MU - CHS

DEPARTMENT OF NURSING

BIOSTATISTICS FOR NEONATAL

NURSING
Instructor Address:

Name: Gerezgiher B. (MSc, Asst. Prof., PhD fellow)

E-mail: gbamsc2002@gmail.com

Cell phone: +251910903186

DESCRIPTION OF COMMON TERMS
Statistics- is the process of scientifically collecting,
organizing, analyzing and interpreting data, and the
drawing of inferences about a body of data when only
part of the data are observed.
Biostatistics- It is a special statistics in which the data
being analyzed are derived from biological and medical
science
 Statistical data: Information that is systematically
analysis for result interpretation to draw conclusions.
The information about which we are concerned is
called Data
Data: aggregate of variables as a result of
measurement or counting.
Parameter: A descriptive measure computed from the
data of a population. E.g. population mean (),
population variance, population standard deviation, etc
Statistic: A descriptive measure computed from the
data of a sample.
 Types of data:
Primary data: collected from the items or individual
respondents directly for the purpose of certain study.
Secondary data: which had been collected by certain
agency, and used for other purpose.
E.g. reports and records of health institutions, vital
registration of a municipality.
CATEGORY OF VARIABLES
1. Categorical (Qualitative) variable:
The notion of magnitude is absent or implicit.
Nominal: have distinct levels, & no inherent ordering
When only with two categories, are called binary or
dichotomous, otherwise called polythumous
E.g. Sex: male or female , Color: black, red white ---

Ordinal: have levels that do follow a distinct ordering.

E.g. severity of pain (mild, moderate severe)

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2. Numeric (Quantitative ) variable:
Variable that has magnitude
Discrete data: numbers represent actual measurable quantities
Restricted to only specified values (integers) that differ by
fixed amounts.
E.g. Number of new AIDS cases reported
Continuous data: represent measurable quantities but are not
restricted to taking on certain specific values i.e. fractional
values are possible.
Can use interval (no true zero value) or ratio scale (begins at
zero)
E.g. weight, cholesterol level, time, temperature

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SCALES OF MEASUREMENT
Measurement: the assignment of numbers or names
or events according to a set of rules:
Measuring an individuals weight is qualitatively
different from measuring their response to some
treatment on a three category of scale, improved,
stable, not improved.
Measuring scales are different according to the degree of
precision involved.
There are four types of scales of measurement.

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Types of measurement scales:

Nominal scale: uses names, labels, or symbols to

assign each measurement to one of a limited number of
categories that cannot be ordered.
Examples: Blood type, sex, race, marital status
Ordinal scale: assigns each measurement to one of a
limited number of categories that are ranked in terms of
a graded order.
Examples: Patient status, Cancer stages

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Types of measurement scales
Interval scale: assigns each measurement to one of
an unlimited number of categories that are
equally spaced. It has no true zero point.
Example: Temperature measured on Celsius or
Fahrenheit
Ratio scale: measurement begins at a true zero point
and the scale has equal space.
Examples: Height, weight, blood pressure

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QUESTION
METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION & PRESENTATION
DATA COLLECTION:
Before any statistical works to be done, data must be
collected
Data collection is a way of collecting information for
statistical use.
Source of data:
Primary data: collected from the items or individual
respondents directly for the purpose of certain study.
Secondary data: which had been collected by certain agency,
and used for other purpose.
Eg. reports and records of health institutions, vital
registration of a municipality.
 DATA COLLECTION METHOD:
Observation: using guiding checklists

Questionnaire based: it can be a kind of interview

(face to face, in-depth, Phone) or sending in
E-mail, SMS
Focus group discussions (FGD) check list may be
used
Documentary sources:
it is called secondary data
E.g. life histories, Case studies
Advantages of observation:
Gives relatively more accurate data on behavior and
activities
Disadvantages of observation :
Investigators or observers own biases, desires etc.
Need more resources and skilled human power during the
use of high level machines.
Risk for observers
Questionnaire:
Usually used for community survey, in collecting data
about Community Health Status.
The Quality of information Which will be gather from
Depends up on the quality of questionnaire
Probably the most commonly used research data
collection techniques.
It could be:
Self administered questionnaires
Interview questionnaire
Mailed, SMS, Phone questionnaires ,
There are basically two types of questions:
Open ended questions:
Respondent is free to use once own words to reply
(not given any possible answers to choose from)
E.g. What do you think are the reasons for a high drop-
out rate of village health committee members?
Closed questions:
Respondent is provided some fixed answers and is
asked to choose one out of a list of possible answers.
Are useful if possible response is known, one is only
interested in certain aspects
E.g. Sex: 1. Male 2. Female
Use of Documentary Sources:

Clinical and other Personal records, death certificates,

published mortality statistics, census, publication etc.
Is less time consuming and relatively has low cost.
Care should be taken on quality
It is questionable in the completeness of the data.
Question