Probability and Health Statistics: Case Assignment

Introduction to Probability Theory and Health Statistics 
Case Assignment
Part 1 (approximately 1–1.5 pages, total):
Copy and paste the following examples (A–F below) , then respond by classifying each of the following variables as either: nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio. Provide a brief explanation where indicated.
1.A researcher studying lifespan categorizes individuals into single, married, divorced, or widowed. What type of variable measurement is this?
2.A cognitive scientist places her subjects into categories based on how anxious they tell her that they are feeling: “not anxious”, “mildly anxious”, “moderately anxious” and “severely anxious”, and she uses the numbers 0, 1, 2 and 3 to label categories where lower numbers indicate less anxiety. What type of variable measurement is this? Are the categories mutually exclusive? 
3.A Physician diagnoses the presence or absence of disease (i.e. yes or no). What type of variable measurement is this? 
4.A person weighing 200 lbs. is considered to be twice as heavy as a person weighing 100 lbs. In this case, what type of measurement is body weight?
5.A nurse takes measurements of body temperature on patients and reports them in units of degrees Farenheit as part of a study. What type of variable measurement is this?
6.Patients rate their experience in the emergency room on a five point scale from poor to excellent ( 1 = very poor, 2 = not very good, 3 = neither good nor bad, 4 = quite good, and 5 = excellent). What type of variable measurement is this? Is the difference between a 1 and a 2 necessarily the same as the difference between a 3 and a 4? Explain briefly. 
Part 2: Statistics (1/2 page)
Given what you’ve learned in this module about the meaning of “statistics”, choose one of the examples from Part I (A-F), and raise a relevant question of your own that could be answered by a statistician. Then without answering your own question, explain how a pattern could be studied or a useful prediction made based on data that are to be collected.
Part 3: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Data (approximately 1–1.5 pages)
A health scientist wishes to measure how well participants diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are coping. Explain how a variable such as coping could be measured quantitatively or qualitatively.
Cook, A., Netuveli, G., & Sheikh, A. (2004). Basic Skills in Statistics: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals. London, GBR: Class Publishing. eISBN: 9781859591291. Available in Ebrary, accessed via Trident’s online library.
Norman, G., and Streiner, D. (2008). Chapter The First: The Basics. (pages 2-6). Biostatistics The Bare Essentials. 3rd Edition. BC Decker Inc. PMPH USA, Ltd. Shelton, CT. eISBN: 9781607950585 pISBN: 9781550093476. Available in Ebrary, accessed via Trident’s online library.
Additional Reading (Optional)
McGraw Hill.com (n.d.). Chapter 1: What is Statistics? Pages 1-30. Retrieved from http://highered(dot)mcgraw-hill(dot)com/sites/dl/free/0070880441/40846/Chapter1.pdf
Michelson, S. & Schofield, T. (2002). Chapter 1: Description. Populations, Distributions, and Samples (pages 3-8). In: The Biostatistics Cookbook: The Most User-Friendly Guide for the Bio/Medical Scientist. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Available in Ebrary, accessed via Trident’s online library.
Allee, N. Alpi, K., Cogdill, KW, Selden, C. et al. (2004) May. Public health information and data: a training manual. Retrieved from http://www(dot)phpartners(dot)org/pdf/phmanual.pdf
Ash, R. (1970, 2008). Basic Probability Theory. Chapter 1 Basic Concepts - Pages 1-45. Dover Publications. Mineola, NY. Retrieved from http://www(dot)math(dot)uiuc(dot)edu/~r-ash/BPT/BPT.pdf
*Please note that this textbook in its entirety delves into some very complex mathematical concepts that are not required in this course.
University of Illinois at Chicago (n.d.). Lesson 4: Displaying Public Health Data. Pages 4-22 – 4-25. Retrieved from http://www(dot)uic(dot)edu/sph/prepare/courses/PHLearning/EpiCourse/4DisplayingPublicHealthData.pdf
Woloshin, S., Schwartz, L. M., & Welch, H. G. (2008). Know your chances: Understanding health statistics. Berkeley: University of California Press Berkeley. Available in Ebrary, accessed via Trident’s online library.
Additional Resources (Optional)
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012). Data and Statistics. Retrieved from http://www(dot)cdc(dot)gov/DataStatistics/
Creative Heuristics (2011). Types of Data: Nominal, Ordinal, Interval/Ratio - Statistics Help. Retrieved from http://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=hZxnzfnt5v8