Analyzing Quantitative Data

Analyzing Quantitative Data

Directions:
After you have completed the assigned readings and viewed the assigned videos, write a 500
word paper that addresses quantitative methods of inquiry. Use the data provided
in the Topic Material, “H Cup State Inpatient Databases (SID) File Composition –
Number of Discharges by Year,” and appropriate statistics to address the following:

1. Describe the different quantitative methods of inquiry.
2. Describe the mean, median, and mode of discharges by state in 2014.
3. Compare the number of discharges in 2010, 2012, and 2015 in all states. Are there
   significantly more discharges in 2015 versus 2010 in all states?
4. Compare the number of discharges in 2011 in northwestern states (Washington, Oregon,
   Idaho, Montana, Wyoming), southwestern states (California, Nevada, Utah,
   Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas), central states (North Dakota, South
   Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois),
   southeastern states (West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
   Georgia, and Florida), and northeastern states (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire,
   Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Washington D.C., New York, New
   Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland).
5. Summary of the paper.

Analyzing Quantitative Data

Qualitative methods of Inquiry
Experiment. Experiment design seeks to establish the relationship between variables.
The design focuses on describing how the change in one measure affects another measure. The
variable that is being investigated is not changed. The changes on the independent variable are
observed, measured and recorded (Clankie, 2012). The experiment is carried out under
controlled conditions. In other words, the investigator creates conditions that hold some of the

ANALYZING QUANTITIVE DATA 2
variables constant while allowing the variation of the others. The variables that are held constant
are the independent variables while the variables that are allowed to vary are the dependent
variables.
Descriptive Studies. Descriptive studies involve data collected from observation
methods. The researcher does not interfere with the phenomenal changes in the variables. The
researchers collect the data within a given period in the longitudinal cross-sectional study.
Alternatively, the researchers collect, analyze the data on a phenomenon at a given point in time,
in the cross-sectional study. In a descriptive quantitative type of inquiry, the investigator does
not stipulate a hypothesis before the inquiry (Smcilquham, 2012). Overall, the researcher carries
out the inquiry based on the natural occurrence of phenomena.
Correlational Inquiry. The correlational inquiry is another type of quantitative study.
Correlational inquiry investigates the relationship between variables. The type of inquiry
investigates the effects caused by one variable on another. The researcher does not interfere with
the variables. In other words, the investigator does not control the conditions under which the
research takes place. The researcher describes the relationship between the variables as observed
from their natural interactions. Usually, the research uses predictive designs to formulate a
hypothesis that describes the expected relationship. Additionally, the investigator utilizes
descriptive designs for the study inquiry (Flick, 2014).
Quasi-experimental. The investigator also investigates and describes how one variable affects
the change in another variable. In the quasi-experimental type of study, the investigator does not
control the conditions under which the experiment takes place. Additionally, the investigator
does not group the variables into any categories. The investigator creates a control experiment
where the variables are not subjected to the change. The researcher sets another experiment

ANALYZING QUANTITIVE DATA 3
where the variables are exposed to the effects. The data from the two experiments are collected.
The data from the control experiment is used as the set of the baseline data against which the
data collected from the experiment are compared (Flick, 2014).
Mean Mode and Median In 2014
The mean for all the states inpatient hospital discharges in the year 2014 were 604175.23

The median and the mode of the for the inpatient hospital discharged for all the states in 2014
was 3930020 and 49564 respectively.

Discharges in 2015 Versus 2010
The following table is a summary of the total number of discharges for the years 2010, 2012 and
2015.

Descriptive Statistics

Year Number of States, N. Sum Total Of Discharges
YEAR_22010 29 22,523,349
YEAR_22012 28 18,077,895
YEAR_22015 31 18,914,141

There are was significant variations between the number of inpatient hospital discharges between
the years 2010 and 2015. The number of discharges reduced by 3, 609, 208 between 2010 and
2015.
In some states, the number of discharges reduced from the year 2010 to 2015. In other
states, the number of discharges increased slightly between 2011 and 2015 (Healthcare Cost and
Utilization Project, 2018).
Discharges in 2011

Descriptive Statistics

N

Sum
NW_STATES 2 1,020,282

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SW SW_STATES 5 5,517,852
CE CENTRAL_STATES 5 1,294,539
SE_ SE_STATES 5 5,672,025
NE NE_STATES 7 5,564,868

In the year 2011, the southeastern states had the highest total number of discharges,
followed by northeastern states, followed by southwestern states, followed by northwestern
states and the central states in that order (5672025,5564868, 5517852, 1,294,53 and, 1,020,282
respectively). The groups of the states follow the same order in the number of discharges by a
median.
There are various types of quantitative methods of inquiry. Each of the methods utilizes
specific designs in data collection. The control over the conditions by the investigator in each
quantitative inquiry varies as well. There were minimal variations in the number of discharges
for each of the states in 2014. However, on average, there were significant variations in the
number of discharges between the geographical groups of the states in the year 2011.

References

Clankie, S. ( 2012, May 24). YouTube. Retrieved November 19, 2018, from
Flick, U. (2014). The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis. London, UK: SAGE.
Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. (2018, September 11). Healthcare Cost and Utilization
Project. Retrieved November 2018, 2018, from Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project:
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Smcilquham. (2012, Mar 06). YouTube. Retrieved November 19, 2018,