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Earn CE with MediaLab's online courses. Get immediate access to over 70 hours of P.A.C.E. continuing education (CE), including this course and 40 other courses designed for clinical and medical laboratory professionals. Learn more about individual and laboratory subscriptions to MediaLab's customizable online courses and learning management system.

Descriptive Statistics

Beverly Schieltz, MS, MT (ASCP),and Brad Westover

This course discusses statistics that are used in the laboratory for assessment of quality control.

Continuing Education (CE) Credits

Other Quality Control & Lab Math Courses

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Descriptive Statistics Objectives

  • Explain why knowledge of STATISTICS is important to LABORATORY scientists.
  • Differentiate between descriptive STATISTICS and inferential STATISTICS.
  • Define the following terms and apply them to specific situations:
    • sample
    • population
    • data
    • parameter
    • STATISTIC
    • independent variable
    • dependent variable
  • Prepare tables and figures of data that meet the criteria specified in this unit.
  • Describe "frequency distribution" and explain the advantage of presenting data in this manner.
  • Given a set of data, construct a frequency table according to criteria stated in this unit.
  • Given a set of data, construct both actual and relative frequency distributions that accurately represent the discrete or continuous nature of the data.

Descriptive Statistics Outline

  • Introduction to STATISTICS
  • Definition of STATISTICS Terms
      • SAMPLES and Populations
      • STATISTICS and Parameters
      • Indepentent and Dependent Variables
      • Discrete and Continuous Data
      • Read the following passage, and identify the underlined words: The researchers tested 50 students chosen at random who had taken CALCULUS in high school, and determined their MATH SAT scores. The average score was 600. According to the College Board, the average MATH SAT score for all students was 480. The researchers conclude that students who take CALCULUS are better prepared for the MATH SAT test.
      • Read the following passage, and identify the underlined words: The researchers tested 50 students chosen at random who had taken CALCULUS in high school, and determined their MATH SAT scores. The average score was 600. According to the College Board, the average MATH SAT score for all students was 480. The researchers conclude that students who take CALCULUS are better prepared for the MATH SAT test.
      • Read the following passage, and identify the underlined words: The researchers tested 50 students chosen at random who had taken CALCULUS in high school, and determined their MATH SAT scores. The average score was 600. According to the College Board, the overall average MATH SAT score was 480. The researchers conclude that students who take CALCULUS are better prepared for the MATH SAT test.
      • Identify whether the underlined phrase is the independent of dependent variable: The amount of sunlight that plants receive is directly proportional to their rates of growth.
  • Graphic Representation of Data
      • Importance of Professional Tables and Graphs
      • Table Specifications
      • Figures Specification
      • What is wrong with the following table? Table 4 Plant # Height Sunlight 1 12 6 2 15 9 3 8 3 4 25 12 5 29 15
      • What is wrong with the following bar chart?Figure 3
  • Frequency Distribution
      • Data and Data Pairs
      • Using Frequency Distributions
      • Reading Frequency Distributions
      • Constructing Frequency Distributions
      • A Frequency Distribution Example
      • Step 1: Select Size and Number of Class Intervals
      • Step 2: List the Class Intervals
      • Step 3: Sort the Data
      • Step 4: Determine FREQUENCIES
      • Step 5: Determine Relative FREQUENCIES
      • Graphing Frequency Distributions
      • Bar Chart
      • HISTOGRAM
      • Frequency Polygon
      • Absolute vs. Relative Frequency
      • Use the following data for the next four questions:Table V SERUM BUN values (mg/dL) from HOSPITAL employees at KETTERING Medical Center 15.922.59.116.8 6.428.615.223.7 10.317.013.820.5 7.425.04.118.4 12.713.630.921.3 What are best classes to use for this data?
      • Table V SERUM BUN values (mg/dL) from HOSPITAL employees at KETTERING Medical Center 15.922.59.116.8 6.428.615.223.7 10.317.013.820.5 7.425.04.118.4 12.713.630.921.3 Use the following classes: 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-25, 25-30, 30-35. What is the absolute frequency of the class 15-20?
      • Table V SERUM BUN values (mg/dL) from HOSPITAL employees at KETTERING Medical Center 15.922.59.116.8 6.428.615.223.7 10.317.013.820.5 7.425.04.118.4 12.713.630.921.3 Use the following classes: 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-25, 25-30, 30-35. What is the relative frequency of the class 10-15?
      • Table V SERUM BUN values (mg/dL) from HOSPITAL employees at KETTERING Medical Center 15.922.59.116.8 6.428.615.223.7 10.317.013.820.5 7.425.04.118.4 12.713.630.921.3 What types of charts are appropriate for illustrating this data?
  • Measures of Central Tendency
      • Mean, Median, and Mode
      • Mean
      • Median
      • Mode
      • Use the following data for the next three questions: Table VINumber of children in household for 20 households in Atlanta, Georgia 4 2 4 1 1 2 1 5 0 3 1 0 2 3 1 2 1 6 1 0 What is the mean (average) number of children in a household?
      • Table VINumber of children in household for 20 households in Atlanta, Georgia 4 2 4 1 1 2 1 5 0 3 1 0 2 3 1 2 1 6 1 0 What is the median number of children in a household?
      • Table VINumber of children in household for 20 households in Atlanta, Georgia 4 2 4 1 1 2 1 5 0 3 1 0 2 3 1 2 1 6 1 0 What is the mode of the number of children in a household?
  • Measures of Spread
  • Normal Distribution
      • Introduction to the Normal Distribution
      • Normal Distribution
      • 68-95-99 Rule Illustrated
      • Inferences from Sample Data
      • Suppose you measured the SERUM BUN levels in a sample of several HEALTHy people.  You found that the average was 19.6 mg/dL and the STANDARD DEVIATION was 6.1 mg/dL.  The HISTOGRAM of the data showed roughly the bell curve shape.  What percent of the whole population of HEALTHy people has SERUM BUN levels between 13.5 and 25.7 mg/dL?
      • Your SUPERVISOR asks you to give the 95% range of normal SERUM BUN levels, the range within which 95% of HEALTHy people will fall. What is this range? ( = 19.6 mg/dL, s = 6.1 mg/dL)
  • COEFFICIENT of Variation
      • A Measure of Relative Variability
      • Using the COEFFICIENT of Variation
      • Monitoring Methods
      • What is the COEFFICIENT of variation of the data you used in the previous section? ( = 19.6 mg/dL, s = 6.1 mg/dL)

Descriptive Statistics Keywords

Click on a term below to see its use in this Descriptive Statistics course and other available MediaLab courses.


normalcurve

p17chart

p38chart