Social Work Statistics

Objectives:
• differentiate between the two branches of statistics;
• identify the types of data;
• identify the measurement level for each variable; and
• identify the four basic sampling techniques.
• Nearly one in seven US families are struggling with bills from medical
expenses even though they have health insurance.
(source: Psychology Today)
• Eating 10 grams of fiber a day reduces the risk of heart attack by 14%.
(source: Archives of Internal medicine, Reader’s Digest)
• 30 minutes of exercise two or three times each week can raise HDLs by
10% to 15%.
(source: Prevention)
 What Is Statistics?
1. Collecting Data Data Why?
e.g., Survey Analysis
2. Presenting Data
e.g., Charts & Tables © 1984-1994 T/Maker Co.

3. Characterizing Data Decision-

e.g., Average Making

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc

© 1984-1994 T/Maker Co.
Statistics is a science of conducting studies
to collect, organize, summarize, analyze,
and draw conclusions from data.
Statistics in Social Work
How do social workers use statistics?
Division of Statistics
• Descriptive statistics – consists of the collection, organization,
summarization, and presentation of data.
• Inferential statistics – consists of generalizing from samples to
populations, performing estimations and hypothesis tests,
determining relationships among variables, and making predictions.
• Population – consists of all the members of the group about
which we want to draw a conclusion.
• Sample – is a portion or a part of the population of interest
selected for analysis.
Of 350 randomly selected people in the town of
Luserna, Italy, 280 people had the last name
Nicolussi.
• Descriptive:
“80% of these people have the last name Nicolussi.“

• Inferential:
"80% of all people living in Italy have the last name
Nicolussi."
In each of the following, determine whether the given situation involves the use of
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS or INFERENTIAL STATISTICS.
1. By 2040 at least 3.5 billion people will run short of water.
2. Nine out of 10 on-the-job fatalities are men.
3. Expenditures for the cable industry were $5.66 billion in 1996.
4. The median household income for people aged 25-34 is $35,888.
5. Allergy therapy makes bees go away.
6. Drinking decaffeinated coffee can raise cholesterol levels by 7%.
7. The national average annual medicine expenditure per person is
$1052.
8. Experts say that mortgage rates may soon hit bottom.
 Variables and types of data
• Variable – an observable characteristic or attribute associated with the
population or sample being studied which makes one different from the
other. It can vary in quantity or in quality.

• Data are the values (measurements or observations) that the variables

can assume.

• Qualitative variables – are variables that can be placed into distinct

categories, according to some characteristic or attribute
Example: gender, religious preference, geographic location
• Quantitative variables – are numerical and can be ordered or ranked

Example: age, heights, weights, body temperature

Quantitative variables can be classified into two groups: discrete
and continuous.
• Discrete variables – assume values that can be counted.
• Continuous variables – can assume an infinite number of values
between any two specific values. They are obtained by
measuring. Often include fractions and decimals.
 Data

Qualitative Quantitative

Discrete Continuous
Classify each variable as qualitative or
quantitative
1. Marital status of nurses in a hospital.
2. Time it takes to run a marathon.
3. Weights of lobsters in a tank in a restaurant.
4. Colors of automobiles in a shopping center parking lot.
5. Ounces of ice cream in a large milkshake.
6. Capacity of the NFL football stadiums.
7. Ages of people living in a personal care home.
Classify each variable as discrete or
continuous.
1. Number of pizzas sold by Pizza express each day.
2. Relative humidity levels in operating rooms at local
hospitals.
3. Number of bananas in a bunch at several local
supermarkets.
4. Lifetimes (in hours) of 15 ipod batteries.
5. Weights of the backpacks of first graders on a school bus.
6. Number of students each day who make appointments
with a math tutor at a local college.
7. Blood pressures of runners in a marathon.
Measurement scales
• Nominal level of measurement – classifies data into mutually exclusive
categories in which no order or ranking can be imposed on the data.
Example: subject taught by college instructors, sex, political party, religion,
marital status
• Ordinal level of measurement – classifies data into categories that can
be ranked; however, precise differences between the ranks do not exist.
Example: grade(A,B,C,D), judging(1st place, 2nd place, etc.), rating
scale(poor,good,excellent), ranking of tennis players
• Interval level of measurement – ranks data and precise differences
between units of measure do exist; however, there is no meaningful
zero.
Example: SAT score, IQ, temperature

• Ratio level of measurement – possesses all the characteristics of

interval measurement, and there exists a true zero(a point where none
of the quality being measured exists). In addition, true ratio exist when
the same variable is measured on two different members of the
population.
Example: height, weight, time, salary, age
• Identify the scale of measurement for the following: military title --
Lieutenant, Captain, Major.
• nominal
• ordinal
• interval
• ratio
• Identify the scale of measurement for the following categorization of
clothing: hat, shirt, shoes, pants
• nominal
• ordinal
• interval
• ratio
• Identify the scale of measurement for the following: heat measured in
degrees centigrade.

nominal

ordinal

interval

ratio
• A score on a 5-point quiz measuring knowledge of algebra is an
example of a(n)

nominal scale.

ordinal scale.

interval scale.

ratio scale.
• City of birth is an example of a(n)

nominal scale.

ordinal scale.

interval scale.

ratio scale.
Classify each as nominal-level, ordinal-level,
interval-level or ratio-level measurement.
1. Pages in the 25 best-selling mystery novels.
2.Ranking of golfers in a tournament.
3.Temperature inside 10 pizza ovens.
4.Weights of selected cell phones.
5.Salaries of the coaches in the NFL.
6.Times required to complete a chess game.
7.Ratings of textbooks.
8.Number of amps delivered by battery chargers.
9.Ages of children in a day care center.
10.Categories of magazines in a physicians office
(sports, women’s, health, men’s, news)
Sampling technique

A sample is a group in a research study on which information is

obtained.

A population is a group to which the results of the study are intended

to apply

Two advantages of sampling are that the cost is lower and data collection is
faster.
• Random sampling – a process whose members had an equal chance
of being selected from the population; also called probability
sampling. A process of selecting n sample size in the population via
random numbers or through lottery.
2. Systematic sampling – a process of selecting a kth
element in the population until the desired number of
subjects or respondents is attained

Consider every 5th on the list.

23 34 12 14 13 23 24 39 27 23
12 15 16 23 26 28 23 22 19 34
25 22 18 30 23 24 17 18 15 12

Therefore, the samples from every 5th from left to right are
13, 23, 26, 34, 23, and 12.
3. Stratified sampling – process of subdividing the population into
subgroups or strata and drawing members at random from each
subgroup or stratum
3. Stratified sampling – process of subdividing the population into
subgroups or strata and drawing members at random from each
subgroup or stratum

Given the population of a certain university and a target sample population of

5,455, determine the sample size of each subgroup or courses.

Field of Specialization Population

Nursing 6,000
Accountancy 500
Management 2,000
Marketing 1,000
Education 2,500
Total 12,000
Field of specialization Population Percentage Sample size
Nursing 6,000 50.00 2,728
Accountancy 500 4.16 227
Management 2,000 16.66 909
Marketing 1,000 8.33 455
Education 2,500 20.33 1,136
Total 12,000 100.00 5,455
4. Cluster sampling – process of selecting clusters from a population
which is very large or widely spread out over a wide geographical
area.
Example:
A researcher wishes to survey apartment dwellers in a large city. If
there are 10 apartment buildings in the city, the researcher can select
at random 2 buildings from the 10 and interview all the residents of
these buildings.
Other method:

Convenience sampling – process of selecting a group of individuals

who are available for study

Example: A researcher may only include close friends and clients to be

included in the sample population.
Classify each sample as random,
systematic, stratified, or cluster.
• In a large school district, all teachers from 2 buildings are
interviewed to determine whether they believe the
students have less homework to do now than in previous
years.
• Every seventh customer entering a shopping mall is asked
to select her or his favorite store.
• Nursing supervisors are selected using random numbers
to determine the annual salaries.
• Every 100th hamburger manufactured is checked to
determine its fat content.
• Mail carriers of a large city are divided into four groups
according to gender and according to whether they walk
or ride on their routes. Then 10 are selected from each
group and interviewed to determine whether they have
been bitten by a dog in the last year.