Descriptive Statistics and Clinical Significance - Essay Example

From the statistics reported, it is possible to get an idea of the composition of the group that was being studied. Since the participants were not randomly chosen, but had volunteered to be a part of the group; the demographic make-up of the group can tell us about the kind of individuals who would choose to experience such training in the use if research; and about the general demographic makeup of the population from which this group has come. From the mean scores on the subtests, it is possible to get an idea of the direction of the difference.

The studied hoped that post-test scores would be higher in all areas; and looking at the means tells us that the data does follow the expected direction. Of course, it is not possible to extrapolate to the population of nurses just on the basis of mean scores; but the direction of difference is also a very important aspect. Descriptive statistics can be used to understand the trends in patient needs or in nurses' abilities as they reveal themselves. A nurse leader can use these trends to anticipate needs in the near future; and detect any anomalies.

Such information can also be used in identifying training needs of staff; or any other resources that they may be able to use to enhance their functioning. While research –whether in the utility of therapeutic procedures or in the need for training – cannot be based on descriptive statistics alone; often the impetus for research does come through the observation of the trends displayed in descriptive statistics. It is possible to use percentages and means to understand the ups and downs in hospital work and to simplify information when presenting it to others.

Mean scores are best when used in conjunction with the standard deviations; since they can be deceptive by themselves. References: Guilford J. P. and Fruchter B. (1985). Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and Education (6th ed) McGraw – Hill Levin, J. & Fox, J. A. (2006). Elementary statistics in social research. Delhi: Pearson Education Confidence Intervals Explore these issues on the Internet and through other resources. Share what you find out on these topics: Confidence Intervals: Why are they useful in helping to determine clinical significance?

There are many controversies surrounding the issue of clinical significance vs. statistical significance. Identify one of them and summarize it. Finish with your opinion about the controversy. Confidence intervals define the likelihood of the research findings being replicable in the population. Confidence intervals can also be used to distinguish the extent of benefit or harm that a particular therapeutic technique is likely to have given a set of conditions. Clinical significance is the extent to which the results of the study are truly applicable and not just statistically significant.

Often, even statistically significant effects are quite small in magnitude. In medicine and related fields; a regularly occurring effect is not enough; it needs to be of the required magnitude consistently. Clinical significance helps us evaluate the possibility that the said effect is not only most likely to occur; but is most