,e 3rd Edition Susan
Grove
Answer Guidelines for Questions to Be Graded
E ERCISE
Identifying Levels of ZX
Measurement: Nominal,
Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio
1
The questions are in bold followed by answers zx
1. In Table 1, identify the level of measurement for the current therapy variable Provide a zx
rationale for your answer zx
Answer: The current therapy variable was measured at the nominal level These drug zx
categories were probably developed to be e haustive for this study and included the categories of
zx
drugs the subjects were receiving However, the categories are not e clusive, since patients are
zx zx
usually on more than one category of these drugs to manage their health problems The current
zx
therapies are not measured at the ordinal level because they cannot be rank ordered, since no drug
category can be considered more or less beneficial than another drug category (see Figure 1-1;
Grove & Gray, 2019) zx
2. What is the mode for the current therapy variable in this study? Provide a rationale for
your answer zx
Answer: The mode for current therapy was β blocker A total of 100 (94%) of the cardiac patients
zx
were receiving this category of drug, which was the most common prescribed drug for this
sample zx
3. What statistics were conducted to describe the BMI of the cardiac patients in this sample?
Discuss whether these analysis techniques were appropriate or inappropriate zx
Answer: BMI was described with a mean and standard deviation (SD) BMI measurement resulted
zx
in ratio-level data with continuous values and an absolute zero (Stone & Frazier, 2017) Ratio- zx
level data should be analyzed with parametric statistics such as the mean and SD (Grove & Gray,
2017; Knapp, 2017) zx
4. Researchers used the following item to measure registered nurses’ (RNs) income in a study:
What category identifies your current income as an RN?
a Less than $50,000
zx
b $50,000 to 59,999
zx
c $60,000 to 69,999
zx
,d $70,000 to 80,000
zx
e $80,000 or greater
zx
What level of measurement is this income variable? Does the income variable follow the
rules outlined in Figure 1-1? Provide a rationale for your answer zx
Answer: In this e ample, the income variable is measured at the ordinal level The income catego-
zx zx
ries are e haustive, ranging from less than $50,000 to greater than $80,000 The two open-ended
zx zx
AG 1-1
, AG 1-2 Answer Guidelines for Questions to Be Graded
categories ensure that all salary levels are covered The categories are not e clusive, since catego-
zx zx
ries (d) and (e) include an $80,000 salary, so study participants making $80,000 might mark
either (d) or (e) or both categories, resulting in erroneous data Category (e) could be zx
changed to greater than $80,000, making the categories e clusive The categories can be rank
zx zx
ordered from the lowest salary to the highest salary, which is consistent with ordinal data
(Grove & Gray, 2019; Waltz et al , 2017) zx zx
5. What level of measurement is the CDS score? Provide a rationale for your answer zx
Answer: The CDS score is at the interval level of measurement The CDS is a 26-item Likert zx
scale developed to measure depression in cardiac patients Study participants rated their symp-
zx
toms on a scale of 1 to 7, with higher numbers indicating increased severity in the depression
symptoms The total scores for each subject obtained from this multi-item scale are considered
zx
to be at the interval level of measurement (Gray et al , 2017; Waltz et al , 2017)
zx zx zx
6. Were nonparametric or parametric analysis techniques used to analyze the CDS scores for
the cardiac patients in this study? Provide a rationale for your answer zx
Answer: Parametric statistics, such as mean and SD, were conducted to describe CDS scores
for study participants (see Table 1) CDS scores are interval-level data as indicated in Questions 5,
zx
so parametric statistics are appropriate for this level of data (Gray et al , 2017; Kim & Mallory, zx
2017) zx
7. Is the prevalence of depression linked to the NYHA class? Discuss the clinical importance
of this result zx
Answer: The study narrative indicated that the prevalence of depression increased with the
greater NYHA class In NYHA class III, 64% of the subjects were depressed, whereas 11% of
zx
the subjects were depressed in NYHA class I Thus, as the NYHA class increased, the number of
zx
sub- jects with depression increased This is an e pected finding because as the NYHA class
zx zx
increases, cardiac patients have more severe physical symptoms, which usually result in
emotional distress, such as depression Nurses need to actively assess cardiac patients for
zx
depression, especially those in higher NYHA classes, so they might be diagnosed and treated as
needed zx
8. What frequency and percent of cardiac patients in this study were not being treated with
an antidepressant? Show your calculations and round your answer to the nearest whole
percent (%) zx
Answer: A total of 106 cardiac patients participated in this study The sample included zx
15 patients who were receiving an antidepressant (see Table 1) The number of cardiac zx
patients not treated for depression was 91 (106 – 15 = 91) The group percent is calculatedzx
by the following formula: (group frequency ÷ total sample size) × 100% For this study, zx
(91 patients ÷ 106 sample size) × 100% = 0 858 × 100% = 85 8% = 86% The final
zx zx zx
answer is rounded to the nearest whole percent as directed in the question You could have zx
also subtracted the 14% of patients treated with antidepressants from 100% and obtained the
86% who were not treated with an antidepressant zx
9. What was the purpose of the 6-minute walk test (6MWT)? Would the 6MWT be useful in
clinical practice?
Answer: Ha et al (2018) stated, ―The 6-min walk test (6MWT) is a measure of the subma imal,
zx zx
steady-state functional capacity‖ of cardiac patients This test would be a quick, easy way to
zx
determine a cardiac patient’s functional status in a clinical setting This functional status zx
score could be used to determine the treatment plan to promote or maintain functional status
of cardiac patients zx
Grove
Answer Guidelines for Questions to Be Graded
E ERCISE
Identifying Levels of ZX
Measurement: Nominal,
Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio
1
The questions are in bold followed by answers zx
1. In Table 1, identify the level of measurement for the current therapy variable Provide a zx
rationale for your answer zx
Answer: The current therapy variable was measured at the nominal level These drug zx
categories were probably developed to be e haustive for this study and included the categories of
zx
drugs the subjects were receiving However, the categories are not e clusive, since patients are
zx zx
usually on more than one category of these drugs to manage their health problems The current
zx
therapies are not measured at the ordinal level because they cannot be rank ordered, since no drug
category can be considered more or less beneficial than another drug category (see Figure 1-1;
Grove & Gray, 2019) zx
2. What is the mode for the current therapy variable in this study? Provide a rationale for
your answer zx
Answer: The mode for current therapy was β blocker A total of 100 (94%) of the cardiac patients
zx
were receiving this category of drug, which was the most common prescribed drug for this
sample zx
3. What statistics were conducted to describe the BMI of the cardiac patients in this sample?
Discuss whether these analysis techniques were appropriate or inappropriate zx
Answer: BMI was described with a mean and standard deviation (SD) BMI measurement resulted
zx
in ratio-level data with continuous values and an absolute zero (Stone & Frazier, 2017) Ratio- zx
level data should be analyzed with parametric statistics such as the mean and SD (Grove & Gray,
2017; Knapp, 2017) zx
4. Researchers used the following item to measure registered nurses’ (RNs) income in a study:
What category identifies your current income as an RN?
a Less than $50,000
zx
b $50,000 to 59,999
zx
c $60,000 to 69,999
zx
,d $70,000 to 80,000
zx
e $80,000 or greater
zx
What level of measurement is this income variable? Does the income variable follow the
rules outlined in Figure 1-1? Provide a rationale for your answer zx
Answer: In this e ample, the income variable is measured at the ordinal level The income catego-
zx zx
ries are e haustive, ranging from less than $50,000 to greater than $80,000 The two open-ended
zx zx
AG 1-1
, AG 1-2 Answer Guidelines for Questions to Be Graded
categories ensure that all salary levels are covered The categories are not e clusive, since catego-
zx zx
ries (d) and (e) include an $80,000 salary, so study participants making $80,000 might mark
either (d) or (e) or both categories, resulting in erroneous data Category (e) could be zx
changed to greater than $80,000, making the categories e clusive The categories can be rank
zx zx
ordered from the lowest salary to the highest salary, which is consistent with ordinal data
(Grove & Gray, 2019; Waltz et al , 2017) zx zx
5. What level of measurement is the CDS score? Provide a rationale for your answer zx
Answer: The CDS score is at the interval level of measurement The CDS is a 26-item Likert zx
scale developed to measure depression in cardiac patients Study participants rated their symp-
zx
toms on a scale of 1 to 7, with higher numbers indicating increased severity in the depression
symptoms The total scores for each subject obtained from this multi-item scale are considered
zx
to be at the interval level of measurement (Gray et al , 2017; Waltz et al , 2017)
zx zx zx
6. Were nonparametric or parametric analysis techniques used to analyze the CDS scores for
the cardiac patients in this study? Provide a rationale for your answer zx
Answer: Parametric statistics, such as mean and SD, were conducted to describe CDS scores
for study participants (see Table 1) CDS scores are interval-level data as indicated in Questions 5,
zx
so parametric statistics are appropriate for this level of data (Gray et al , 2017; Kim & Mallory, zx
2017) zx
7. Is the prevalence of depression linked to the NYHA class? Discuss the clinical importance
of this result zx
Answer: The study narrative indicated that the prevalence of depression increased with the
greater NYHA class In NYHA class III, 64% of the subjects were depressed, whereas 11% of
zx
the subjects were depressed in NYHA class I Thus, as the NYHA class increased, the number of
zx
sub- jects with depression increased This is an e pected finding because as the NYHA class
zx zx
increases, cardiac patients have more severe physical symptoms, which usually result in
emotional distress, such as depression Nurses need to actively assess cardiac patients for
zx
depression, especially those in higher NYHA classes, so they might be diagnosed and treated as
needed zx
8. What frequency and percent of cardiac patients in this study were not being treated with
an antidepressant? Show your calculations and round your answer to the nearest whole
percent (%) zx
Answer: A total of 106 cardiac patients participated in this study The sample included zx
15 patients who were receiving an antidepressant (see Table 1) The number of cardiac zx
patients not treated for depression was 91 (106 – 15 = 91) The group percent is calculatedzx
by the following formula: (group frequency ÷ total sample size) × 100% For this study, zx
(91 patients ÷ 106 sample size) × 100% = 0 858 × 100% = 85 8% = 86% The final
zx zx zx
answer is rounded to the nearest whole percent as directed in the question You could have zx
also subtracted the 14% of patients treated with antidepressants from 100% and obtained the
86% who were not treated with an antidepressant zx
9. What was the purpose of the 6-minute walk test (6MWT)? Would the 6MWT be useful in
clinical practice?
Answer: Ha et al (2018) stated, ―The 6-min walk test (6MWT) is a measure of the subma imal,
zx zx
steady-state functional capacity‖ of cardiac patients This test would be a quick, easy way to
zx
determine a cardiac patient’s functional status in a clinical setting This functional status zx
score could be used to determine the treatment plan to promote or maintain functional status
of cardiac patients zx
