MATH 225N Week 6 Discussion: Confidence Intervals
, Week 6 -
Week 6 Discussion: Confidence Intervals
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
• Textbook: Chapter 8
• Lesson
• Minimum of 1 scholarly source
In your reference for this assignment, be sure to include both your
text/class materials AND your outside reading(s).
Confidence Intervals
In everyday terms, a confidence interval is the range of values around a
sample statistic (such as mean or proportion) within which clinicians can
expect to get the same results if they repeat the study protocol or
intervention, including measuring the same outcomes the same ways. As
you ask yourself, "Will I get the same results if I use this research?", you
must address the precision of study findings, which is determined by the
Confidence Interval. If the CI around the sample statistic is narrow, you can
be confident you will get close to the same results if you implement the
same research in your practice.
Consider the following example. Suppose that you did a systematic review of
studies on the effect of tai chi exercise on sleep quality, and you found that
tai chi affected sleep quality in older people. If, according to your study, you
found the lower boundary of the CI to be .49, the study statistic to be 0.87,
and the upper boundary to be 1.25, this would mean that each end limit is
0.38 from the sample statistic, which is a relatively narrow CI.
(UB + LB)/2 = Statistic [(1.25 + .49)/2 = .87]
Keep in mind that a mean difference of 0 indicates there is no difference;
this CI does not contain 0. Therefore, the sample statistic is statistically
significant and unlikely to occur by chance.
Because this was a systematic review, and tai chi exercise has been
established from the studies you assessed as helping people sleep, based
on the sample statistics and the CI, clinicians could now use your study and
confidently include tai chi exercises among possible recommendations for
patients who have difficulty sleeping.
Now you can apply your knowledge of CIs to create your own studies and
make wise decisions about whether to base your patient care on a particular
research finding.
Initial Post Instructions
Thinking of the many variables tracked by hospitals and doctors' offices,
, Week 6 -
Week 6 Discussion: Confidence Intervals
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
• Textbook: Chapter 8
• Lesson
• Minimum of 1 scholarly source
In your reference for this assignment, be sure to include both your
text/class materials AND your outside reading(s).
Confidence Intervals
In everyday terms, a confidence interval is the range of values around a
sample statistic (such as mean or proportion) within which clinicians can
expect to get the same results if they repeat the study protocol or
intervention, including measuring the same outcomes the same ways. As
you ask yourself, "Will I get the same results if I use this research?", you
must address the precision of study findings, which is determined by the
Confidence Interval. If the CI around the sample statistic is narrow, you can
be confident you will get close to the same results if you implement the
same research in your practice.
Consider the following example. Suppose that you did a systematic review of
studies on the effect of tai chi exercise on sleep quality, and you found that
tai chi affected sleep quality in older people. If, according to your study, you
found the lower boundary of the CI to be .49, the study statistic to be 0.87,
and the upper boundary to be 1.25, this would mean that each end limit is
0.38 from the sample statistic, which is a relatively narrow CI.
(UB + LB)/2 = Statistic [(1.25 + .49)/2 = .87]
Keep in mind that a mean difference of 0 indicates there is no difference;
this CI does not contain 0. Therefore, the sample statistic is statistically
significant and unlikely to occur by chance.
Because this was a systematic review, and tai chi exercise has been
established from the studies you assessed as helping people sleep, based
on the sample statistics and the CI, clinicians could now use your study and
confidently include tai chi exercises among possible recommendations for
patients who have difficulty sleeping.
Now you can apply your knowledge of CIs to create your own studies and
make wise decisions about whether to base your patient care on a particular
research finding.
Initial Post Instructions
Thinking of the many variables tracked by hospitals and doctors' offices,
