Statistical Assessment of Two Research Reports

• Examine two research articles which incorporate a statistical analysis discussed in this course but not previously examined in your submission of activity 1 or 2.

• Briefly summarize and report on each statistic and discuss whether the assumptions of each test were met and if the type of data was appropriate for each statistical test.

• Include the following sections in your paper:

Section I – A Review of the Data Analysis:

Provide a discussion of the following elements:

• What is the problem or question(s) this research concerns?

• Give a brief overview of how the data were collected.

• What is the source of data? (i.e., questionnaire, physiological data, existing statistical information, etc.). In some studies there are two or more sources of data.

• List the independent and dependent variables

• Discuss sample size estimation. Consider the following

• Was a power analysis conducted?

• Was the sample size appropriate for the statistical test? Why or why not?

• Describe the statistic used to measure the hypotheses/research questions.

• How were assumptions met?

• Is the level of measurement appropriate? Why or why not?

• Discuss how the data were displayed (i.e., graphs, tables)

• Were these appropriate? Why or why not?

Section II – Data Analysis Evaluation:

• What did the data analysis show?

• What conclusions were drawn by the authors?

• Do you agree or disagree with the conclusions? Why or why not?

• Were the study limitations discussed? What were the limitations if any? How did the authors deal with the limitations?

• Give your overall evaluations of the methods used in this article, including a discussion of the following questions:

• What things were done well?

• How much trust do you put in the findings?

Section III – Understanding the Data:

• Provide a discussion of the usefulness of each study to your nursing peers.

• What might they think of the study?

• What might they find confusing?

• What aspects of the studies might they question?

• Summarize why you think the studies do or do not provide sufficient evidence to change practice.

• Summarize your thoughts related to the usefulness of the statistics.

Your paper must be:

• 4-12 pages, excluding cover page;

• composed using Microsoft Word;

• typed in Times New Roman, font size 12.

This and all papers should be written in APA format and follow standard rules of grammar and formatting.