Identifying and Interpreting Descriptive Statistics

Statistics
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1] Identifying and Interpreting Descriptive Statistics
Examine the survey results located in the Resources section of the Unit 6 Assignments page. Choose one of the items, determine the descriptive statistic that is reported, and indicate what it means. For example, 'What is the highest level of education of this group?' (Please do not repeat the same topic as your classmates.)
Question 9- What is the time zone where you live?
Eastern 34%
Central 29%
Mountain 19%
Pacific 18%
In a survey conducted to determine where students live, 34% of the students indicated that they lived in the Eastern Time Zone, 29% of the students said that they lived in the Central Time Zone, 19% of the students indicated that they lived in the Mountain Time Zone, while only 18% of the student who responded indicated that they lived in the Pacific Time Zone. Using census estimates to compare the survey results would highlight the differences in the profile of respondents. It is noteworthy that more than 1 in 3 of the respondents lives in the Eastern Time Zone. The differential statistics summarize data provide a snapshot of the data survey (Laerd Statistics, n.d.).
2] Identifying and Interpreting Inferential Statistics
Discuss the importance of inferential statistics in research. How does it differ from descriptive statistics? Please give an example of inferential statistics and support your answer with current literature.
Inferential statistics support the descriptive statistics through indicating any significant differences in samples being observed. The significant differences are present when such differences are not the result of random chance factors (Bernard, 2010). Where possible, the descriptive statistics should be calculated and then supported by the inferential statistics. The tests of significant are conducted in inferential statistics aimed at determining the probability of whether the observed differences are significant (Plichta, Kelvin & Munro). For instance, in an experiment where there is reduced risk of blood pressure for those consuming vegetables and fruits, then it can be concluded that dieting lowers the risk of hypertension (Slavin & Lloyd, 2012)..
3] Clinical Significance
How does a nurse know what (if any) knowledge in a research study is usable for clinical practice? What would a critical thinker look for in the evidence before deciding to change? What influence do credibility and clinical significance have on your decisions to integrate research-based evidence into your practice?
Nurses evaluate the evidence base to determine the usefulness of the research in nursing care, where there is review of literature and related work (Melnyk, et al., 2014). Previous works including those from experiments and experts, while clinical experience is also useful in making decisions. Finding the most appropriate evidence to integrate into nursing practice is considered when evaluating application of evidence (Tilter, 2008). A critical thinker would look at the strength of evidence, methodology and integrity of data to determine whether to use evidence to effect change. Additionally critical thinkers analyze, and interpret the data when measuring outcomes and use statistics, while also being creativity when making decisions. In critical appraisal credibility and clinical significance are necessary to determine the reliability and validity of study results.
Comment 1
This is a great post highlighting how descriptive statistics summarize the data. The responses representing the three categories depend on those who participated in the survey. The post further highlights that there is no attempt to make predictions wince the aim is to identify and evaluate the data characteristics. In determining the marital status of survey respondents then the responses is categories into groups of being married, widowed/ divorced/ separate and never married. The survey respondents would have to choose each category, which are mutually exclusive.
Using a hypothetical sample of 100 to breakdown the marital status of the respondents among the married people (70.5%) this represents 71 people. In reality the sample size was different, but then having identified the characteristic of the data where more than 70% of the people are married, and there are no efforts to extrapolate the data. The distribution of people in different marital statutes merely represents the profile of survey respondents. The post correctly describes the data survey as represented by breakdown of the family status categories. In describing the results the patterns are linked to the percentage of people in each of the three family status categories. Nonetheless, it is not clear whether the sample represents the whole population, but the descriptive summary is still useful to provide a snapshot of the whole picture (Socialresearchmetho...