NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion: Levels of Measurement
Walden University NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion: Levels Of Measurement-Step-By-Step Guide
This guide will demonstrate how to complete the Walden University NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion: Levels Of Measurement assignment based on general principles of academic writing. Here, we will show you the A, B, Cs of completing an academic paper, irrespective of the instructions. After guiding you through what to do, the guide will leave one or two sample essays at the end to highlight the various sections discussed below.
How to Research and Prepare for NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion: Levels Of Measurement
Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Walden University NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion: Levels Of Measurement depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.
After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.
How to Write the Introduction for NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion: Levels Of Measurement
The introduction for the Walden University NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion: Levels Of Measurement is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.
How to Write the Body for NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion: Levels Of Measurement
After the introduction, move into the main part of the NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion: Levels Of Measurement assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.
Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.
How to Write the Conclusion for NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion: Levels Of Measurement
After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.
How to Format the References List for NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion: Levels Of Measurement
The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.
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What is the incidence of blood clots from COVID-19 in females over the age of 35?
The above question is an example of a research question. A research question consists of three parts and guides the methods and approaches in which you will study the question to find answers. The research question includes: the question, the topic, and the population or variables. In the example provided above, the question is examining the prevalence of blood clots from severe COVID-19 in a selected population. From this question, the variables can be assessed, considerations can be analyzed, and populations can be sampled in order to guide the research.
Photo Credit: Socha, A. (n.d.). Scale question, balance [Photograph]. pixabay.com. https://pixabay.com/photos/puzzle-last-part-joining-together-3223922/
During Week 2, you developed a research problem statement based on a topic of interest to you or your specific area of practice. Using this research problem statement, you will develop a research question. “A research question is a concise, interrogative statement that is worded in the present tense and includes one or more of a study’s principal concepts or variables” (Gray & Grove, 2020). These questions typically point to the type of s
tudy that will be conducted and serves as a guide for the research.
For this Discussion, reflect on your research problem statement. Consider the independent and dependent variables of your research problem through the construction of a research question. Reflect on the potential levels of measurement for your variables and the rationale for the labels, as well as consider the advantages and challenges that you might experience in the statistical analysis of your proposed variables.
Reference: Gray, J. R., & Grove, S. K. (2020). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (9th ed.). Elsevier.
To Prepare:
- Review your research problem statement from Week 2 to develop your research question.
- Review the Learning Resources on how to describe variables.
- Consider the levels of measurement for your variables: nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio.
- After reviewing your research question and considering the levels of measurement, analyze your classification for each variable. What was behind your reasoning for labeling the variables? How might the data be analyzed based on these labels?
- Consider advantages and challenges that you might encounter in the statistical analysis of your proposed variables.
By Day 3 of Week 4
Post your research question and describe the independent and dependent variables. Then, identify the level of measurement of both your independent and dependent variables. Provide a brief rationale for your classification of each variable. Be specific. Explain considerations of analyzing data related to each variable based on its level of measurement. Be sure to include any advantages or challenges that you might encounter in your statistical analysis of each variable and explain why.
By Day 6 of Week 4
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses and respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by noting any discrepancies and/or suggesting alternatives in the levels of measurement and statistical analyses described.
Submission and Grading Information
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 4 Discussion Rubric
Post by Day 3 of Week 4 and Respond by Day 6 of Week 4
To Participate in this Discussion:
Week 4 Discussion
Assignment: Frequency and Descriptive Statistics
Imagine that you have collected data from 100 patients. You have carefully compiled vitals, pain scores, and medications for each of the patients. However, what does all of this data mean? Is your work now done?
How do we make data meaningful? Why must we move beyond the raw data to ensure that data is purposeful?
Descriptive analysis is the analysis of the data to develop meaning. Descriptive analysis provides meaning through showing, describing, and summarizing the data compiled to “reveal characteristics of the sample and to describe study variables” (Gray & Grove, 2020). This allows the researcher to present data in a more meaningful and simplified way.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
For this Assignment, summarize your interpretation of the descriptive statistics provided to you in the Week 4 Descriptive Statistics SPSS Output document. You will evaluate each variable in your analysis.
Reference: Gray, J. R., & Grove, S. K. (2020). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (9th ed.). Elsevier.
To Prepare:
- Review the Week 4 Descriptive Statistics SPSS Output provided in this week’s Learning Resources.
NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion Levels of Measurement - Review the Learning Resources on how to interpret descriptive statistics, including how to interpret research outcomes.
- Consider the results presented in the SPSS output and reflect on how you might interpret the frequency distributions and the descriptive statistics presented.
The Assignment: (2–3 pages)
- Summarize your interpretation of the frequency data provided in the output for respondent’s age, highest school grade completed, and family income from prior month.
- Note: A frequency analysis is way of summarizing data by depicting the number of times a data value occurs in the data table or output. It is used to analyze the data set including where the data are concentrated or clustered, the range of values, observation of extreme values, and to determine intervals for analysis that could make sense in categorizing your variable values.
- Summarize your interpretation of the descriptive statistics provided in the output for respondent’s age, highest school grade completed, race and ethnicity, currently employed, and family income from prior month.
- Note: The descriptive analysis includes N (size of your sample), the mean, the median, the standard deviation, the size and spread of your data to determine the variability/variance in your data.
Reminder: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general#s-lg-box-20293632). All papers submitted must use this formatting.
By Day 7
Submit your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 4.
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
- Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK4Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
- Click the Week 4 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
- Click the Week 4 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
- Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK4Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
- If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
- Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.
- Also Check Out: NURS 8201 Week 4 Assignment: Frequency and Descriptive Statistics
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 4 Assignment Rubric
Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity
To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:
Submit your Week 4 Assignment draft and review the originality report.
Submit Your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 4
To participate in this Assignment:
Sample Answer for NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion: Levels Of Measurement
In the previous discussions, the practice problem in nursing identified that needed further intervention was based on limited use of health information technology to support mental healthcare services (Snyder et al., 2011). The discussion proposed that digital informatics technology can be implement to support mental healthcare service by enhancing access to the services, reduce waiting time, increase capacity to provide services to many people and support timely appointed, Consequently, the research question was developed as “What impacts will the implementation of digital informatics technology in the mental health services have on waiting time, capacity, access to services and preferred appointment times?. In this discussion, the paper focuses on the above proposed research question to describe independent and dependent variables, the level of measurement, and consideration that need to be taken when analyzing data related to the identified variable. The discussion also identifies some of the advantages and challenges that may be experienced in the statistical analysis of each variable.
The Independent and Dependent Variables
In research/project, variables can be defined as the properties or kinds of attributes of certain events or objects and can be divided into dependent and independent variable. The two variables are different. First, independent variables are those characteristics/attributes that can be changed or manipulated in the study and their effects are measured and compared (Gray, Grove & Sutherland, 2021). The independent variables predict the values of the dependent variable in given model. On the other hand, dependent variables measure the impact of the independent variable(s) on the test unit (Gray, Grove & Sutherland, 2021).
In the proposed research question “What impacts will the implementation of digital informatics technology in the mental health services have on waiting time, capacity, access to services and preferred appointment times?, the independent variable is digital informatics technology. On the other hand, dependent variable are the effects that would result from the implementation of digital informatics technology in the mental health services and include waiting time, capacity, access to services and preferred appointment times.
The Level of Measurement of Variables
The independent variable is digital informatics technology whose implementation would result into improved or reduced outcome in mental healthcare setting. Therefore, the level of measurement is nominal. The normal level that would be used to label the outcome of digital informatics technology on mental healthcare service is either improved no effect or reduced outcome. When it comes to statistical analysis, nominal data will not be utilized to perform many statistical computations.
When it comes to dependent variable, the level of measurement for waiting time is interval scale in which a rating scale will be used to represent the range of average time take by patient before meeting the doctor. The level of measurement for access to services and preferred appointment times will also be ordinal because it will be used to depict order of satisfaction (Granberg-Rademacker, 2010).
A consideration that needs to be taken when analyzing wait time, access to services and preferred appointment times as the dependent variable is the scale to use. For instance, the level of satisfaction with access to services and preferred appointment times can be measured using Likert Scales. Likert scales can be designed to include ordinal measure ranging from 1 to 5 to strongly disagree (1) to strong agree (5). The statistical analysis for access to services and preferred appointment times can include logistic regression. The advantage of logistic regression is that will be able to show direction of association (positive or negative) between dependent and independent variable. However, if the result is non-linear, it can be difficult to solve using logistic regression because it has a linear decision surface (Lee, & S, George, 2012). Finally, waiting time can be measured on interval scale and a possible statistical analysis if t-tests. The advantage of t-test is that values obtained from Likert scales are quantitative and therefore, easy to analyze (Liang, Fu & Wang, 2019).
References
Granberg-Rademacker, J. S. (2010). An algorithm for converting ordinal scale measurement data to interval/ratio scale. Educational & Psychological Measurement, 70(1), 74–90.
Gray, J.R., Grove, S.K., & Sutherland, S. (2021). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (9th ed.). Saunders Elsevier.
Lee, A. J. J., & George A.F.A.F. (2012). Linear Regression Analysis. Wiley.
Liang, G., Fu, W., & Wang, K. (2019). Analysis of t-test misuses and SPSS operations in medical research papers. Burns & Trauma, 7.
Snyder, C. F., Wu, A. W., Miller, R. S., Jensen, R. E., Bantug, E. T., & Wolff, A. C. (2011). The Role of Informatics in Promoting Patient-Centered Care. The Cancer Journal, 17, 4, 211-218.
Sample Answer 2 for NURS 8201 Week 4 Discussion: Levels Of Measurement
I agree that substance use, especially the use of synthetic opioids makes up the primary reason why there are so many drug overdose deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this issue. It was interesting to see the statistics you were able to find on the different types of overdoses pertaining to synthetic opioids. According to Cano et al. (2023), synthetic opioids such as fentanyl are involved in an estimated 88% of all US opioid overdose deaths. This is not only costly for hospitals, but also for communities and the states in which these are happening.
While the ratio level of measurement does include ranked categories and exhaustive and exclusive categories, it also measures absolute zero points (Gray & Grove, 2021). It is unclear where, if there was a specific area, there was the highest level of opioid overdoses and if there were areas in which there were zero. In addition to utilizing the ratio level of measurement, the use of the opioid overdose risk behavior scale (ORBS-1) could be used among a broader range of people who use opioids, according to Elliott et al. (2021). This scale provides a comprehensive index of proximal opioid-related overdose risks and the factor analysis of the full scale identifies a 6-subscale division of the item into relatively independent groups of overdose risk behaviors (Elliott et al., 2021).
Another alternative suggestion to measure the levels of synthetic opioid overdosing may be to consider the interval level of measurement. The severity of substance use disorder is typically evaluated by tabulating the number of symptoms, as described by Kirisci et al. (2020). The use of the Opioid Use Disorder Severity Scale (OUDSS) can calibrate opioid use disorder symptoms in men and women separately and enables dimensional measurement of opioid use severity on an interval scale. In conjunction with the use of the Drug Use Screening Inventory (DUSI-R), together they can identify problem areas requiring prevention or treatment (Kirisci et al., 2020).
References
Cano, M., Mendoza, N., Ignacio, M., Rahman, A., & Daniulaityte, R. (2023). Overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids: Racial/ethnic and educational disparities in the eastern and western US. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 251, 110955. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.110955
Elliott, L., Crasta, D., Khan, M., Roth, A., Green, T., Kolodny, A., & Bennett, A. S. (2021). Validation of the Opioid Overdose Risk Behavior Scale, version 2 (ORBS-2). Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 223, 108721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108721
Gray, J. R., & Grove, S. K. (2021). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence. (9th ed.). Elsevier – Health Science.
Kirisci, L., Tarter, R. E., Reynolds, M., Hayes, K. N., Cochran, G., & Vanyukov, M. (2020). Derivation and assessment of the opioid use disorder severity scale: prediction of health, psychological and social adjustment problems. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 46(6), 699–707. https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2019.1707840
: NURS_8201_Week4_Discussion_Rubric
| Excellent
90–100 |
Good
80–89 |
Fair
70–79 |
Poor
0–69 |
|||
| Main Posting:
Response to the Discussion question is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis representative of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources. |
40 (40%) – 44 (44%)
Thoroughly responds to the Discussion question(s). Is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis representative of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources. No less than 75% of post has exceptional depth and breadth. Supported by at least three current credible sources. |
35 (35%) – 39 (39%)
Responds to most of the Discussion question(s). Is somewhat reflective with critical analysis and synthesis representative of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. 50% of the post has exceptional depth and breadth. Supported by at least three credible references. |
31 (31%) – 34 (34%)
Responds to some of the Discussion question(s). One to two criteria are not addressed or are superficially addressed. Is somewhat lacking reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Somewhat represents knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Cited with fewer than two credible references. |
0 (0%) – 30 (30%)
Does not respond to the Discussion question(s). Lacks depth or superficially addresses criteria. Lacks reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Does not represent knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Contains only one or no credible references. |
||
| Main Posting:
Writing |
6 (6%) – 6 (6%)
Written clearly and concisely. Contains no grammatical or spelling errors. Adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style. |
5 (5%) – 5 (5%)
Written concisely. May contain one to two grammatical or spelling errors. Adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style. |
4 (4%) – 4 (4%)
Written somewhat concisely. May contain more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Contains some APA formatting errors. |
0 (0%) – 3 (3%)
Not written clearly or concisely. Contains more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Does not adhere to current APA manual writing rules and style. |
||
| Main Posting:
Timely and full participation |
9 (9%) – 10 (10%)
Meets requirements for timely, full, and active participation. Posts main Discussion by due date. |
8 (8%) – 8 (8%)
Meets requirements for full participation. Posts main Discussion by due date. |
7 (7%) – 7 (7%)
Posts main Discussion by due date. |
0 (0%) – 6 (6%)
Does not meet requirements for full participation. Does not post main Discussion by due date. |
||
| First Response:
Post to colleague’s main post that is reflective and justified with credible sources. |
9 (9%) – 9 (9%)
Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Responds to questions posed by faculty. The use of scholarly sources to support ideas demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. |
8 (8%) – 8 (8%)
Response has some depth and may exhibit critical thinking or application to practice setting. |
7 (7%) – 7 (7%)
Response is on topic and may have some depth. |
0 (0%) – 6 (6%)
Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. |
||
| First Response:
Writing |
6 (6%) – 6 (6%)
Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Response to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English. |
5 (5%) – 5 (5%)
Communication is mostly professional and respectful to colleagues. Response to faculty questions are mostly answered, if posed. Provides opinions and ideas that are supported by few credible sources. Response is written in standard, edited English. |
4 (4%) – 4 (4%)
Response posed in the Discussion may lack effective professional communication. Response to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Few or no credible sources are cited. |
0 (0%) – 3 (3%)
Responses posted in the Discussion lack effective communication. Response to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited. |
||
| First Response:
Timely and full participation |
5 (5%) – 5 (5%)
Meets requirements for timely, full, and active participation. Posts by due date. |
4 (4%) – 4 (4%)
Meets requirements for full participation. Posts by due date. |
3 (3%) – 3 (3%)
Posts by due date. |
0 (0%) – 2 (2%)
Does not meet requirements for full participation. Does not post by due date. |
||
| Second Response: Post to colleague’s main post that is reflective and justified with credible sources. |
9 (9%) – 9 (9%)
Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Responds to questions posed by faculty. The use of scholarly sources to support ideas demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. |
8 (8%) – 8 (8%)
Response has some depth and may exhibit critical thinking or application to practice setting. |
7 (7%) – 7 (7%)
Response is on topic and may have some depth. |
0 (0%) – 6 (6%)
Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. |
||
| Second Response: Writing |
6 (6%) – 6 (6%)
Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Response to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English. |
5 (5%) – 5 (5%)
Communication is mostly professional and respectful to colleagues. Response to faculty questions are mostly answered, if posed. Provides opinions and ideas that are supported by few credible sources. Response is written in standard, edited English. |
4 (4%) – 4 (4%)
Response posed in the Discussion may lack effective professional communication. Response to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Few or no credible sources are cited. |
0 (0%) – 3 (3%)
Responses posted in the Discussion lack effective communication. Response to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited. |
||
| Second Response: Timely and full participation |
5 (5%) – 5 (5%)
Meets requirements for timely, full, and active participation. Posts by due date. |
4 (4%) – 4 (4%)
Meets requirements for full participation. Posts by due date. |
3 (3%) – 3 (3%)
Posts by due date. |
0 (0%) – 2 (2%)
Does not meet requirements for full participation. Does not post by due date. |
||
| Total Points: 100 | ||||||
Name: NURS_8201_Week4_Discussion_Rubric