GC BIO500 full course – discussions and Assignments – 2016 may

GC BIO 500 week 1 dq 1 & dq 2

dq 1

Search for 2 or 3 SPSS tutorials to help you learn how to use
SPSS. Answer the following about the websites. Provide the website for the 2 or
3 tutorials that you found on SPSS? What specific things were you searching for
in these tutorials? What did you like or dislike about the tutorials? What did
you find the most useful in these tutorials?

dq 2

This course is designed to provide you with the knowledge
and skills in application, evaluation, analysis, and interpretation of
biostatistical data used to inform public health programs, policy, and
practice. View the online video, “Careers in Biostatistics.” The
video describes the education that a professional biostatistician receives at
the University of North Carolina. More than likely you will be working with
professional biostatisticians. Why is it important for you to take this course
in biostatistics?

GC BIO 500 week 2 dq 1 & dq 2

dq 1

Compare a minimum of three statistical packages that are
available to statisticians and/or students of statistics.

dq 2

Assume you are working for a local public health
organization at the state level. Your team wants to develop a program to
prepare for a possible pandemic that is spreading worldwide. View, “Laurie
Garrett on Lessons From the 1918 Flu.” How could knowledge of the course
objectives help you make recommendations to your organization?

GC BIO 500 week 3 dq 1 & dq 2

dq 1

It is time to relate the rules and concepts of probability
to the practice of statistics and experimentation. Sampling distributions
provide the link between probabilities and data. Recall that the sum of the
probabilities of all possible outcomes for a certain event must equal one.
Because the variables representing or describing a certain event can take on a
range of values, the frequency of each of those values forms a distribution of
possible outcomes, each with its own probability of occurrence. View
“Central Limit Theorem” (media piece). What is the significance of
the frequency histogram illustrated by dice and numbers in “Dice
Combination?” How does this relate to the central limit theorem provided
in the media? Roll the dice, what were your odds? HINT: Click on Dice
Combination in the media. If you roll the dice, you have to count the total
number of two dice. There are two ways to check on your results (Refer to the
instructions by clicking Instructions); click on the dice combinations and odds
given in the frequency histogram and the table or click the red bar at the
right side of the media piece. Explore the basic principle of probability
through this media piece. Utilize the quiz to ensure that you understand these
basic principles. What is the significance of probability in judgment and
decision making in important aspects of health care? Explain your response with
an applicable example.

dq 2

For the public health industry, describe some examples of a
random variable.

GC BIO 500 week 4 dq 1 & dq 2

dq 1

Explain the important points of the central limit theorem.

dq 2

View “Seth Berkley: HIV and Flu–The Vaccine
Strategy.”

What are some of the tools in this course that
epidemiologists use to perform their work?

GC BIO 500 week 5 dq 1 & dq 2

dq 1

As a health care professional in public health, describe
some examples of where hypothesis testing would be used.

dq 2

This course is designed to provide you the knowledge and
skills in application, evaluation, analysis, and interpretation of
biostatistical data used to inform public health programs, policy, and
practice. Elizabeth Pisani is an epidemiologist in public health and has a
message about the role that politics has on the use of the data. View
“Elizabeth Pisani: Sex, Drugs and HIV – Let’s Get Rational.” Do you
agree or disagree with Pisani’s message about the role of politics in public
health?

GC BIO 500 week 6 dq 1 & dq 2

dq 1

As a health care professional in public health, compare when
you would use hypothesis testing and when you would use regression.

dq 2

If a regression line (linear regression line) is said to
“fit” the data presented in a scatter plot, what relation is
minimized between the observed data, y, and the predicted output for the
regression line?

GC BIO 500 week 7 dq 1 & dq 2

dq 1

As a health care professional in public health, describe
some examples that demonstrate the importance of interaction of variables in a
two-way analysis of variance.

dq 2

Explain why computing a variance of several numbers is like
analyzing their differences.

GC BIO 500 week 8 dq 1 & dq 2

dq 1

Discuss the differences between parametric and nonparametric
tests.

dq 2

Discuss the advantages of nonparametric tests.

GC BIO 500 week 4 Confidence Interval assignment

Details:

In the Topic 1 Assignment, you compared the BMI values from
Data Set 1 (in the appendix of the textbook) from a perspective of measuring
the center and variation of the data. Chapters 5 and 6 in the textbook allow
you to use more sophisticated tools to estimate the parameters of a population.

Refer to Data Set 1 in Appendix B and use the sample data
with Excel and/or SPSS to accomplish the following:

1. Construct a 99% confidence interval estimate of the mean
body mass index for men.

2. Construct a 99% confidence interval estimate of the mean
body mass index for women.

3. Compare and interpret the results. It is known that men
have a mean weight that is greater than the mean weight for women, and the mean
height of men is greater than the mean height of women. Do men also have a mean
body mass index that is greater than the mean body mass index of women?

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is
expected.

This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be
using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the
rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment
criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.

You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.

GC BIO 500 week 5 Hypothesis Testing assignment

Details:

Chapter 8 of the textbook explains how to make inferences
from two samples using the process of hypothesis testing.

Refer to Data Set 1 in Appendix B and test the claim that
the mean body mass index (BMI) of men is equal to the mean BMI of women.

Use Excel and/or SPSS to perform the hypothesis test.

Assume that the two samples are independent simple random
samples selected from normally distributed populations. Do not assume that the
population standard deviations are equal.

Use “Example Hypothesis Test of Treatment for Bipolar
Depression” on page 391 of the textbook as a guide for your test.

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is
expected.

You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.

GC BIO 500 week 6 Effect of Heredity and Environment on IQ
assignment

Details:

Use Excel or SPSS to complete Exercise 1 in the Cumulative
Review Exercises on page 485 in the textbook.

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is
expected.

You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.

GC BIO 500 week 7 Analysis of Variance assignment

Details:

Chapter 11 of the textbook covers “Analysis of
Variance”, however the authors state that “Testing for Equality of
Three or More Population Means” might be a better chapter title.

Use Excel or SPSS to perform the one-way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) for the data in “From Data to Decision” on page 565 of the
textbook.

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is
expected.

You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.

GC BIO 500 week 8 Rank Correlation assignment

Details:

For the following assignment, use the Rank Correlation that
was demonstrated in Chapter 12 of the textbook (page 566). Utilizing Excel or
SPSS:

1. Use a rank correlation coefficient to test for a
correlation between two variables.

2. Use a significance level of ?=0.05.

The new health care program in the United States makes
provisions for capitation programs where health care insurers work with clinical
facilities to perform risk analysis of patients to determine the cost of
providing care. The following assignment might be used to assess how much a
person smokes.

When nicotine is absorbed by the body, cotinine is produced.
A measurement of cotinine in the body is therefore a good indicator of how much
a person smokes. The reported number of cigarettes smoked per day and the
measured amounts of cotinine (in ng/ml) are provided. (The values are from
randomly selected subjects in a National Health Examination Survey.) Is there a
significant linear correlation? How would you measure the cotinine level in the
body? Explain the result.

Refer to the “Rank Correlation Table.”

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is
expected.

You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.

Rank Correlation Table

GC BIO 500 week 8 BMI Statistical Report assignment

Details:

Write a 750-1000 word statistical laboratory report using
the guidelines in the assigned article, “How to Write a Statistical
Report.” This statistical report is not meant to be an APA report or a
multiple-page scholarly treatise. The goal is that you become familiar with the
formal report format that you will use whenever you are reporting statistical
analysis. The report format includes the following sections: Abstract, Purpose,
Methods, and Results.

Assume that you are asked to perform an exploratory data
analysis in which the emphasis is to compare the difference between the body
mass index (BMI) values of men and women. Use Excel and/or SPSS to create
reports and run analyses on the data for the Data Set 1 in Appendix B of your
textbook.

Assume you are a biostatistics analyst and you received a
request from the director of the nutrition program to perform the analysis. The
director is developing an obesity program for the state and has obtained the
data set from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Because it has
been some time since the director has had a statistics course, any points that
would make your analysis easier to understand would be appreciated.

Generate appropriate histograms or box plots. Find
appropriate statistics that will help to understand the data set. Are there any
notable features? Are there any outliers? Describe the key elements of center,
variation, distribution, and outliers.

A minimum of three scholarly references are required.

While APA format is not required for the body of this
assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and
references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be
found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be
using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the
rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment
criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.

You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.
Refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.