WGU D514 BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS (PDF) | 2026
EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS + RATIONALES | STUDY
GUIDE | 100% CORRECT
1. A healthcare administrator implemented email safety training for all employees after
reading about phishing attacks. An exam was given after the training. How should the
organization use the pass rate data from the assessment?
A) To identify areas of potential data disclosure
B) To compare mean scores to determine efficacy
C) To see if additional educational efforts are needed
D) To determine the level of insurance that will be needed
Correct Answer: C) To see if additional educational efforts are needed
Rationale: The pass rate data from a post-training assessment helps determine whether
employees have achieved the desired level of understanding. If pass rates are low, additional
educational efforts are needed to close the knowledge gap and ensure the training was effective .
2. A hospital would like to reduce outstanding accounts receivables with large amounts. The
CFO asks the director of patient accounts to identify delinquent accounts based on patient
demographics to create a collection process through the patient portal. How should the
CFO use the data?
A) To outsource the hospital's collection function
B) To implement improvements in the revenue cycle process
C) To explain delays in collection to the board's finance committee
D) To replace staff in areas where substandard performance is identified
Correct Answer: B) To implement improvements in the revenue cycle process
Rationale: Analyzing delinquent accounts by patient demographics allows the organization to
identify patterns and implement targeted improvements in the revenue cycle process. This data-
driven approach helps address root causes rather than simply explaining delays .
3. Research has determined that the number of sleep interruptions in patients with
fibromyalgia has a detrimental impact on clinical outcomes. The data shows fibromyalgia
patients (n=36) have average reported sleep disruptions of 100 (SD=5) compared to
control group (n=1000) with average of 99 (SD=2.5). What is the most appropriate
recommendation based on this data?
A) To recommend that fibromyalgia patients be treated for insomnia
B) To recommend that fibromyalgia patients be screened for sleep deprivation
C) To determine if sleep interruptions are specific by patient age in either group
D) To determine if gender is a factor in sleep interruptions in patients with fibromyalgia
Correct Answer: B) To recommend that fibromyalgia patients be screened for sleep deprivation
,Rationale: The data shows fibromyalgia patients have higher reported sleep disruptions than the
control group. This supports recommending screening for sleep deprivation. The small sample
size (n=36) limits making definitive treatment recommendations without further research .
4. An analyst is interested in understanding the association between patients admitted to the
emergency department and the number of medical errors reported from that same
department. Which database would the analyst use to find this potential association?
A) Object-oriented database
B) De-identified database
C) Flat file database
D) Relational database
Correct Answer: C) Flat file database
Rationale: A flat file database stores data in a single table and is useful for simple analysis of
associations between variables. It is appropriate for analyzing the relationship between two
variables—here, ED admissions and medical errors .
5. The public health department is interested in the impact of emergency services provided
to trauma patients at accident scenes. Which type of database can provide this type of
information?
A) Reporting databases
B) Transactional databases
C) Data warehouses
D) Disease registries
Correct Answer: D) Disease registries
Rationale: Disease registries are databases designed to track patients with specific conditions or
exposures, which can provide information on emergency services provided to trauma patients.
They are used for public health purposes and documenting disease prevalence .
6. A researcher is investigating factors that influence emergency department wait times for
all urban hospitals in the United States. Which type of database should the researcher
use?
A) Reporting database
B) Relational database
C) Disease registry
D) Data warehouse
Correct Answer: D) Data warehouse
Rationale: A data warehouse consolidates data from multiple sources across organizations,
making it ideal for analyzing factors across all urban hospitals. It allows for aggregation and
analysis of large datasets from diverse sources .
, 7. An orthopedic surgical team implemented a new approach for a knee replacement
procedure due to a high rate of failure with the prior procedure. After six months, the
team wants to evaluate all patients receiving the new procedure. Which data source is
needed for this analysis report?
A) National Institutes of Health (NIH)
B) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
C) Length of Stay (LOS)
D) Electronic Health Record (EHR)
Correct Answer: D) Electronic Health Record (EHR)
Rationale: An EHR contains patient-level clinical data needed to evaluate outcomes of the new
procedure. It provides comprehensive data on patient outcomes, complications, and follow-up for
the specific population receiving the new knee replacement procedure .
8. Which of the following sequences describes the correct order of steps when analyzing
data?
A) Cluster data and draw inferences → Propose possible diagnoses → Identify abnormal data →
Check for defining characteristics → Confirm or rule out diagnoses → Document conclusions
B) Identify abnormal data and strengths → Cluster data and draw inferences → Propose possible
diagnoses → Check for defining characteristics → Confirm or rule out diagnoses → Document
conclusions
C) Check for defining characteristics → Identify abnormal data → Propose diagnoses → Cluster
data → Document conclusions
D) Propose diagnoses → Identify abnormal data → Check defining characteristics → Document
conclusions
Correct Answer: B) Identify abnormal data and strengths → Cluster data and draw inferences →
Propose possible diagnoses → Check for defining characteristics → Confirm or rule out
diagnoses → Document conclusions
Rationale: This sequence follows the correct analytical process: first identify abnormal findings
and strengths, then cluster related data, propose possible diagnoses, check for defining
characteristics, confirm or rule out diagnoses, and finally document conclusions .
9. What is pivotal to determining how to move from each client problem to its goals?
A) Evaluation as an accurate historian of the client
B) Positive interpretation of the client's history
C) Process in collecting physical data
D) Clinical reasoning process
Correct Answer: D) Clinical reasoning process
EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS + RATIONALES | STUDY
GUIDE | 100% CORRECT
1. A healthcare administrator implemented email safety training for all employees after
reading about phishing attacks. An exam was given after the training. How should the
organization use the pass rate data from the assessment?
A) To identify areas of potential data disclosure
B) To compare mean scores to determine efficacy
C) To see if additional educational efforts are needed
D) To determine the level of insurance that will be needed
Correct Answer: C) To see if additional educational efforts are needed
Rationale: The pass rate data from a post-training assessment helps determine whether
employees have achieved the desired level of understanding. If pass rates are low, additional
educational efforts are needed to close the knowledge gap and ensure the training was effective .
2. A hospital would like to reduce outstanding accounts receivables with large amounts. The
CFO asks the director of patient accounts to identify delinquent accounts based on patient
demographics to create a collection process through the patient portal. How should the
CFO use the data?
A) To outsource the hospital's collection function
B) To implement improvements in the revenue cycle process
C) To explain delays in collection to the board's finance committee
D) To replace staff in areas where substandard performance is identified
Correct Answer: B) To implement improvements in the revenue cycle process
Rationale: Analyzing delinquent accounts by patient demographics allows the organization to
identify patterns and implement targeted improvements in the revenue cycle process. This data-
driven approach helps address root causes rather than simply explaining delays .
3. Research has determined that the number of sleep interruptions in patients with
fibromyalgia has a detrimental impact on clinical outcomes. The data shows fibromyalgia
patients (n=36) have average reported sleep disruptions of 100 (SD=5) compared to
control group (n=1000) with average of 99 (SD=2.5). What is the most appropriate
recommendation based on this data?
A) To recommend that fibromyalgia patients be treated for insomnia
B) To recommend that fibromyalgia patients be screened for sleep deprivation
C) To determine if sleep interruptions are specific by patient age in either group
D) To determine if gender is a factor in sleep interruptions in patients with fibromyalgia
Correct Answer: B) To recommend that fibromyalgia patients be screened for sleep deprivation
,Rationale: The data shows fibromyalgia patients have higher reported sleep disruptions than the
control group. This supports recommending screening for sleep deprivation. The small sample
size (n=36) limits making definitive treatment recommendations without further research .
4. An analyst is interested in understanding the association between patients admitted to the
emergency department and the number of medical errors reported from that same
department. Which database would the analyst use to find this potential association?
A) Object-oriented database
B) De-identified database
C) Flat file database
D) Relational database
Correct Answer: C) Flat file database
Rationale: A flat file database stores data in a single table and is useful for simple analysis of
associations between variables. It is appropriate for analyzing the relationship between two
variables—here, ED admissions and medical errors .
5. The public health department is interested in the impact of emergency services provided
to trauma patients at accident scenes. Which type of database can provide this type of
information?
A) Reporting databases
B) Transactional databases
C) Data warehouses
D) Disease registries
Correct Answer: D) Disease registries
Rationale: Disease registries are databases designed to track patients with specific conditions or
exposures, which can provide information on emergency services provided to trauma patients.
They are used for public health purposes and documenting disease prevalence .
6. A researcher is investigating factors that influence emergency department wait times for
all urban hospitals in the United States. Which type of database should the researcher
use?
A) Reporting database
B) Relational database
C) Disease registry
D) Data warehouse
Correct Answer: D) Data warehouse
Rationale: A data warehouse consolidates data from multiple sources across organizations,
making it ideal for analyzing factors across all urban hospitals. It allows for aggregation and
analysis of large datasets from diverse sources .
, 7. An orthopedic surgical team implemented a new approach for a knee replacement
procedure due to a high rate of failure with the prior procedure. After six months, the
team wants to evaluate all patients receiving the new procedure. Which data source is
needed for this analysis report?
A) National Institutes of Health (NIH)
B) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
C) Length of Stay (LOS)
D) Electronic Health Record (EHR)
Correct Answer: D) Electronic Health Record (EHR)
Rationale: An EHR contains patient-level clinical data needed to evaluate outcomes of the new
procedure. It provides comprehensive data on patient outcomes, complications, and follow-up for
the specific population receiving the new knee replacement procedure .
8. Which of the following sequences describes the correct order of steps when analyzing
data?
A) Cluster data and draw inferences → Propose possible diagnoses → Identify abnormal data →
Check for defining characteristics → Confirm or rule out diagnoses → Document conclusions
B) Identify abnormal data and strengths → Cluster data and draw inferences → Propose possible
diagnoses → Check for defining characteristics → Confirm or rule out diagnoses → Document
conclusions
C) Check for defining characteristics → Identify abnormal data → Propose diagnoses → Cluster
data → Document conclusions
D) Propose diagnoses → Identify abnormal data → Check defining characteristics → Document
conclusions
Correct Answer: B) Identify abnormal data and strengths → Cluster data and draw inferences →
Propose possible diagnoses → Check for defining characteristics → Confirm or rule out
diagnoses → Document conclusions
Rationale: This sequence follows the correct analytical process: first identify abnormal findings
and strengths, then cluster related data, propose possible diagnoses, check for defining
characteristics, confirm or rule out diagnoses, and finally document conclusions .
9. What is pivotal to determining how to move from each client problem to its goals?
A) Evaluation as an accurate historian of the client
B) Positive interpretation of the client's history
C) Process in collecting physical data
D) Clinical reasoning process
Correct Answer: D) Clinical reasoning process
