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ABSTRACT
A working understanding of the major funda- techniques used in nursing research, such as
mentals of statistical analysis is required to the Student independent t test, analysis of
incorporate the findings of empirical variance, and regression, are also discussed.
research into nursing practice. The primary Nursing knowledge based on empirical
focus of this article is to describe common research plays a fundamental role in the
statistical terms, present some common sta- development of evidence-based nursing
tistical tests, and explain the interpretation of practice. The ability to interpret and use
results from inferential statistics in nursing quantitative findings from nursing research
research. An overview of major concepts in is an essential skill for advanced practice
statistics, including the distinction between nurses to ensure provision of the best care
parametric and nonparametric statistics, dif- possible for our patients.
ferent types of data, and the interpretation of Keywords: nonparametric statistics, para-
statistical significance, is reviewed. Exam- metric, statistical significance, statistical
ples of some of the most common statistical tests
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impact on the process of empirical scientific use information or data collected about the
inquiry continue to be a major force in the study sample to make inferences about a
building of evidence-based practice para- larger population. Inferential statistics allow
digms.4 Hence, traditional empirical researchers and clinicians to make predic-
approaches will continue to exert an important tions about a specific population on the basis
influence on the development of knowledge of information obtained from a sample that is
through research. As a result, it is imperative representative of that population. The pri-
for nurses to strive for continual improvement mary focus of this article is on the use and
in their understanding of quantitative research interpretation of inferential statistics in nurs-
approaches including research design, data ing research because knowledge based on
analysis, and interpretation of results. Such results of inferential statistical analysis plays
understanding is an absolute requirement for a critical role in the development of evidence-
the clinical application of research evidence, a based nursing practice.58
more complete understanding of individual
patient responses to the provision of health- Types of Data
care, and the conduct of new research. The A fundamental tenet of the interpretation of
purpose of this article is to provide an data involves understanding the type of data
overview of some of the most common statis- that are to be analyzed. Data can be catego-
tical terms and analytic methods found in rized into 2 types: categorical or continuous.
nursing research and describe how statistical Categorical data are based on counts that
results can inform the process of clinical care simply put variables into categories that have
provided by nurses. no meaningful numerical or quantitative rela-
tionship. A common example of a categorical
Descriptive and variable is gender. A statistical analysis soft-
Inferential Statistics ware program such as the Statistical Package
Statistics uses well-defined mathematical proce- for the Social Sciences assigns values such as
dures to collect, analyze, interpret, and present 1 for male and 2 for female to categorize gen-
data. The major purpose of these quantitative der for a study sample. The numbers assigned
procedures is to summarize and reduce data to the 2 gender categories allow the statistical
into parts that are small enough to interpret software program to calculate the frequency
within the context of a predetermined theoreti- of males and females in a given sample. The
cal background. Two major forms of statistics number assigned to each gender category is
are available: descriptive and inferential.58 arbitrary and has no actual numerical signifi-
Rather than collecting data from an entire cance.58
population, researchers usually study a care- In contrast, continuous data provide infor-
fully selected subset of the population, which mation that can be measured on a continuum
is known as the study sample. Descriptive sta- or a scale. Continuous data are based on a
tistics organize and describe the characteristics measurement scale that can be used mathe-
of the data in a particular study sample. The matically to calculate additional values. These
main purpose of descriptive statistics is to pro- data have a potentially infinite number of val-
vide as much detail as possible about the char- ues along a measurement continuum.58 Com-
acteristics of the study sample, which helps mon examples of continuous healthcare data
determine whether it is appropriate to apply include height, weight, cholesterol level, waist
research findings from that study sample to circumference, and temperature.
populations similar to the one that has been
included in the sample. Descriptive statistics Measures of Central Tendency
are commonly used in many aspects of daily Statistics are based on the idea of a normal dis-
life and are primarily used to measure central tribution of data or what is more commonly
tendency and variance, which are described referred to as a bell curve. Because most data
below. For example, descriptive statistics are are clustered around the center of the distribu-
used when the average body temperature, tion, measures of central tendency are a funda-
weight, or age is reported for a group of mental component of statistics. The 3 main
patients or study subjects.58 measures of central tendency are mean, median,
Descriptive statistics are used to describe a and mode. Each measure provides a slightly dif-
study sample, whereas inferential statistics ferent view of the distribution of the data for a
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true. Although significance levels can be set at with a disease or a condition that he or she does
any value, the most common P values in nurs- not have.58
ing research are .05 (5%) or .01 (1%). This Table 1 shows the results when the Surviv-
means that there is either a 5% or a 1% ing Sepsis Campaign practice recommenda-
chance of rejecting the null hypothesis when, tions were applied to a group of critically ill
in fact, it is true. Rejecting the null hypothesis patients at risk for sepsis.9 According to Sepsis
when it is true is known as a type I error or a Campaign recommendations, a total of 232
false-positive result, and it occurs when an individuals were predicted not to have sepsis
observed difference between study groups is compared with an observed number of 157
actually due to chance. A type I error is also individuals without sepsis and 191 who had
known as an alpha error denoted by the Greek sepsis. With respect to prediction of sepsis, the
letter . The lower the significance level or P guidelines estimated that 471 individuals
value, the less likely it is that a researcher will would have the condition. However, there
make a type I or false-positive error.58 were 280 observed or confirmed cases of sep-
Type II errors, or errors, can also occur sis and 75 cases of predicted nonsepsis accord-
when a researcher is evaluating the statistical ing to the Sepsis Campaign recommendations.
significance of study results. A type II error Analysis of these data reveals that the recom-
occurs when researchers fail to reject the null mendations were more accurate for the predic-
hypothesis and when the alternative hypothe- tion of sepsis in individuals who actually had
sis is actually true. This is referred to as a the condition, and 78.9% of the cases were
false-negative error and means that the correctly classified by the recommendations,
researchers attributed the study results to which is the sensitivity of the test. The formula
chance, rather than a true difference between for calculation of sensitivity is number of true
the study groups.58 positives divided by the number of true posi-
tives plus false negatives (true positives/[true
Sensitivity and Specificity positives false positives]). In the sepsis study
Screening tests are often used to determine example, the sensitivity is calculated as
whether a patient does or does not have a dis- 280/(280 75), which equals 78.9%. In con-
ease. Two common ways to evaluate the accu- trast, the guidelines correctly predicted only
racy of a screening test are sensitivity and 45.1% of the individuals who did not have
specificity. Sensitivity refers to the likelihood sepsis, which is a measure of the specificity of
that an instrument, measurement, or medical the recommendations for prediction of sepsis.
test will correctly identify those individuals who Specificity is calculated by dividing the total
have a particular attribute, such as a disease. number of true negatives by the total number
This is often referred to as a true positive. Con- of false positives plus the true negatives. In this
versely, the term specificity refers to the proba- example, specificity is calculated as 157/(157
bility that an instrument, measurement, or test 191), which equals 45.1%, representing a
will correctly identify the absence of a disease in low specificity value.9
patients who do not have the disease, which is Positive predictive value (PPV) provides a
referred to as a true negative. Tests or measures measure of the predictive value of an instru-
with a high level of specificity minimize the ment or test and is based on the proportion of
number of times a healthy patient is diagnosed individuals tested who are truly positive. The
Predicted
Observed Nonsepsis Sepsis % Correct
Overall % 62.2
a
Used with permission from Giuliano KK. Physiologic monitoring for critically ill patients: testing a predictive model for the early detection
of sepsis. Am J Crit Care. 2007;16:122130.10
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Table 2: Chi-Square Test for Dichotomous Variables Among Demographic and Study
Variables for Septic and Nonseptic Patient Groupsa
Gender
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Table 4: Mann-Whitney U Test of Demographic and Study Variables for Septic and
Nonseptic Patient Groupsa
Patient age, y
SAPS II score
Hospital LOS, d
ICU LOS, d
(continues)
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Table 4: Mann-Whitney U Test of Demographic and Study Variables for Septic and
Nonseptic Patient Groupsa (Continued)
Lowest temperature, C b
Highest temperature, C b
Abbreviations: HR, heart rate; LOS, length of stay; MAP, mean arterial pressure; RR, respiratory rate; SAPS II, Simplified Acute Physiology
Score; SBP, systolic blood pressure.
a
Used with permission from Giuliano KK. Physiologic monitoring for critically ill patients: testing a predictive model for the early detection of
sepsis. Am J Crit Care. 2007;16:122130.10
b
During the first 24 hours of ICU admission.
with and without sepsis.5 The results indicate between groups when that difference is actually
that the mean lowest RR for patients who did due to chance. Applying the Bonferroni correc-
not have sepsis was significantly lower at tion to the Mann-Whitney U tests completed
13.25 than the mean lowest RR of 13.98 for the sepsis study, a P
.004 was required
observed in patients with sepsis (P .000).9 for a difference to be considered statistically
Analysis of data from the sepsis study significant and not due to chance. Upon review
required multiple comparisons between vari- of Table 4, the only variable that was not sig-
ables. Consequently, it was necessary to calcu- nificantly different between the groups was the
late the Bonferroni correction test for all Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS II),
continuous variables. This test is done to which provides a measure of illness acuity. The
reduce the chance of a type I error, which mean SAPS II score was 52.61 for patients who
would assume that a true difference exists developed sepsis compared with 52.16 in
Table 5: t-Test of Demographic and Study Variables for Septic and Nonseptic
Patient Groupsa
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patients not affected by sepsis. The P value for measurements of the dependent variable are
this difference was .755 and did not meet the collected from each of the subjects in the study
Bonferroni correction value of 0.004 or less. samples. In the example of a study comparing
This can be interpreted as an indication of no the effect of an ACE inhibitor with placebo
significant difference in illness acuity between on blood pressure, multiple measurements of
the septic and nonseptic patient groups, which blood pressure over time would require analy-
was expected because the two groups were sis with repeated-measures ANOVA. Another
matched for acuity. more complicated form of ANOVA is a multi-
variate ANOVA, also known as MANOVA. A
Analysis of Variance MANOVA is conducted when there is more
An important concept to understand when than 1 dependent variable, such as diastolic
interpreting results from any research study is and systolic blood pressure levels.58
the difference between independent and
dependent variables. Independent variables Repeated-Measures ANOVA
are deliberately manipulated as part of a study The following describes a statistical analysis
design (such as medication vs placebo, or with repeated-measures ANOVA for a study
dietary intervention vs regular diet) to achieve that was conducted to compare the effect of
a desired outcome such as lower blood pres- varying degrees of backrest elevation on car-
sure and are also referred to as predictor or diac output measurements in critically ill
explanatory variables. Dependent variables patients. The research question for this study
are those that change in response to exposure was what is the effect of backrest elevation
to the different independent variable groups and time on CO measurement in critically ill
and may also be called response variables or patients using the CCO method?11(p244) This
outcome variables. For example, one could study included 2 independent variables: back-
ask the following research question: Does rest elevation at angles of 0, 30, and 45
treatment with an angiotensin-converting (3 levels) and duration of elevation for 0, 5,
enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or placebo for hyper- and 10 minutes (3 levels) after each change in
tension cause changes in measures of blood backrest elevation. The dependent variables
pressure (where the dependent variable is were cardiac output assessed by 4 measures
blood pressure values of patients enrolled in including continuous cardiac index, stroke vol-
the study)? Notice that the independent vari- ume (SV), heart rate (HR), and mean arterial
able (treatment with either an ACE inhibitor pressure (MAP). Each dependent variable was
or placebo medication) is a categorical vari- a continuous measure. Analysis of study results
able and the dependent variable of blood pres- involved a single-group, repeated-measures
sure is a continuous variable. ANOVA with time (0, 5, and 10 minutes) and
Analysis of variance is a statistical method backrest elevation (0, 30, and 45). A
that allows simultaneous comparisons between repeated-measures ANOVA was appropriate
2 or more groups (independent variables) on a for this study because a total of 9 measure-
dependent variable to determine whether any ments of cardiac index were obtained for each
observed differences in the dependent variable patient at each time point and level of backrest
are statistically significant or due to chance. If elevation including 3 backrest elevations for 3
they are due to chance, the researcher will different time intervals.11
accept the null hypothesis. However, if the The overall results of the repeated-measures
ANOVA results reveal statistically significant ANOVA are displayed in Table 6. No signifi-
differences between groups, the researcher can cant differences were reported in any of the 4
assume that the alternate hypothesis has been dependent measures of cardiac index across
supported. Several different ANOVAs are the 9 repeated measurements for either time or
available, but the most commonly used types of degree of backrest elevation. In addition, the
ANOVA in nursing research include 1-way results of the statistical analysis revealed no
ANOVA, 2-way ANOVA, and repeated-meas- interaction between the 2 independent vari-
ures ANOVA. A 1-way ANOVA is used to test ables of elevation and time.11 An ANOVA is a
for differences on 1 independent variable with particularly informative statistical test
2 or more levels. A 2-way ANOVA includes because it evaluates the independent effects of
more than 1 independent variable. A repeated- the predictor or independent variables and
measures ANOVA is performed when multiple also takes into account any significant
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Abbreviations: CCI, continuous cardiac index; df, degrees of freedom; HR, heart rate; MAP, mean arterial pressure; SV, stroke volume.
a
Used with permission from Giuliano KK, Scott SS, Brown V, Olson M. Backrest angle and cardiac output measurement in critically ill patients.
Nurs Res. 2003:52(4):242248.11
interactions between these variables. Interac- between a dependent variable with specific
tion is a statistical analysis term that means independent variables. Regression analysis
that 1 variable is affected by the values of 1 or uses the degree of relationship or correlation
more other variables. In this study, an interac- between the dependent and independent vari-
tion would be present if 1 or more of the 4 ables to develop a regression equation that can
measures of cardiac index was affected by a be used for prediction. It is assumed that the
specific combination of the degree of backrest dependent variable is representative of a stan-
elevation and amount of time spent at the dif- dard normal distribution. Regression is partic-
ferent degrees of elevation. Table 6 indicates ularly useful as a statistical method to explain
that there are no statistically significant inde- interrelationships among a set of variables,
pendent effects of backrest elevation or dura- which is why it is so widely used in nursing
tion of time elevated. Nor is the interaction of research. For example, regression analysis
backrest elevation with duration of time ele- might be performed to evaluate results from a
vated associated with statistically significant study that examined the effects of 3 increasing
changes in any of the 4 measures of cardiac dosing regimens (continuous variable) of 2 dif-
index. In short, the null hypothesis must be ferent types of medications or a placebo (cate-
accepted and it be assumed that backrest gorical variable) intended to lower blood
position, duration of time elevated, and the pressure or a placebo on patients blood pres-
interaction of these 2 variables had no signifi- sure levels (continuous variable) following the
cant effect on the cardiac index in the criti- administration of 3 different medications at 3
cally ill patients of this study.11 doses. The independent variables would be the
In this research, the variables of HR, SV, different doses of the 2 blood pressure medica-
and MAP were included because they are tions or a placebo, whereas the dependent
physiologically related to cardiac output and variable includes blood pressure readings.
cardiac index, which is the cardiac output Several different types of regression are
adjusted for the body size. Additional analy- commonly used in nursing research including
ses were done in order to confirm that the linear regression, multivariate regression, and
lack of significant differences in cardiac index logistic regression. To develop the regression
values was due to a real absence of change, equation, linear regression assesses the degree
not just the occurrence of physiologic com- of correlation between 2 variables whereas
pensation resulting from changes in either multivariate regression evaluates correlations
HR or SV. Because the values of SV and HR among several variables. One of the limita-
did not change across the 9 repeated meas- tions of both linear and multiple regressions is
urements, the results of this research can be that they must use dependent variables that
generalized with greater confidence to the are continuous measures.
clinical setting.11 Binary or binomial logistic regression uses
only 2 dependent variable groups based on cat-
Regression egorical data that are mutually exclusive. It has
Regression is a statistical technique that pro- become increasingly common in nursing
vides an evaluation of the relationship research.12 An assumption of logistic regression
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Table 7: Significance and Odds Ratios for Final Logistic Regression Modela
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; HR, heart rate; MAP, mean arterial pressure; RR, respiratory rate.
a
Used with permission from Giuliano KK. Physiologic monitoring for critically ill patients: testing a predictive model for the early detection of
sepsis. Am J Crit Care. 2007;16:122130.10
is that the model correctly contains all of the have blood pressure or temperatures that met
relevant predictors and no irrelevant predictors these cutoff values. The 2 other variables in
(such as eye color, which is unlikely to have the model, RR and HR, were not significant
anything to do with a clinical outcome such as predictors of sepsis diagnosis with P values of
septic or not septic). In clinical practice, how- .207 and .433, respectively.10
ever, this assumption is rarely met because it is An indication of the strength of the associa-
virtually impossible to identify and control all tion between the independent variable and the
irrelevant predictors. Fortunately, logistic dependent variable is the odds ratio (OR). The
regression is a robust statistical method that is results of the logistic regression provide evi-
able to withstand violations such as inclusion dence that patients with a temperature of 38C
of some irrelevant predictors.12 or higher during the first 24 hours of ICU
Binomial logistic regression was used to admission were approximately twice as likely
analyze data from the sepsis research study, to be septic than patients with a temperature
which was intended to answer the research below 38C. The other significant predictor,
question: Can a combination of the physio- MAP, had an OR of 3.874, which can be inter-
logic parameters of heart rate, mean arterial preted to mean that a MAP of 69 mm Hg or
blood pressure, body temperature, and RR less increased the odds of developing sepsis
measured during the first 24 hours of the criti- almost 4-fold. Because a low MAP is one of
cal care admission distinguish between criti- the most salient physiologic features of sepsis,
cally ill adult patients who develop sepsis and a high OR for this variable was expected. As
those who are not diagnosed with sepsis?10(p123) these data have shown, septic patients tend to
In this study, the independent variables were have both clinically and statistically signifi-
recoded as dichotomous variables using the cantly lower blood pressures than equally sick
cutoff values recommended by the current clini- patients with normal MAP. The remaining 2
cal practice standards of the Surviving Sepsis predictor variables, RR and HR, were not sta-
Campaign.13 These dichotomous variables were tistically significant, meaning that they were
then entered into a binomial logistic regression not significant predictors for differentiating
model to predict whether or not patients devel- between septic and nonseptic patients.10
oped sepsis. The final logistic regression model
used the 4 dependent variables of HR, MAP, Conclusions
body temperature, and RR and their values cor- Although both qualitative and quantitative
respond with results from the binomial logistic methods are important research techniques to
regression analysis presented in Table 7. advance nursing knowledge, this article
Two of the 4 independent variables were reviewed some of the key concepts related to
significantly and independently associated the use of quantitative research in nursing. The
with being septic: MAP (P .001) and tem- conduct and interpretation of findings from
perature (P .001). Patients who have a MAP quantitative nursing research represents a
of 69 mm Hg or less and a temperature of thoughtful and scholarly strategy that can
38C or higher during the first 24 hours of yield answers and knowledge to inform the
intensive care unit (ICU) admission were more practice of nursing care and promote applica-
likely to develop sepsis than those who did not tion of evidence-based research to ultimately
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enhance the care of patients. Common quanti- ment of nursing knowledge. Nurs Sci Q. 2005;18(3):
243248.
tative approaches are useful for the study of 4. Giuliano K. Can we bridge the gap between knowledge
nursing research issues that have made and and clinical practice? Nurs Philos. 2003;4(1):4452.
5. Munro B. Statistical Methods for Healthcare Research.
will continue to make important contributions New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2004.
to the science of nursing. Although it is not 6. Fowler J, Jarvis P, Chevannes M. Practical Statistics for
completely unbiased, the quantitative Nursing and Health Care. New York: John Wiley & Sons
Inc; 2002.
approach provides a level of objectivity that 7. Research Methods Knowledge Database. http://www
increases our confidence in the conclusions we .socialresearchmethods.net/kb/index.php. Accessed
draw with regard to scientific facts and exist- January 17, 2008.
8. Columbia Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences.
ing scientific principles. To use these types of http://www.columbia.edu/ccnmtl/projects/qmss/index
data most effectively, a sound understanding .html. Accessed January 17, 2008.
9. Giuliano KK. Physiologic Monitoring for Critically Ill
of major research principles and statistical Patients: Testing a Predictive Model for the Early Detec-
methods is required. tion of Sepsis [dissertation]. Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston
College; 2005.
10. Giuliano KK. Physiologic monitoring for critically ill
patients: testing a predictive model for the early detec-
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