| Course | NURS 839 Proposal Development (NURS839) |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 5 |
| Assignment | Assignment 7 SPSS Analysis |
| Paper type | SPSS analysis report with output interpretation |
| Length | about 686 words, 2 double-spaced pages plus title page and references. Course guide: an SPSS statistical analysis assignment applying basic analysis functions of the package, with output interpreted in writing, following the course instructions |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| Points | 75 |
| School | Liberty University Online |
| Program | DNP |
| Where it sits | Module/Week 5 in Liberty's published NURS 839 course guide; current sections can differ |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NURS 839 Week 5
SPSS Analysis on a 120-Case Practice Dataset: Descriptive Statistics, a Chi-Square Test, Fisher's Exact Test and Logistic Regression for a Pre-Post Dressing Project
[Student Name]
School of Nursing, Liberty University
NURS 839: Proposal Development
Assignment 7: SPSS Analysis
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The dataset is a practice file of 120 simulated cases built to mirror the project's variables, not real patient data; every statistic reported was calculated from that file. The textbooks and article cited are real.
SPSS Analysis on a 120-Case Practice Dataset: Descriptive Statistics, a Chi-Square Test, Fisher's Exact Test and Logistic Regression for a Pre-Post Dressing Project
The Practice Dataset
Because the scholarly project's data will not be collected until after the proposal is approved, this analysis uses a practice dataset of 120 simulated cases, created to mirror the project's variables and planned analysis. The cases are not real patients. Sixty represent the comparison period before the protocol and sixty the implementation period. Six variables were entered in SPSS Variable View: period (0 = before, 1 = after), age in years, body mass index, diabetes (0 = no, 1 = yes), anesthesia time in hours and pressure injury within 72 hours (0 = no, 1 = yes). Period, diabetes and injury were defined as nominal with value labels; age, body mass index and anesthesia time as scale. Moran et al. (2017) stress planning the analysis before collecting data, and this rehearsal tests that plan.
Step 1: Describing the Groups
Menu path: Analyze, Descriptive Statistics, Explore, with period as the factor.
| Variable | Before (n = 60) | After (n = 60) | Test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) | 65.0 (9.9) | 65.5 (12.8) | t(118) = -0.22, p = .826 |
| Body mass index, mean (SD) | 30.7 (5.9) | 30.0 (5.0) | t(118) = 0.69, p = .492 |
| Anesthesia time, hours, mean (SD) | 5.5 (1.3) | 5.2 (1.2) | t(118) = 1.20, p = .233 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 15 (25.0) | 13 (21.7) | chi-square(1) = 0.19, p = .666 |
Independent samples t tests (Analyze, Compare Means, Independent-Samples T Test) showed no significant differences in age, body mass index or anesthesia time, and a chi-square test showed no significant difference in the proportion with diabetes. In plain terms, the two groups looked alike on the factors most likely to affect injury, which strengthens any comparison of outcomes.
Step 2: Comparing Injury Rates
Menu path: Analyze, Descriptive Statistics, Crosstabs, with period in rows and injury in columns; under Statistics, Chi-square; under Cells, observed and expected counts and row percentages.
| Period | Injured | Not injured | Percent injured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before | 12 | 48 | 20.0 |
| After | 3 | 57 | 5.0 |
The Pearson chi-square test was significant, chi-square(1, N = 120) = 6.17, p = .013. Before relying on it, I checked the expected counts: the smallest expected cell was 7.5, above the commonly used threshold of five, so the chi-square approximation is acceptable (Kim, 2017). Because two cells were small in observed terms, I also report Fisher's exact test, which SPSS provides for two-by-two tables: two-sided p = .025. Both tests lead to the same conclusion.
Step 3: How Large Is the Difference?
Significance and size are different questions, and the second matters more to the people who will decide whether to keep the protocol. The risk of injury fell from 20.0% to 5.0%, a risk difference of 15 percentage points, with an approximate 95% confidence interval of 3.5 to 26.5 points calculated from the two proportions. The relative risk was 0.25, meaning patients in the after period had one quarter the risk of those before. The wide interval reflects the small sample: the data are consistent with anything from a modest to a very large benefit. The result is clearly better than nothing and possibly dramatic, and only a larger sample could say which.
Step 4: Adjusting for Risk Factors
Menu path: Analyze, Regression, Binary Logistic, with injury as the dependent variable and period, diabetes and obesity, coded as a body mass index at or above 35, as covariates, the categorical covariates defined under Categorical.
| Predictor | Adjusted odds ratio | 95% CI | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| After period | 0.22 | 0.06 to 0.82 | .025 |
| Diabetes | 0.76 | 0.19 to 3.05 | .703 |
| Body mass index 35 or more | 1.28 | 0.38 to 4.30 | .694 |
After adjusting for diabetes and obesity, the odds of injury in the after period remained about one fifth of the odds before, and the confidence interval excluded one. Neither diabetes nor obesity was a significant predictor in this small practice file, which is not surprising with only fifteen injuries in total; a model with few events cannot estimate several predictors precisely, so the real project should limit adjustment to a small number of covariates chosen in advance.
Assumptions and Limitations
Two conditions must hold for the chi-square result to be trusted, separate cases and large enough expected counts, and both are satisfied. Logistic regression assumes independent cases, no strong collinearity among predictors and enough events per predictor; with fifteen events and three predictors, the last assumption is only marginally met, and the estimates for diabetes and obesity are unstable. Above all, these are simulated data. They rehearse the method and say nothing about whether the dressings work in our hospital.
What the Rehearsal Changed
Running the analysis changed my plan in three ways. I will report risk differences and confidence intervals as the primary results, with p values secondary. I will limit the logistic model to two prespecified covariates, diabetes and anesthesia time, to respect the small number of expected events. And I will build the SPSS file with value labels and variable definitions before data collection begins, which Roush (2019) recommends as part of preparing the results chapter of a capstone.
References
Kim, H. Y. (2017). Statistical notes for clinical researchers: Chi-squared test and Fisher's exact test. Restorative Dentistry & Endodontics, 42(2), 152-155. https://doi.org/10.5395/rde.2017.42.2.152
Moran, K., Burson, R., & Conrad, D. (Eds.). (2017). The doctor of nursing practice scholarly project: A framework for success (2nd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Roush, K. (2019). A nurse's step-by-step guide to writing your dissertation or capstone (2nd ed.). Sigma Theta Tau International.
What the NURS 839 Week 5 instructions ask
Assignment 7 in NURS 839, SPSS Analysis, follows the Getting Started exercise from Module/Week 4 and is due in Module/Week 5, alongside Moran, Burson and Conrad's chapters on evaluating and analyzing project data. The course uses two SPSS assignments to make students comfortable with the package's basic analysis functions before they analyze their own scholarly project data. Because the real project data do not yet exist, a practice file shaped like the project's variables is a sensible way to rehearse, provided it is labeled as practice. What earns credit is the correct choice of test for each question and a plain-language interpretation of the output, not the output tables alone.
How this NURS 839 Week 5 example is built
The report opens by describing the practice file, its 120 cases and six variables and how each was coded in SPSS's Variable View. It then follows the analysis plan from the methodology: descriptive statistics for each period, independent t tests and a chi-square test to check that the periods were comparable, a two-by-two chi-square test with Fisher's exact test for the primary outcome, a risk difference with a confidence interval and a binary logistic regression adjusting for diabetes and body mass index. Each step lists the SPSS menu path, reports the key output and interprets it, and the report closes with assumptions, limitations and what the rehearsal changed in the project's analysis plan.
NURS 839 Week 5 grading rubric: where the points go
SPSS analysis assignments are usually graded on correct data setup and coding, selection of tests appropriate to each question and level of measurement, accurate reporting of output in APA style, checking of test assumptions, interpretation in plain language and recognition of limits. Instructors look for students who can explain what a p value and a confidence interval mean for the project, not only copy them from the output, and who check assumptions such as expected cell counts before relying on a chi-square result. Clear labeling of practice or simulated data is essential for honesty, and so is avoiding any claim about the intervention's real effect from numbers that were invented for rehearsal.
NURS 839 Week 5 help: mistakes that cost points
Students often paste SPSS tables without explaining them, run tests that do not fit the variable types or report significance without effect size. For each question, state the test, why it fits, the menu path, the key numbers in APA format and a sentence a nurse manager would understand. Check assumptions and say what you found. Report an effect size, such as a risk difference or odds ratio with its confidence interval, alongside every p value. If your data are simulated, say so in the first paragraph. Save the syntax SPSS generates for each analysis; it documents exactly what was run and lets you repeat the analysis on the real data in minutes.
Related NURS 839 sample papers
Other NURS 839 weeks
- NURS 839 Week 1: Article Critique and Leveling
- NURS 839 Week 2: Level of Evidence Table
- NURS 839 Week 3: Introduction and Literature Review
- NURS 839 Week 4: Proposal Methodology Paper
- NURS 839 Week 6: Discussion Board Forum 2
- NURS 839 Week 7: Scholarly Project Proposal
- NURS 839 Week 8: Proposal Defense PowerPoint
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NURS 839 Week 5 questions, answered
What is NURS 839 Assignment 7?
The second SPSS assignment, SPSS Analysis, a 75-point Module/Week 5 task in which DNP students run and interpret basic statistical analyses in the package.
Where can I find a free NURS 839 Week 5 sample paper?
Posted here is the full NURS 839 Week 5 SPSS analysis on a 120-case practice dataset, with menu paths, output and interpretation, free to read.
When should Fisher's exact test be used instead of chi-square?
When expected counts in any cell of a two-by-two table are small, commonly below five, because the chi-square approximation becomes unreliable; Fisher's test calculates the exact probability.
What does an adjusted odds ratio mean?
The odds of the outcome in one group compared with another after accounting for other variables in a regression model, here the odds of injury after the protocol, holding diabetes and obesity constant.
How do you run a chi-square test in SPSS?
Use Analyze, Descriptive Statistics, Crosstabs, place one variable in rows and one in columns, then under Statistics select Chi-square and under Cells select expected counts and percentages.
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