Question

A medical researcher wants to estimate the difference in the proportions of women with high blood pressure for women who use oral contraceptives versus women who do not use oral contraceptives. In an observational study involving a sample of 900 women, the researcher finds that .15 (15%) of the 500 women who used oral contraceptives had high blood pressure, whereas only .10 (10%) of the 400 women who did not use oral contraceptives had high blood pressure.

1. What is the research question of interest for this study? What is the population parameter in this study?
2. What is the appropriate statistical notation for this parameter?
3. What is the value of the sample estimate (statistic) in this study?
4. What is the appropriate statistical notation for this estimate?

Answer 1

1.) What is the difference between the proportion of women with high blood pressure who use oral contraceptive and those who don't?

2.) P1 - P2

3.)

Let P` = population statistic

P1` - P2`

Explanation:

Since the experiment is to know if there is a difference between high blood pressure in women who use oral contraceptives or not ; the we can frame the research question thus :

What is the difference between the proportion of women with high blood pressure who use oral contraceptive and those who don't?

2.) P1 - P2

P1 = All women who have high blood pressure and use oral contraceptive

P2 = All women who high blood pressure who don't use oral contraceptive

3.)

P1` - P2` ; (0.15 - 0.10)

P1` = women in the sample (900) who have high blood pressure and use oral contraceptive

P2` = women in the sample (900) who high blood pressure who don't use oral contraceptive