Overview

Public health researchers are often involved in collaborating in the design, development, and analysis of community initiatives of varying complexity. While this course alone will not provide sufficient training for you to act as a statistical consultant, it does offer a broad and practice-based analytic foundation that can position you to better understand and more fully contribute to real-world project teams. Building on the basic statistical concepts and analytical techniques of the previous units, this assessment is an opportunity to use your cumulative quantitative-analysis skills to address a broad set of real-world research questions.

Demonstration of Proficiency

By successfully completing this assessment you will address the following scoring guide criteria, which align to the indicated course competencies.

• Competency 2: Apply appropriate statistical methods using common software tools in the collection and evaluation of health care data.
  • Perform the most appropriate parametric or nonparametric test to answer each question.
• Competency 3: Interpret the results and practical significance of statistical health care data analyses.
  • Assess the assumption of normal distribution prior to analysis.
  • Appropriately interpret the statistical output (such as estimate, p-value, confidence interval, and effect size) resulting from each statistical test.
  • Summarize the clinical implications, significance, and potential limitations of the study data and outcomes.
• Competency 4: Assess the quality of quantitative research methods reported in peer-reviewed health care literature.
  • Describe the practical significance of the results of statistical tests.
• Competency 5: Address assignment purpose in a well-organized text, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences.
  • Articulate meaning relevant to the main topic, scope, and purpose of the prompt.
  • Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references.

Instructions

Complete the following for this two-part assessment.

Software

The following statistical analysis software is required to complete your assessments in this course:

• IBM SPSS Statistics Standard or Premium GradPack, version 22 or higher, for PC or Mac.

You have access to the more robust IBM SPSS Statistics Premium GradPack.
Please refer to the Statistical Software page on Campus for general information on SPSS software, including the most recent version made available to Capella learners.

Part 1: Yoga and Stress Study Statistical Tests

1. Use the Yoga Stress (PSS) Study Data Set [XLSX] to determine the measurement level of data of the dependent or outcome variable (Psychological Stress Score) you are analyzing.
   • Is the data categorical, ordinal, or interval or ratio?
2. Before performing any statistical tests, you must determine which tests would be most appropriate for your data type.
   • Perform a preevaluation of the data for outliers (all variables) and normal distribution (only dependent variables) as you have done previously.
   • Use How to Choose a Statistical Test [PPTX] as general guidance in helping you to decide which test to use.
   • Use the readings, media, resources, and textbook as guides to perform an analysis of the selected variables.
3. Perform and interpret an appropriate series of statistical tests (including preanalytical testing for outliers and normal distribution of data) that answer the following research questions:
   • How would you quantitatively describe the study population?
     • Summarize the primary demographic data using descriptive statistics.
   • Is there any association between gender and race in this military study?
     • Perform an appropriate chi-square analysis.
4. Perform preliminary assessment of the data, then compare pretest to post-test scores.
   • In total population being studied, what was the effect of the yoga intervention on stress?
5. Provide the SPSS “.sav” output file that shows your programming and results for this assessment.

Part 2: Interpretive Report

1. Summarize the clinical implications related to the statistical outcomes for each of the questions above.
2. Describe potential limitations of the study (Part 1, number 3).

Additional Requirements

• Length: Your paper will be 3–4 typed, double-spaced pages of content plus title and reference pages.
• ​Font: Times New Roman, 12 points.
• APA Format: Your title and reference pages must conform to APA format and style guidelines. See the APA Module for more information. The body of your paper does not need to conform to APA guidelines. Do make sure that it is clear, persuasive, organized, and well written, without grammatical, punctuation, or spelling errors. You also must cite your sources according to APA guidelines.

Refer to the helpful links in Resources as you prepare your assessment.
Please review the assessment scoring guide before completing your submission. The requirements outlined above correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide, so be sure to address each point. In addition, you may want to review the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.

Project Overview

You will complete a Calculations and Report Document for this project. In part one, you will represent problems as mathematical expressions that you will then solve. In part two, you will explain what your calculations mean and how they inform your thinking about the problems. The ability to solve problems with math will help you with everything from managing your finances to baking new recipes.

Competency

In this project, you will master the following competency:

• Use basic quantitative methods of problem solving

Scenario

You work at All-Store, a large general store that sells everything from groceries and office supplies to medicine, toys, and books. Unfortunately, the company’s profits have been down for the last six months because of competition, specifically from other local businesses and online vendors.

Jill Oliviera, All-Store’s general manager, has decided to rethink the store’s business strategies. One of her new ideas is to focus the business on just a few departments. This way, All-Store can specialize in those areas rather than continuing to support all of the current offerings.
Due to declining sales and the upcoming changes, Jill is worried about the business’s finances. She’s given you access to several company files and asked you to prepare a report. Your report should cover different situations that the business may face in the coming months.

Directions

Your manager is looking for your recommendations for how the store could best respond to: declining sales, reducing staffing, and purchasing the building.
To do this, download and fill out the Calculations and Report Document in the “What to Submit” section.
As you complete part one of this document, break down each of the three problems individually. When representing problems as expressions, don’t be afraid to try a few equations for each step to see what works. Use information and data from the company files in the “Supporting Materials” section to answer the questions.
In part two, give your recommendations to your manager: what do you think the company should do about declining sales, reducing staffing, and purchasing the building? Be sure to support your recommendations with quantitative evidence. Then, explain how you used mathematical expressions to solve these problems.
When you have completed both parts of the Calculations and Report Document, you can submit it as your deliverable.

What to Submit

Every project has a deliverable or deliverables, which are the files that must be submitted before your project can be assessed. For this project, you must submit the following:
Calculations and Report Document
Download and complete the Calculations and Report Document. Make sure that you have answered all of the questions in part one and part two.

Supporting Materials

The following resources will help support your work on the project:
Company Files

• All-Store Profit and Loss Statement
  Review this statement that details All-Store’s finances over the last six months.
• All-Store Hours and Staffing Notes
  Review these notes from your general manager on staffing.
• All-Store Loan Estimate
  Review this loan estimate based on the possibility of buying the building.
• All-Store June Bank Account Statement
  Review All-Store’s bank account statement from the month of June.

Reading and Writing Support

Writing Guide
Use the tutorials and resources in the Writing Guide document if you need help with the writing aspects of this project.