Introduction to Probability Theory and Heath Statistics

Part 1 (approximately 1–1.5 pages, total): Copy and paste the following examples (A–F below) , then respond by classifying each of the following variables as either: nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio. Provide a brief explanation where indicated. A researcher studying lifespan categorizes individuals into single, married, divorced, or widowed. What type of variable measurement is this? A cognitive scientist places her subjects into categories based on how anxious they tell her that they are feeling: “not anxious”, “mildly anxious”, “moderately anxious” and “severely anxious”, and she uses the numbers 0, 1, 2 and 3 to label categories where lower numbers indicate less anxiety. What type of variable measurement is this? Are the categories mutually exclusive? A Physician diagnoses the presence or absence of disease (i.e. yes or no). What type of variable measurement is this? A person weighing 200 lbs. is considered to be twice as heavy as a person weighing 100 lbs. In this case, what type of measurement is body weight? A nurse takes measurements of body temperature on patients and reports them in units of degrees Farenheit as part of a study. What type of variable measurement is this? Patients rate their experience in the emergency room on a five point scale from poor to excellent ( 1 = very poor, 2 = not very good, 3 = neither good nor bad, 4 = quite good, and 5 = excellent). What type of variable measurement is this? Is the difference between a 1 and a 2 necessarily the same as the difference between a 3 and a 4? Explain briefly. Part 2: Statistics (1/2 page) Given what you’ve learned in this module about the meaning of “statistics”, choose one of the examples from Part I (A-F), and raise a relevant question of your own that could be answered by a statistician. Then without answering your own question, explain how a pattern could be studied or a useful prediction made based on data that are to be collected. Part 3: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Data (approximately 1–1.5 pages) A health scientist wishes to measure how well participants diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are coping. Explain how a variable such as coping could be measured quantitatively or qualitatively.