C784 Applied Healthcare Statistics Study Guide 2026 |WGU
1. Which level of measurement is used for data that can be categorized but has
no natural order?
A. Nominal
B. Interval
C. Ordinal
D. Ratio
Answer: A
Rationale: Nominal data consists of names, labels, or categories with no inherent rank or
order, such as gender or hair color.
2. In a study measuring the weight of infants in grams, which level of
measurement is being used?
A. Ratio
B. Nominal
C. Ordinal
D. Interval
Answer: A
Rationale: Weight has a true zero point and the differences between values are
meaningful, making it ratio-level data.
,3. A researcher wants to study the effect of a new blood pressure medication.
The medication dosage is the:
A. Dependent variable
B. Confounding variable
C. Control variable
D. Independent variable
Answer: D
Rationale: The independent variable is the one manipulated by the researcher to observe
its effect on the outcome.
4. Which measure of central tendency is most affected by extreme outliers?
A. Range
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Mean
Answer: D
Rationale: The mean includes every value in the dataset in its calculation, making it
sensitive to extreme high or low values.
5. What is the standard deviation of a dataset that has no variation among the
values?
A. 1
B. The mean value
C. -1
D. 0
Answer: D
Rationale: Standard deviation measures spread; if all values are identical, there is zero
variation.
, 6. If a distribution is positively skewed, in which direction is the ‘tail’ of the
graph?
A. To the right
B. To the left
C. In the center
D. Upward
Answer: A
Rationale: A positive skew means the tail extends toward the higher values on the right
side of the horizontal axis.
7. Which type of sampling gives every member of the population an equal
chance of being selected?
A. Convenience sampling
B. Quota sampling
C. Snowball sampling
D. Simple random sampling
Answer: D
Rationale: Simple random sampling ensures each individual has an equal and independent
chance of selection.
8. In a normal distribution, what percentage of data falls within one standard
deviation of the mean?
A. 95%
B. 99.7%
C. 68%
D. 50%
Answer: C
Rationale: According to the Empirical Rule, approximately 68% of data falls within one
standard deviation in a normal distribution.
1. Which level of measurement is used for data that can be categorized but has
no natural order?
A. Nominal
B. Interval
C. Ordinal
D. Ratio
Answer: A
Rationale: Nominal data consists of names, labels, or categories with no inherent rank or
order, such as gender or hair color.
2. In a study measuring the weight of infants in grams, which level of
measurement is being used?
A. Ratio
B. Nominal
C. Ordinal
D. Interval
Answer: A
Rationale: Weight has a true zero point and the differences between values are
meaningful, making it ratio-level data.
,3. A researcher wants to study the effect of a new blood pressure medication.
The medication dosage is the:
A. Dependent variable
B. Confounding variable
C. Control variable
D. Independent variable
Answer: D
Rationale: The independent variable is the one manipulated by the researcher to observe
its effect on the outcome.
4. Which measure of central tendency is most affected by extreme outliers?
A. Range
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Mean
Answer: D
Rationale: The mean includes every value in the dataset in its calculation, making it
sensitive to extreme high or low values.
5. What is the standard deviation of a dataset that has no variation among the
values?
A. 1
B. The mean value
C. -1
D. 0
Answer: D
Rationale: Standard deviation measures spread; if all values are identical, there is zero
variation.
, 6. If a distribution is positively skewed, in which direction is the ‘tail’ of the
graph?
A. To the right
B. To the left
C. In the center
D. Upward
Answer: A
Rationale: A positive skew means the tail extends toward the higher values on the right
side of the horizontal axis.
7. Which type of sampling gives every member of the population an equal
chance of being selected?
A. Convenience sampling
B. Quota sampling
C. Snowball sampling
D. Simple random sampling
Answer: D
Rationale: Simple random sampling ensures each individual has an equal and independent
chance of selection.
8. In a normal distribution, what percentage of data falls within one standard
deviation of the mean?
A. 95%
B. 99.7%
C. 68%
D. 50%
Answer: C
Rationale: According to the Empirical Rule, approximately 68% of data falls within one
standard deviation in a normal distribution.
