Reading Assignment (20 points): Statistics for Evidence-based
Practice in Nursing
a) Answer the following questions in your own words:
i. What is the difference between the independent variable and dependent
variable. Give examples of each
ii. Differentiate between a discrete variable, continuous variable, qualitative
variable and quantitative variable
iii. What are some ways to improve reliability and validity
iv. Levels of measurement are an important factor in determining which type of
chart to use. Explain why this is the case
2. SPSS Assignment (80 points)
In a study of medical surgical nursing student exam grades Dr. Koestler examined 40 participants in an undergraduate medical surgical class. The exam grades were reported on a continuous scale from 0 to 100. The SPSS assignment records the exam grades for all 40 subjects.
1. Use the Exam_Score2 dataset to prepare the following in SPSS (20 points).
a. A frequency distribution
b. A cumulative frequency distribution
c. A histogram (cut and paste to this document)
d. A frequency polygon
2. Determine from your output (20 points)
a. Using the Robert E. Smith School of Nursing Grading Scale determine what
percentage of the students failed the exam?
b. Determine the Mean, Mode and Median of this data set
3. How would you describe the shape of this distribution in terms of: Shape, Modality, Center,
Range, Outliers, Gaps (30 points)
Type: Retrospective study investigating medical surgical nursing student test grades
Size: 40 observations and 1 variable
Article Title: Examining Descriptive Data of Medical Surgical Nursing Students in a Undergraduate Program Descriptive Abstract: The tab delineated data describes test 1 results for medical surgical nursing students prior to an educational intervention. The class size was 40 students, ages ranged from
19-45, 10 were male and 30 were female.
Source(s): Scores obtained from ExamSoft test statistics
Variable Description(s):
1. Exam_Score1: Fictional data set created for demonstration
2. Exam_Score2: Fictional data set created for homework assignmentDescriptive Abstract: The tab delineated data describes test 1 results for medical surgical nursing students prior to an educational intervention. The class size was 40 students, ages ranged from 19-45, 10 were male and 30 were female.
Source(s): Scores obtained from ExamSoft test statistics
Variable Description(s):
1. Exam_Score1: Fictional data set created for demonstration
