NURS 8200 Week 8: Quantitative Methods: Nonparametrics

Discussion: Statistical Analyses in Nursing

Researchers must make informed choices about the type of statistical analysis that best addresses the research question. For the past several weeks, you have been considering how and when a particular statistic should be employed. This week, you have focused on the use of nonparametric tests.

Nonparametric methods are useful to researchers in performing statistical analyses of quantitative data sets that do not follow normal distributions and that have inconsistent variation. Nonparametric methods are often applied when ordinal-level data are collected and, as such, rely on fewer assumptions than their parametric counterparts.

In this Discussion, you examine the two articles in this week’s Learning Resources, both of which employ nonparametric methods of statistical analysis. In addition, as the final week of exploring quantitative statistics, you consider which statistical method is most frequently used in your area of nursing practice.

ORDER NOW FOR ORIGINAL PAPER

Discussion: Statistical Analyses in Nursing Note: This Discussion takes place in small groups, which should have been assigned by your Instructor.

To prepare:Discussion: Statistical Analyses in Nursing

• Review the articles presented in this week’s Learning Resources and analyze each study’s use of nonparametric tests.
• Critically analyze each article, considering the following questions in your analysis:
  • What are the goals and purpose of the research study each article describes?
  • How are nonparametric tests used in each study? What are the results of their use?
  • Why are parametric methods (t tests and ANOVA) inappropriate for the statistical analysis of each study’s data?
  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of each study (e.g., study design, sampling, and measurement)?
  • How could the findings and recommendations of each study contribute to evidence-based practice in the health care field?
• Reflect on the quantitative statistical analyses presented throughout this course in the research literature, the Learning Resources, media presentations, and those articles you reviewed for your abbreviated research proposal.
• Ask yourself: Which method is most commonly used in research studies that pertain to my area of nursing practice, and why this might be so?

By Day 3 of Discussion: Statistical Analyses in Nursing

Post a cohesive response in your small group that addresses the following:

• Critically analyze each article, including the items noted above.
• Identify one statistical analysis method that you found recurring in many of the articles you used in your literature review for your research proposal. This method does not necessarily have to be nonparametric.
• Based on your area of nursing practice, which method of statistical analysis is most frequently used in the research literature? Why do you think other forms of statistical analysis are less frequently used? Provide a rationale for your response.

Read a selection of your colleague’s postings in your small group.

By Day 6

Respond to at least two of your colleagues in your small group in one or more of the following ways:

• Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, evidence, or research.
• Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.
• Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own research in the Walden Library.
• Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.
• Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.
• Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you learned and/or any insights you gained as a result of the comments made by your colleagues.

Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and any additional sources.

Post your responses to the Discussion based on the course requirements.

Your Discussion postings should be written in standard edited English and follow APA guidelines as closely as possible given the constraints of the online platform. Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students to ensure your in-text citations and reference list are correct. Initial postings must be 250–350 words (not including references).

SAMPLE RESPONSE TO A DISCUSSION POST

Thank you, K…, for your insight. A few of the comments this week refer to the small sample size reported in the Fisher, et al. (2010) study. Nonparametric tests actually lend themselves well to studies where the assumptions utilized for stronger parametric tests are not met and with small sample sizes (Polit, 2010). Researchers used the chi-square test to make inferences about two variables in a category, contingency tables, and Fisher’s exact tests which are nonparametric and suitable for analysis of small sample sizes (Fisher, Orkin & Frazer, 2010).

Related to determining sample size appropriate to the study, next week we are looking at qualitative research. Mitzy mentioned nonparametric analysis and the applications to qualitative research. Qualitative research requires researchers to utilize rank tests and coding concepts (van Rijnsoever, 2017) in order to analyze the qualitative data collected. He goes on to say that the sample size is decided upon when the data review does not provide any new concepts or codes. Once no new concepts are identified in the data “theoretical saturation” (van Rijnsoever, 2017, para 3), meaning all information to gain insight has been identified. The lesson learned is that just as there are many different analytical methods and selection of the best fit for the required relationship in a study, so there are many different requirements for sample size depending on the study design and analytical method. Thank you, again, for your insight. This article on sample size and qualitative might be a good reference for discussion next week.

References

Fisher, K., Orkin, F., & Frazer, C. (2010). Utilizing conjoint analysis to explicate health care decision making by emergency department nurses: a feasibility study. Applied Nursing Research: ANR, 23(1), 30–35. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2008.03.004

Polit, D. (2010). Statistics and data analysis for nursing research (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

van Rijnsoever, F. J. (2017). (I Can’t Get No) Saturation: A simulation and guidelines for sample sizes in qualitative research. PLoS ONE, 12(7), 1–17. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181689https://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mnh&AN=20645664&site=eds-live&scope=site

Discussion: Statistical Analyses in Nursing

Name: NURS_8200_ Week8_Discussion_Rubric

Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers

Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.

Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS

Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?

Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.

We write plagiarism Free Content

Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.

Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.