RESEARCH METHODS AND BIOETHICS

STATISTICAL ASSIGNMENT

Name of School: Science and Technology

Module Code: BIOL40102

Module Title: RESEARCH METHODS AND BIOETHICS

Submission to Dropbox: Final - Statistical Analysis of Data

Due Date: 5.00pm, 19th April 2021

This element of assessment involves statistical analysis of data. You will be asked to perform,
interpret, present and comment on appropriate statistical tests linked to the scientific data. 

In order to carry the statistical analysis successfully, you will need to use appropriate
statistical package. Examples include Microsoft Excel, SPSS, Minitab, R-Studio and GraphPad
Prism. To complete the statistical analysis assessment, you can choose the statistical package of
your choice. You can download and install the required statistical package as learnt in the IT
sessions and with the help of IT.

The assignment should be presented in a Microsoft word document that includes:
 the question
 tabulated data and statistical analysis
 graphical presentation with full figure legends
 explanation
 conclusions
Answer all SIX questions (Each question carries 10marks - 6 x10 = 60):
Data files required for the analysis are added in the assessment tab of module page

Question 1:

You have been provided with the heights (measured in metres) of 500 students in the file
“student_heights.txt”.

a) Using a software program of your choice, generate a histogram (column “height” in the data
file) and present it as a Figure in your report, including an informative Figure Legend.
b) Also report the mean, median and standard deviation.
c) Based on your histogram, can you comment of the data distribution?

Question 2:

A research group examined the potential survival effect of an anti-viral drug, Ribavirin, against
rabies infection in an animal model, using randomised control and Ribavirin-treated groups. Their
data are provided in “trials_data.txt”.

a) Using a software program of your choice, construct a contingency table of their results,
b) Then use an appropriate statistical test to determine whether treatment with Ribavirin can
protect individuals infected with rabies.
c) Report your contingency table, the reasoning behind the choice of statistical test, and your
conclusion

Question 3:

A biochemist is testing two methods of DNA extraction for a degraded tissue sample. She wishes
to test if the methods show a significant difference in DNA fragment length recovery. She has
length data in bp for 200 DNA molecules recovered using each extraction method. These datasets
are provided in “extraction1.txt” and “extraction2.txt”. Carry out the following:

a) Generate histograms for the datasets (column “bp” in the data files)
b) Is the mean or median a better measure of central tendency for these datasets?
c) Report values for your chosen measure
d) Carry out a suitable statistical test, and report the results
e) What do you conclude?

Question 4:

A clinician in cardiovascular medicine wanted to establish whether administering various doses of

the antioxidant vitamin C has an effect on the expression of the adhesion molecule ICAM-1. They
carried out a randomised double-blind trial, using male subjects aged 20-45. Subjects were either
given placebo (0 mg; no vitamin C), 90mg vitamin C (Recommended daily intake for this
demographic), 180mg (twice the recommended daily intake) or 250mg vitamin C for 6 weeks after
which a blood sample was taken and the serum tested for sICAM-1 using an ELISA assay. The
mean concentration of sICAM for each volunteer is shown in table 1.

Table 1. sICAM-1 levels in male volunteers after taking Vitamin C supplements for 6 weeks
sICAM-1 levels in volunteer serum (ng/ml)
Placebo 90mg 180mg 250mg
(0 mg) vitamin C vitamin C vitamin C
483 453 429 435
457 442 435 426
521 392 417 404
534 497 473 417
463 475 462 419
456 489 479 444
479 451 446 425
437 449 462 419
473 432 429 452
452 457 462 483
441 434 441 429
427 430 433 433
481 495 491 473
477 441 448 435
498 434 439 441
432 483 487 435
465 442 449 453
473 453 458 406
442 482 472 431
469 471 483 444
a) Present basic descriptive statistics for measures of mean and spread of data.
b) Identify a suitable statistical test to assess the data and explain your rationale for this
choice.
c) State both your null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis for the test you have chosen.
d) Explain your results in the context of the research study described

Question 5:

A review of literature in the field of multiple sclerosis research shows conflicting reports about the
association between multiple sclerosis (MS) and blood type. A clinician decides to evaluate rhesus
factor prevalence within MS patients at their hospital, compared to a group of healthy blood donors
to establish whether the presence of the rhesus factor is protective. The data collected showed
that of 264 MS patients, 217 were positive for rhesus factor and 47 were rhesus negative. Of the
healthy blood donors, 196 were rhesus positive and 69 were rhesus negative.

a) Identify a suitable statistical test to assess the data and explain your rationale for this
choice.
b) State both your null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis for the test you have chosen.
c) Perform the test and present your results.
d) Explain your results and how this relates to the literature
Question 6:

A study into diabetes risk factors investigated the effect of age on insulin production. Blood insulin
levels were established from blood samples taken before, and 2 hours after, the administration of
the oral glucose tolerance test. The increase in the insulin concentration over the two-hour period
was calculated by subtracting the insulin concentration recorded before the experiment from the
concentration 2 hours after the start of the test. The data for participants in this study are shown in
table 2.
Table 2: Increase in insulin concentration observed in study volunteers of different ages
participating in the oral glucose tolerance test

Change in Insulin
Age
concentration
(years)
(pM)
27 320
32 312
62 250
43 287
48 272
19 370
33 298
25 339
56 263
43 305
29 317
46 283
39 309
27 357
36 253
24 327
57 272
47 295
36 314
21 321
27 319
42 287
37 306
29 309
20 341
47 284
23 326
52 274
46 301
58 273
37 319
26 327
39 281
45 287

a) Identify a suitable statistical test to assess the data and explain your rationale for this
choice.
b) State both your null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis for the test you have chosen.
c) Present an appropriate graph of the outcome of the statistical test and explain your results
in the context of the research study described