Overview
This short paper assignment will help you understand how confidence intervals provide us with information on how well a sample represents a population and helps us to answer specific types of research questions.
A study was done looking at communication between adolescents with asthma and their health care provider. Forty-six providers from four pediatric practices in North Carolina agreed to participate in the study. Two clinics were in rural areas and two were in suburban areas of North Carolina. Adolescent patients who agreed to participate were randomized, along with their caregiver, into either the intervention group or the usual care group. The intervention group watched a video on an iPad and then completed an asthma question prompt list before their visits. All visits were audiotape recorded. A secondary analysis of transcripts from these medical visits of adolescents, ages 11-17 years, discovered that 44% (81 out of 185) of the adolescents and/or their providers from the intervention group discussed tobacco smoking in a visit versus 32% (56 out of 174) in the control group.
From these results we can compute 3 different 95% confidence intervals using the sample proportions (p) from this study.
- For estimate, pi = 0.44, 95% CI: (0.37, 0.51)
- For estimate, pc = 0.32, 95% CI: (0.25, 0.39)
- For estimate, pi – pc = 0.44 -0.32 = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.22)
Prompt
After reading the short paper scenario and using the information provided, complete the steps below.
Part I
- Describe the population that this sample was selected from.
- Write out the research question that can be answered by the confidence interval (CI) in (a).
- Describe in words the population parameter that is being estimated by the confidence interval in (a).
- What is the margin of error for the confidence interval in (a)?
- Interpret the CI in (a) using your own words. What answer is it giving us in regard to the research question?
Part II
- Write out the research question that can be answered by the confidence interval in (c).
- Describe in words the population parameter that is being estimated by the confidence interval in (c).
- What is the margin of error for the confidence interval in (c)?
- Interpret the confidence interval in (c) using your own words. What answer is it giving us in regard to the research question?
What to Submit
Submit your paper as a Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. References are not required. The point of this paper is to show how well you interpret confidence intervals. However, if you do provide information from a published resource, be sure to cite and reference it.
Module Four Short Paper Rubric
| Criteria | Exemplary (100%) | Proficient (85%) | Needs Improvement (55%) | Not Evident (0%) | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Question | Provides research questions that correctly correspond to confidence intervals | Provides research questions that respond to confidence intervals but questions are somewhat inaccurate or unclear | Does not provide research questions for both confidence intervals or questions provided are not accurate | Does not provide research questions | 30 |
| Parameter and Margin of Error | Provides accurate description of population parameters and values of margin of error | Provides mostly accurate description of population parameters and values of margin of error | Provides inaccurate description of either population parameter or margin of error | Does not provide accurate description of population parameter and value of margin of error | 30 |
| Interpretation of Confidence Interval | Interprets the confidence intervals clearly and answers secondary question | Interprets the confidence intervals but does not answer secondary question or interpretations lack clarity | Does not interpret either confidence interval fully | Does not interpret the confidence intervals or answer the research questions | 30 |
| Articulation of Response | Submission is free of errors of organization and grammar | Submission contains errors of organization and grammar, but errors are limited enough so that the assignment can be understood | Submission has major errors related to organization and grammar that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas | Submission has critical errors related to organization and grammar that prevent understanding of ideas | 10 |
| Total: | 100% |