[...]... Aptara Inc 2 Statistics for Nursing and Allied Health she used statistical models to help England prepare for German bombing raids David later left England for the United States and founded the Statistics Department at the University of California, Riverside in 1970 (Salsburg, 2001) UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH Nurses and allied health professionals need a solid understanding of how... population Descriptive Studies and Descriptive Statistics Studies whose primary purpose is descriptive and explorative simply describe situations and events These studies use descriptive questions, such as: What is the LWBK083-3844G-01_p1-19.qxd 7/7/08 9:48 AM Page 4 Aptara Inc 4 Statistics for Nursing and Allied Health TABLE 1-1 MARITAL STATUS OF U.S WOMEN AGE 15 YEARS AND OLDER STATUS Currently married... useful both in nursing and across disciplines The three models discussed here are examples of theories that can facilitate empirical work: Andersen’s model of health care use, the theory of unpleasant symptoms, and the theory of planned behavior Anderson’s Model of Health Care Use Andersen’s model of health care use postulates that the use of health services is a function of the perceived need for care,... valid and usable values This step is completed by running frequencies on every variable (see Chapter 2) and examining those frequencies carefully for valid values, unusual values, large amounts of missing data, and adequate variability For example, if the variable gender has a value of 1 for men and a value of 2 for women, any cases that listed a value of 3 for gender would have to be examined and explained... ethnicity, and education level These descriptions help readers understand the study population The overall values and distribution of the key independent and dependent variables are also described (see Chapter 2 for details) Inferential Statistics Used to Test Each Hypothesis The third step in data analysis is to list the inferential statistics that will be used to test the hypotheses The hypotheses,... poor follow-up rates, lack of random selection, LWBK083-3844G-01_p1-19.qxd 7/7/08 9:48 AM Page 16 Aptara Inc 16 Statistics for Nursing and Allied Health lack of random assignment, and lack of diversity in the sample Delimitations are boundaries in which the study was deliberately confined (e.g., the physical activity study focuses on adults rather than on adolescents and adults) Dissemination Plan A... learn, but they are essential when writing formulas Mathematical symbols are used throughout this text Table 2-1 provides an overview of some of the symbols and mathematical notations commonly used in statistics LWBK083-3844G-02_p20-58.qxd 7/7/08 12:26 PM Page 22 Aptara Inc 22 Statistics for Nursing and Allied Health TABLE 2-1 SYMBOL MATHEMATICAL SYMBOLS IN STATISTICS MEANING Mathematical Functions... to the health care system, and to people who have the problem It should also provide a review of other studies in LWBK083-3844G-01_p1-19.qxd 7/7/08 9:48 AM Page 8 Aptara Inc 8 Statistics for Nursing and Allied Health the literature that have examined similar issues The rationale should then explain the weaknesses in the literature (e.g., what is not well documented, what is not known at all) and how... 2007) Health care organizations have responded to this shortage by encouraging the immigration of foreign nurses and calling for more graduates from nursing schools (Brush, Sochalski, and Berger, 2004) It appears, however, that some health care organizations are less concerned with the educational level of nurses LWBK083-3844G-01_p1-19.qxd 7/7/08 9:48 AM Page 3 Aptara Inc Chapter 1 Using Research and Statistics. .. research design as a refresher For more detailed information, standard reference texts can be helpful (Babbie, 2007; Cook and Campbell, 1979; Polit and Beck, 2008) Research design is the art and science of conducting studies that maximize reliability and validity of the findings and minimize bias The research design also ensures that the relationship between the dependent and independent variables can . basic, and out- comes research in nursing and allied health. Nurses and allied health providers with a focus on practice are best qualified to identify and. exercise behavior and receiving the flu vaccine in a sample of 999 health care workers. Table 1-2 shows 4 Statistics for Nursing and Allied Health TABLE 1-1 MARITAL