HLT 362V Topic 2 Discussion 2

HLT 362V Topic 2 Discussion 2 Using the research article selected for DQ 1, identify three key questions you will ask and answer when reading the research study and why these questions are important. When responding to peers, provide other questions and answers that could be considered in relation to the peers’ studies. 1. What is Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients? The Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient is the non-parametric statistical measure used to study the strength of association between the two ranked variables. This method is applied to the ordinal set of numbers, which can be arranged in order, i.e. one after the other so that ranks can be given to each. In the rank correlation coefficient method, the ranks are given to each individual on the basis of its quality or quantity, such as ranking starts from position 1st and goes till Nth position for the one ranked last in the group (Business Jargons, n.d.). The formula to calculate the rank correlation coefficient is: Where, R = Rank coefficient of correlation D = Difference of ranks N = Number of Observations 2. What is a Z test? A Z-test is a type of hypothesis test. Hypothesis testing is just a way for you to figure out if results from a test are valid or repeatable. For example, if someone said they had found a new drug that cures cancer, you would want to be sure it was probably true. A hypothesis test will tell you if it’s probably true, or probably not true. A Z test, is used when your data is approximately normally distributed (Statistics how to, 2014). You would use a Z test if: • Your sample size is greater than 30. • Data points should be independent from each other. In other words, one data point isn’t related or doesn’t affect another data point.