WGU C784 APPLIED HEALTHCARE
STATISTICS COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
2026/2027
1. A researcher is studying the time it takes for patients to be discharged after surgery. The
data collected is in minutes. What level of measurement is this?
A. Nominal
B. Ordinal
C. Interval
D. Ratio
Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: Time has a true zero point (zero minutes means no time has
passed) and equal intervals between units, making it ratio-level data.
2. Which measure of central tendency is most appropriate for a highly skewed distribution of
healthcare costs?
A. Mean
B. Mode
C. Median
,D. Range
Answer: C
Conceptual Explanation: The median is resistant to outliers and skewness, whereas the
mean is pulled in the direction of the tail.
3. If the p-value of a clinical trial comparing a new drug to a placebo is 0.03, and the alpha
level is 0.05, what is the correct conclusion?
A. Fail to reject the null hypothesis; the drug is not effective.
B. The study is inconclusive because the p-value is too low.
C. Accept the null hypothesis; there is a 3% chance the drug works.
D. Reject the null hypothesis; the results are statistically significant.
Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: Since the p-value (0.03) is less than the alpha level (0.05), we
reject the null hypothesis, indicating statistical significance.
4. What does a Standard Deviation of 0 indicate about a data set of patient ages?
A. The ages are normally distributed.
B. There was an error in data collection.
C. The mean age is zero.
D. All patients in the data set are the same age.
, Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: Standard deviation measures variability. If it is 0, there is no
variability, meaning all data points are identical.
5. A healthcare administrator wants to determine the relationship between nurse staffing
levels and patient falls. Which statistical test is most appropriate?
A. Z-score
B. Pearson Correlation Coefficient
C. Standard Deviation
D. Median
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: Pearson’s correlation (r) is used to measure the strength and
direction of a linear relationship between two continuous variables.
6. In a normal distribution, approximately what percentage of data falls within two standard
deviations of the mean?
A. 68%
B. 95%
C. 99.7%
D. 50%
Answer: B
STATISTICS COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
2026/2027
1. A researcher is studying the time it takes for patients to be discharged after surgery. The
data collected is in minutes. What level of measurement is this?
A. Nominal
B. Ordinal
C. Interval
D. Ratio
Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: Time has a true zero point (zero minutes means no time has
passed) and equal intervals between units, making it ratio-level data.
2. Which measure of central tendency is most appropriate for a highly skewed distribution of
healthcare costs?
A. Mean
B. Mode
C. Median
,D. Range
Answer: C
Conceptual Explanation: The median is resistant to outliers and skewness, whereas the
mean is pulled in the direction of the tail.
3. If the p-value of a clinical trial comparing a new drug to a placebo is 0.03, and the alpha
level is 0.05, what is the correct conclusion?
A. Fail to reject the null hypothesis; the drug is not effective.
B. The study is inconclusive because the p-value is too low.
C. Accept the null hypothesis; there is a 3% chance the drug works.
D. Reject the null hypothesis; the results are statistically significant.
Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: Since the p-value (0.03) is less than the alpha level (0.05), we
reject the null hypothesis, indicating statistical significance.
4. What does a Standard Deviation of 0 indicate about a data set of patient ages?
A. The ages are normally distributed.
B. There was an error in data collection.
C. The mean age is zero.
D. All patients in the data set are the same age.
, Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: Standard deviation measures variability. If it is 0, there is no
variability, meaning all data points are identical.
5. A healthcare administrator wants to determine the relationship between nurse staffing
levels and patient falls. Which statistical test is most appropriate?
A. Z-score
B. Pearson Correlation Coefficient
C. Standard Deviation
D. Median
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: Pearson’s correlation (r) is used to measure the strength and
direction of a linear relationship between two continuous variables.
6. In a normal distribution, approximately what percentage of data falls within two standard
deviations of the mean?
A. 68%
B. 95%
C. 99.7%
D. 50%
Answer: B
