In this assignment you will apply what you have learned about data and descriptive statistics in research and evidence-based practice by generating descriptive statistics and a histogram.
“Dashboards are graphic displays of information that are often used at the unit level to compare performance indicators for the population being cared for on that unit/clinical area” (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019, p. 308).
Quality improvement projects can use dashboards to monitor progress of the outcome(s) of interest as well as provide information about the population of interest. A histogram is one type of chart found on a dashboard that can be used to monitor progress on a continuous variable or describe the population of interest.
To prepare for this exercise, watch the tutorials “Summarizing Data Using Descriptive Statistics,” “Group Data Using Histograms,” and “Histogram Chart” from LinkedIn Learning.
Links to the tutorials are:
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/learning-excel-data-analysis/group-data-using-histograms?leis=LTI13&u=74653506
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/excel-2016-charts-in-depth/histogram-chart?leis=LTI13&u=74653506
Access your Week 1 workbook. (Attached)
For each variable (except ID), generate descriptive statistics and a histogram to display the distribution of your data for the variable, following the instructions the Detailed Histogram Exercise Directions. *Note: in the Detailed Histogram Exercise Directions #3c should read “Right-click any place number on the horizontal axis, then select Format Axis in the menu.” Refer to the videos from LinkedIn Learning for help.
The data analysis tool will provide you with a mean, median, and mode for all levels of measurement (i.e., nominal/categorical, ordinal, and interval/ratio), but that does not mean that all measures of central tendency are correct to report for that variable.
Assignment Deliverable
In a Microsoft Word document, write a paragraph to report the appropriate measure or measures of central tendency for each variable to 2 decimal places.
For example, “Age in years” is an interval level variable, and it would be appropriate to report a mean, median, and mode, or modes. When a mean is reported, a standard deviation (or a standard error) is also reported in parentheses next to the mean. (Please refer to your APA manual for the correct way to report descriptive statistics.) You may need to review the Week 1 assignment and learning activities to refresh your memory on the level of measurement of the individual variables in this assignment.
Save your associated Microsoft Word document as a DOCX or PDF
Submit both your DOCX or PDF and Excel files.
Reference
Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2019). Evidence-Based practice in nursing and healthcare: A guide to best practice (4th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
