Student Learning Outcome (Module 6 Lesson 2): Compute and interpret confidence intervals for proportions.

Step 1. Review

Review the learning resources for this lesson before studying the case problem.

Step 2. Analyze

Analyze the case problem below.

The article “Doctors Cite Burnout in Mistakes” (San Luis Obispo Tribune, March 5, 2002) reported that many doctors completing their residency have financial struggles that could interfere with training. In a sample of 115 residents, 38 reported working moonlighting jobs, and 22 reported high credit card debt. Suppose that it is reasonable to consider this sample of 115 a random sample of all medical residents in the United States. 

1. Construct and interpret a 95% confidence interval for the proportion of U.S. medical residents who work moonlighting jobs.

2. Construct and interpret a 90% confidence interval for the proportion of U.S. medical residents who report high credit card debt.

3. Give two reasons why the confidence interval in Part 1 is wider than in Part 2.

4. Consider the following statement: If the process of selecting a sample of size 115 and then computing the corresponding confidence interval is repeated 100 times, 95% of the resulting intervals will include the true population proportion. Is this statement correct? Why or why not?

Step 3. Respond

Respond to the case problem by writing answers to Parts 3 and 4.

Step 4. Share

To share your work, access to the first post below and click on the “Reply” button under this post and paste your work into the “Message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

Step 5: Interact

To complete the activity, you will need to reply to at least two posts by your peers respectfully and professionally. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “post to the forum.”

OPTIONAL Step 6: Interact (10 minutes)

If you would like to, you can reply to your peers' posts in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to forum.”