hospital readmissions per month is 4.3. This is an
example of which measure of central tendency?
A) Median
B) Mode
C) Mean
D) Range
Correct Answer: Mean
,Rationale: The average is calculated by summing all values and dividing by
the number of values, which defines the mean. The mean is the most
commonly used measure of central tendency for continuous data.
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5. In a normal distribution, approximately what percentage of data falls
within two standard deviations of the mean?
A) 68%
B) 90%
C) 95%
D) 99.7%
Correct Answer: 95%
Rationale: In a normal distribution, approximately 95% of the data falls within
two standard deviations of the mean. This is a fundamental property of the
normal distribution known as the empirical rule.
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6. Which level of measurement classifies data into categories with no
inherent order?
A) Ordinal
B) Interval
C) Ratio
D) Nominal
, Correct Answer: Nominal
Rationale: Nominal measurement categorizes data into distinct groups
without any order or ranking. Examples include gender, blood type, and race.
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7. A study reports a p-value of 0.03. Using a significance level of 0.05, what
is the conclusion?
A) Fail to reject the null hypothesis
B) Reject the null hypothesis
C) Accept the alternative hypothesis as proven
D) Increase sample size and retest
Correct Answer: Reject the null hypothesis
Rationale: Since the p-value (0.03) is less than the significance level (0.05),
the result is statistically significant, and the null hypothesis is rejected. This
indicates evidence against the null hypothesis.
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8. Which measure of variability is most affected by extreme scores?
A) Interquartile range
B) Standard deviation
C) Range
D) Variance