Statistical Analysis



Statistical Analysis

Research question

What is the correlation between GPA point average and successfully completing a PhD introductory quantitative research course for Nursing?

Hypothesis

Null: H10: No relationship exists between GPA point average and successfully completing a PhD introductory quantitative research course for Nursing.Alternative: H1A: A relationship exists between GPA point average and successfully completing a PhD introductory quantitative research course for Nursing.

Significance of Study

The findings of this study have implications for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. The findings of this study add to the current body of research available. The findings of this study can be used at the study site to create a framework to implement the institution's vision and mission by supporting students.

Assumptions, Limitations, Delimitations, and Scope

The study was conducted over one academic period at one educational institution. No random sampling was used. The findings of this study are limited to data access at the study site. These factors minimized the generalizability of the results obtained.

Data Analysis

The research question that guided this study consisted of one dependent variable, which represented the final grades of the students. For the purpose of this study, the final grades of the participants were these letter grades: A, B, C, or D. The data type of the dependent variable was ordinal. Each letter grade was coded by assigning numerical values such as letter grade A or A- was given a value of 8, letter grade B+ or B or B- was given a value of 7, and so forth).

The first independent variable was the GPA average of the students. For the purpose of this study, the GPA coded numeric values and ranges were used. The data type of the independent variable GPA was a continuous variable and re-coded as an interval categorical variable prior to the analysis in order to maintain parsimony with the categorical nature of the independent variables. The independent variable GPA was assigned these numbers for analysis: 0 for the range 1.26 to 1.50; 1 for the range 1.56 to 1.75; 2 for the range 1.76 to 2.00; 3 for the range 2.01 to 2.25; 4 for the range 2.26 to 2.50; 5 for the range 2.51-2.75; 6 for the range 2.76 to 3.00; 7 for the range 3.01 to 3.25; 8 for the range 3.26 to 3.50; 9 for the range 3.51 to 3.75; and 10 for the range 3.76 to 4.00.

The second independent variable was course modality choice, which represented either a face-to-face or online course. This independent variable, course modality choice, represented students' choice of course modality. This variable was assigned these numbers for analysis: 1 for student choice of modality or 2 for student no choice of course modality.

Findings

The frequencies of the GPA ranges are presented in Table 1. The frequencies of the course modality and course modality choice are presented in Table 2. Students with choice of course modality were 21.7% while students with no choice of modality were 78.3%.

For the dependent variable final grades of the participants letter grades were assigned such ...