Assignment Task
Objectives
- Explain how statistical choices in analysis link directly to the study design that generated the data, and the type of data
- Discriminate the most appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics to use for the analysis of health data
- Analyse and critically interpret health data using statistical tests and software
- Communicate data and data interpretations using visual analysis and appropriate statistical terminology
- Examine statistical issues relating to validity, reliability, and decision-making in the context of uncertainty
Task
As part of an examination of patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) of a hospital, you have been asked to answer a set of research questions using routinely collected clinical and non-clinical data. See details below.
Description of variables
This data set is a subset of data from an Emergency Department hospital database. Data are provided for approximately 800 patients. There are 18 variables in the dataset containing a range of clinical and nonclinical data.
Questions
- Are older people (age > 65) more likely to present to the emergency department in pain? (Note: To answer this question, you will need to split age into two groups with one group consisting of those aged less than or equal to 65 and the other group older than 65 years of age and use this new variable to answer the question)
- Are there differences in length of stay (in hours) by arrival mode? (Note: You will need to convert length of stay to be in terms of a number of hours. You will also need to combine the ‘other’ groups with the ‘walking’ group’ so you have four groups to examine (Walking, Public Ambulance, Private Vehicle, Private Ambulance).
- Are age and body temperature significant predictors of a person’s heart rate? Firstly, describe the relationships between each of the independent and dependent variables, and then identify which of the variables explain the largest amount of variation in heart rate. If researchers are mostly interested in the association between body temperature and heart rate, why is the effect of age being examined (provide details relevant to your data)?
This should include, at a minimum, the following:
1. State the question
2. Develop and clearly articulate an analysis plan that will allow you to answer the question
3. Implement the analysis plan using Jamovi and report all relevant output. If you need to modify or create new variables to implement the plan then you should describe these new / modified variables and how they were calculated.
4. Interpret the results of the analysis
5. Write a summary paragraph describing the question, the data and the results. Graphics should be incorporated if relevant.
6. Tables and figures in the report should be professionally presented with clear numbering, titles and appropriate referencing in the written sections of the report.