Question

n a large medical-school-affiliated hospital, all women from age 15 to 45 who were discharged with a diagnosis of idiopathic thromboembolism were identified and then classified as to type of contraceptive used. The data consisted of number of women using (I) oral contraceptive, (2) IUD, (3) diaphragm, and (4) other. The researcher wished to answer the question, “is there a difference in proportion of women using the four types of contraception among women suffering from thromboembolic disease? Answer the following questions: What type of research question is being asked? What is the level of measurement of the response variable? What is the research design (1, 2, 2+ groups)? Were samples independently selected or were they matched? What is the appropriate statistical test for analysis?

Answer 1

1) Cause and effect question is being asked here.

2) Ordinal level of measurement is used for the response variable.

3) It is a correlational research design involving 4 groups.

4) The samples were matched - the functional and corresponding length of stay were measured for all women from age 15 to 45 who were discharged with a diagnosis of idiopathic thromboembolism.

5) Spearman correlation test would be suitable here, which we can use to study the strength of linear correlation between the 5 variables.