APPLIED STATISTICS

EXAMPLE ON HOW TO INTERPRET RESULTS

Question 1: Based upon the data provided for this week, is there an association between gender and fear of falling?

a. Report and interpret your statistical results, as well as create tables/figures in accordance with the APA guideline for the professional audience.

A Chi-Square test of association was conducted to determine if there was a relationship between gender and fear of falling. The null hypothesis is there is no relationship between gender and fear of falling. The alternative hypothesis is there is a relationship between gender and fear of falling. The independent variable is gender. The dependent variable, fear of falling, was measured as a categorical response, specifically “yes” or “no”. No cells have expected counts of less than five. Since both variables are categorical data and cell counts meet minimum values, the Chi-Square test of association was met. Table 1 displays the descriptive statistics and Chi-Square results. Of the 900 participants, 799 answered the question, “Are you afraid of falling?” by responding yes or no. Of the799 participants, only 63 males (15.8%) and 143 females (35.8%) report they are afraid of falling. The remaining 336 males (84.2%) and 257 females (64.3%) report they are not afraid of falling. The Pearson Chi-square results indicated that there was a significant association between gender and fear of falling, χ2(1) = 41.59, p < .001. Therefore, the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between gender and fear of falling was rejected.

( 1 | MPH 503 SPSS 7 )

Table 1. Chi-Square Test Results and Descriptive Statistics for Fear of Falling by Gender
Fear of Falling n (%)
Gender	Yes	No	χ2
Male	63 (15.8%)	336 (84.2%)	41.59***
Female	143 (35.8%)	257 (64.3%)

*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001

b. Also, briefly address the results and their impacts written for a lay audience.

The results provide evidence to support that gender may be related to fear of falling. To clarify if there is a casual relationship, further research using more rigorous analytical methods to find out the underlying reasons for gender related fear of falling is needed.

Appendix (SPSS output)