Report and Analysis - Assignment Example

Report and analysis Name: Institution: Course: Date of submission: ASSESSMENT 2 Question 1 (a) Factors which could affect data quality and interpretation of this survey are as follows: The one carrying out the survey did not indicate the total number of the people involved. That is, it is not possible to tell the percentage of the population that participated in this survey including the ones who did not respond to the survey questions. In a good survey you indicate the number of people involved, indicating those who responded and those who did not respond. The unit of analysis is also not given in the tables. That is, as a reader you are aware what the numbers in the tables indicate; are they percentages or are they representing the number of respondents. Therefore the tables contain incomplete details which require some explanation before you begin to analyze the data. The range of values (ages) used is irregular or unusual. Irregular range of values will bring problems when analysis the data. It would be very difficult to carryout statistical analysis. With unusual range of values it is very difficult to indicate the central tendency of a distribution in data analysis. A regular range of let say ten should have been used so that statistical analysis can be easily carried out. They one who carried out this survey also did a mistake of combining excellent and very good, and fair and poor. Combining these qualities will bring some difficulties in interpreting the data because it is not possible to tell whether health in Australia is fair or poor, and still you cannot tell whether it is excellent or very good. That is, it is very difficult to answer some questions of the observation since the results in the tables are ambiguous. The four qualities carry different meanings, thus, they should never be combined in a survey. Combining the two qualities will create some confusion in meaning and communication. It is not possible to tell what they mean. Having combined two or more qualities will reduce precision in data analysis. Since the question was a general one, there was no need to separate male and females. The survey should have combined their results so that they can create a general idea of quality of health in Australia. That is, the survey lacks generalization. (b) Manipulating the survey results the following analysis can be made: The total female participation can be represented by the following table: Table 1.0: Females Survey Results Excellent/Very Good Good Fair/Poor 345 178 127 The above table results can be represented by the use of a histogram so that they can portray a clear visual meaning as follows: Fig 1.0: Female Survey Results From the above representations it is clear that Australian female population rated their health status as excellent or very good. Out of 650 female participants, 53% (345 females participants) believe their health is excellent or very good, 27% (178 females participants) believes their health is good and 20% (127 female participants) believe their health is fair or poor. Since the percentage of females with excellent or very good health is very high compared to other status, it is possible to conclude that most of the females in Australia are in very good health. The total male participation can be represented by the following table: Table 2.0: Male Survey Results Excellent/Very Good Good Fair or Poor 153 87 60 To achieve a clear visual meaning of the following table results, they can be represented by the use of a histogram as follows: Fig 2.0: Male Survey Results From the male results represented above it clear that male participation was minimal as compared to female participation. Females who participated in this survey were more than twice the total number of males who participated in the survey. 650 females participated as compared to 300 males. From the above representations it is clear that Australian male population rated their health status as excellent or very good. Out of 300 male participants, 51% (153 males participants) believe their health is excellent or very good, 29% (87 males participants) believes their health is good and 20% (60 male participants) believe their health is fair or poor. Since the percentage of males with excellent or very good health is very high compared to other status, it is possible to conclude that most of the males in Australia are in very good health. The total survey participation can be represented by the following table: Table 3.0: Total Survey Participation Excellent/Very Good Good Fair/Poor 187 265 498 The above table results can be represented by a histogram to achieve a clear visual representation of the results as follows: Fig 3.0: Total Survey Participation From the above representations it is clear that Australian population rated their health status as excellent or very good. Out of 950 participants, 52.4% (498 participants) believe their health is excellent or very good, 27.9% (265 participants) believes their health is good and 19.7% (187 participants) believe their health is fair or poor. Since the percentage of people with excellent or very good health is very high compared to other status, it is possible to conclude that most of the people in Australia are in very good health. (c) Proportion of people in Australia who have Fair/Poor health, P = Therefore, P = 0.197 95% confidence interval for this proportion can be calculated as follows: E = Zc Zc = 1.96, P = 0.197, and n = 950 Therefore, E = 1.96 E = 0.025 Question 2 a) This study is an experimental one because the subjects used in the study are subjected to different level of training but at the end of it they end up taking the same exam. This means that the study was experimenting whether the training was contributing to the level of performance. If it were an observation study it would not have involved experimental manipulation, instead all subject could have been subjected to the same level of training and their scores collected and compare them to an earlier study. b) Mean = = = 45.96 Median Stem Leaf 0 8 1 7 2 0 4 6 7 7 8 9 3 0 2 2 3 4 5 5 6 8 8 4 1 2 4 6 6 8 9 9 5 0 0 1 2 2 3 8 8 9 6 0 0 1 3 5 7 7 1 1 4 8 8 - 9 3 Median = {(n+1) ÷ 2th value = (47+1) ÷ 2 = 24th value From the cumulative frequency in the stem and leaf plot the 24th value is 46 Therefore, the median value is 46 Proportion obtaining at least a score of 40 = 28 ÷ 47 = 0.596 c) No training group Mean = = = 34 Median 8, 20, 26, 27, |30, 38|, 41, 49, 49, 52 Median = (30 + 38) ÷ 2 = 68 ÷ 2 = 34 Proportion obtaining at least a score of 40 = 4 ÷ 10 = 0.4 Stem and leaf plot Stem Leaf 0 8 1 - 2 0 6 7 3 0 8 4 1 9 9 5 2 1 HR group Mean = 508 ÷ 10 = 50.8 Median 28, 32, 42, 44, |46, 48|, 52, 60, 63, 93 = (46 + 48) ÷ 2 = 47 Proportion obtaining at least a score of 40 = 8 ÷ 10 = 0.8 Stem and leaf plot Stem Leaf 2 8 3 2 4 2 4 6 8 5 2 6 0 3 9 3 2 HR group Mean= 543 ÷ 9 = 60.33 Median 38, 50, 58, 59, |61|, 65, 67, 71, 74 = 61 Proportion obtaining at least a score of 40 = 8 ÷ 9 = 0.89 Stem and leaf plot Stem Leaf 3 8 4 - 5 0 8 9 6 1 5 7 7 1 4 5 HR group Mean = 388 ÷ 8 = 48.5 Median 32, 33, 35, |35, 46|, 58, 71, 78 = (35 + 46) ÷ 2 = 40.5 Proportion obtaining at least a score of 40 = 4 ÷ 8 = 0.5 Stem and leaf plot Stem Leaf 3 2 3 5 5 4 6 5 8 6 - 7 1 8 10 HR group Mean = 381 ÷ 10 = 38.1 Median 17, 24, 27, 29, |34, 36|, 50, 51, 53, 60 = (34 + 36) ÷ 2 = 35 Proportion obtaining at least a score of 40 = 4 ÷ 10 = 0.4 Stem and leaf plot Stem Leaf 1 7 2 4 7 9 3 4 6 5 0 1 3 6 0 d) From the results obtained from b and c above the mean score of the whole group is 45.96 and the proportion of the group that scored at least 40 is 0.596. This is an indication that more than half of the group scored at least 40 with or without training. The group which had no training performed poorly with a mean score of 34 and proportion that scored at least 40 was 0.4. This was an underperformance compared to the performance of the group. The groups which were trained for 1 and 2 hours performed well with a mean score of 50.8 and 60.33 respectively. The proportion that scored at least 40 for the two groups was 0.8 and 0.89 respectively. The group that was training for 5 hours did not perform well and the group that was trained for 10 hours scored below the mean score. From the summary it is possible to conclude that the group required minimal training of about 2 hours to achieve best results. Training the group for many hours seems to decrease their performance. e) The design and analysis of the study can be improved by using grouped frequency distribution. A grouped frequency distribution will assist in analyzing the data of the group in a simple manner. Such a frequency distribution will also assist the one who is carrying the study to understand whether it has achieved its goal. Another thing that can improve the design and analysis of the study is to ensure that there is replication. The one carrying out the research should repeat it for some time to ensure that the same results are obtained when the same study is repeated. f) If the results of this study correspond to a study in which the company has 5 different offices and each office is given a different specified amount of training, then it would indicate that offices with minimal training are performing better than those with better training. This is practically not possible because offices which have received a lot of training will perform better than the ones which have received minimal training. These offices will also be more experienced compared to the ones with minimal training. ASSESSMENT 3 Article The Criteria for Bone Marrow Recovery Post-Myelosuppressive Therapy for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia: A Quantitative Study Summary The article presents a quantitative study which is aimed at studying the recovery rate of bone marrow in patients given myelosuppressive therapy for acute myelogenous leukemia. It is an experimental study whereby the subjects were divided into two groups and each group was subjected to different medication and their results compared. Group 1 which consisted of 28 cases was treated with cytarabine infusion and daunorubicin, and the control group which consisted of 23 cases was treated with allogeneic bone marrow transplantation or chemotherapy. The researchers used a linear equation to establish the projected rate of cellular recovery. The ratio of male to female in both cases was 2:1. Each subject was studied for different number of days depending on how quickly he/she was responding to the treatment. The ages of the subjects ranged from 22 years to 92 years. There was a difference of recovery rate between the younger and older patients, although, the patterns of recovery after day 60 of posttransplantation and postchemotherapypatients are similar. Who is quoting the statistics? The statistics of this quantitative study is being quoted by four medical researchers who are trying to determine the criteria for bone marrow recovery post-myelosuppressive therapy for acute myelogenous leukemia. Their main aim was to determine the recovery rate since earlier studies had not done so. Are they relevant? The data presented by these researchers is very relevant since they have been able to determine the projected rate of cellular recovery by the use of a linear equation. They also determined that there are five histologic features which are associated with the complete histologic recovery. What is the source? Most of the data used in this study is obtained from laboratory equipment readings and calculations made from these readings. Other data was obtained from the consultation records which indicated details such as age, gender and ailment. How were they obtained? Some data such as age, gender and ailment were read from a record kept in the laboratory containing patient information. The researchers also counted megakaryocytes versus time manually. Digital images were used to calculate cellularity to account for cytoplasmic. National Institutes of Health Image J Morpometry was used to calculate the cellularity and myloid to erythroid ratio. Ventana automated Benchmark LT instruments were used to perform immunohistochemistry studies. What period do they refer to? This research was carried out in the year 2004 What geographic area do they refer to? This research was presented at the 93rd Annual Meeting of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Vancouver, British Columbia, March 2004. What is the population they are about? The study is concerning human being population and specifically the medical field. Sample size and method The sample comprised of 51 participants in the ratio of male to female being 1:2. The participants were divided into two groups; one comprises 28 participants and the control group comprising 23 participants. Each group was subjected to different treatment and their responses to the treatments recorded. The four researchers carrying out this research obtained the data from the instruments recordings and others were done manually. Questions asked The study does not indicate any questions which were asked. Some of the possible questions which were not necessary to be indicated in the study could have included questions concerning personal details of the patients such as age, gender, and contact details. Collection method Data was collected as follows: Some data such as age, gender and ailment were read from a record kept in the laboratory containing patient information. The researchers also counted megakaryocytes versus time manually. Digital images were used to calculate cellularity to account for cytoplasmic. National Institutes of Health Image J Morpometry was used to calculate the cellularity and myloid to erythroid ratio. Ventana automated Benchmark LT instruments were used to perform immunohistochemistry studies. Response rate The response rate of the patients varied as days progressed and it also depended on the age. From day 14, researchers were able to note a differential slope of recovery of the patients with no difference between the genders. The patterns of recovery after day 60 of postchemotherapy and posttransplantation patients were similar. Do they seem credible? This research is credible as any medical reader can understand how the analysis was carried out. The results are well discussed except that some details concerning the control group are not given. Anything else is well catered for making the research valid. What are the percentages of? Percentages used in the research were used to describe the cellularity in the histogram. Are they consistent with other information? Details of the article are consistent with other information concerning the rate of recovery of bone marrow in patients given myelosuppressive therapy for acute mylegenous leukemia. Put into perspective - compare with other periods or areas Some earlier studies had used animal models and peripheral blood reconstitution as measures of bone marrow recovery, but this study has used human beings to measure the recovery rate thus making it very reliable. Previous studies also had established the frequency and sequence of histopathologic events developing after chemotherapy and transplantation, but temporal criteria for recovery were not established. Watch out for -up to This research is reliable up to date -spurious accuracy Most of the data used in the study is accurate because it was from medical laboratory equipment which provides very accurate data. Additional comment The researchers failed to discuss the results of the control group in details. This should have been done so that the reader can understand whether the study achieved its objectives. Read More