The problem statement gives the following
research questions.
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How has the backlog of veterans
waiting 31-60 days for an appointment changed in a year?
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How do the VHA medical centers
differ in terms of 31-60 day backlog levels, capacity (number of beds)
and patient satisfaction?
The three questions
below will guide the selection of appropriate statistical methods.
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What is the response
(Y) of interest and how is it measured? We are interested in exploring
the variation in backlog, bed capacity, patient satisfaction, and
location between the medical centers. There are both continuous and
nominal variables in the data set.
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Are predictor variables
mentioned in the problem statement? If so, how many and what are
their measurement levels? The problem statement specifies data exploration
and does not identify any of the variables as predicted or predictor.
-
What are you being asked
to deliver? A data description, an interval estimate, an answer to
a question, or a predictive model? We would like to get a “picture”
of the backlog performance for the VA medical centers and understand
the differences between these facilities. Data visualization through
univariate and multivariate graphs is an effective means to present
such as picture.