STATISTICS MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

COMPILED BY NACONM QUESTIONS BANK (NQB)

1. What is the main objective of statistics in health research?

A. To confuse data users
B. To analyze and interpret data for decision-making
C. To list all diseases
D. To increase patient waiting time
Correct Answer: B

2. A complete set of individuals or items under study is called:

A. Sample
B. Parameter
C. Population
D. Variable
Correct Answer: C

3. Which of the following is a sample?

A. All patients in Ghana
B. A group of 100 diabetic patients selected for a study
C. Entire adult population of Accra
D. Total number of newborns in a region
Correct Answer: B

4. The process of using a sample to estimate population parameters is called:

A. Descriptive statistics
B. Frequency distribution
C. Inferential statistics
D. Biometry
Correct Answer: C
5. A measurable characteristic of a population is known as:
A. Statistic
B. Data
C. Variable
D. Parameter
Correct Answer: D

6. Which one is not a type of data?

A. Nominal
B. Ordinal
C. Continuous
D. Hypothetical
Correct Answer: D

7. Qualitative data refers to:

A. Data measured in grams
B. Descriptive information such as gender
C. Weight and height
D. Temperature and pressure
Correct Answer: B

8. Which data type refers to measurable quantities with decimal values?

A. Discrete
B. Nominal
C. Continuous
D. Ordinal
Correct Answer: C

9. What term refers to a characteristic that can vary from one individual to another?
A. Variable
B. Constant
C. Range
D. Mean
Correct Answer: A
10. A statistic is:
A. A summary of a sample
B. A summary of a population
C. A variable
D. An unknown quantity
Correct Answer: A

11. Which of the following is not an example of quantitative data?

A. Age
B. Height
C. Gender
D. Blood pressure
Correct Answer: C

12. Nominal data includes:

A. Marital status
B. Weight
C. Age
D. Temperature
Correct Answer: A

13. Data arranged in categories without a specific order is:

A. Nominal
B. Ordinal
C. Interval
D. Ratio
Correct Answer: A

14. Data arranged in categories with a specific order but without equal intervals is:
A. Nominal
B. Ordinal
C. Ratio
D. Interval
Correct Answer: B
15. The main function of descriptive statistics is to:
A. Draw conclusions from data
B. Predict future outcomes
C. Summarize and describe data
D. None of the above
Correct Answer: C

16. What is the term for numbers representing facts or measurements?

A. Data
B. Graphs
C. Scores
D. Scales
Correct Answer: A

17. A graphical representation of frequency distribution is known as:

A. Histogram
B. Pie chart
C. Scatter plot
D. Line graph
Correct Answer: A

18. Which of the following shows data in percentages?

A. Histogram
B. Pie chart
C. Bar chart
D. Dot plot
Correct Answer: B

19. What does the field of biostatistics deal with?

A. Business data
B. Political data
C. Health and biological data
D. Educational data
Correct Answer: C
20. The person who collects and interprets health data is called:
A. Chemist
B. Biostatistician
C. Pharmacologist
D. Epidemiologist
Correct Answer: B

21. What is the main objective of statistics in health research?

A. To confuse data users
B. To analyze and interpret data for decision-making
C. To list all diseases
D. To increase patient waiting time
Correct Answer: B
22. A complete set of individuals or items under study is called:
A. Sample
B. Parameter
C. Population
D. Variable
Correct Answer: C
23. Which of the following is a sample?
A. All patients in Ghana
B. A group of 100 diabetic patients selected for a study
C. Entire adult population of Accra
D. Total number of newborns in a region
Correct Answer: B
24. The process of using a sample to estimate population parameters is called:
A. Descriptive statistics
B. Frequency distribution
C. Inferential statistics
D. Biometry
Correct Answer: C
25. A measurable characteristic of a population is known as:
A. Statistic
B. Data
C. Variable
D. Parameter
Correct Answer: D
26. Which one is not a type of data?
A. Nominal
B. Ordinal
C. Continuous
D. Hypothetical
Correct Answer: D
27. Qualitative data refers to:
A. Data measured in grams
B. Descriptive information such as gender
C. Weight and height
D. Temperature and pressure
Correct Answer: B
28. Which data type refers to measurable quantities with decimal values?
A. Discrete
B. Nominal
C. Continuous
D. Ordinal
Correct Answer: C
29. What term refers to a characteristic that can vary from one individual to another?
A. Variable
B. Constant
C. Range
D. Mean
Correct Answer: A
30. A statistic is:
A. A summary of a sample
B. A summary of a population
C. A variable
D. An unknown quantity
Correct Answer: A
31. Which of the following is not an example of quantitative data?
A. Age
B. Height
C. Gender
D. Blood pressure
Correct Answer: C
32. Nominal data includes:
A. Marital status
B. Weight
C. Age
D. Temperature
Correct Answer: A
33. Data arranged in categories without a specific order is:
A. Nominal
B. Ordinal
C. Interval
D. Ratio
Correct Answer: A
34. Data arranged in categories with a specific order but without equal intervals is:
A. Nominal
B. Ordinal
C. Ratio
D. Interval
Correct Answer: B
35. The main function of descriptive statistics is to:
A. Draw conclusions from data
B. Predict future outcomes
C. Summarize and describe data
D. None of the above
Correct Answer: C
36. What is the term for numbers representing facts or measurements?
A. Data
B. Graphs
C. Scores
D. Scales
Correct Answer: A
37. A graphical representation of frequency distribution is known as:
A. Histogram
B. Pie chart
C. Scatter plot
D. Line graph
Correct Answer: A
38. Which of the following shows data in percentages?
A. Histogram
B. Pie chart
C. Bar chart
D. Dot plot
Correct Answer: B
39. What does the field of biostatistics deal with?
A. Business data
B. Political data
C. Health and biological data
D. Educational data
Correct Answer: C
40. The person who collects and interprets health data is called:
A. Chemist
B. Biostatistician
C. Pharmacologist
D. Epidemiologist
Correct Answer: B
41. Which of the following is NOT a measure of central tendency?
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Variance
Correct Answer: D
42. The mean is defined as:
A. The most frequently occurring value
B. The middle value
C. The average of all values
D. The highest value
Correct Answer: C
43. What is the median in the data set: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11?
A. 5
B. 7
C. 9
D. 11
Correct Answer: B
44. The mode in the data: 4, 4, 6, 8, 4, 10 is:
A. 6
B. 4
C. 8
D. 10
Correct Answer: B
45. Which measure is most affected by extreme values?
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Range
Correct Answer: A
46. In a normal distribution, the mean, median, and mode are:
A. All equal
B. All different
C. Mean is highest
D. Mode is lowest
Correct Answer: A
47. If a distribution is skewed to the right, the mean is:
A. Less than median
B. Greater than median
C. Equal to mode
D. Equal to median
Correct Answer: B
48. A good measure of central tendency for ordinal data is:
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Range
Correct Answer: B
49. Which measure of central tendency can be used for qualitative data?
A. Mean
B. Mode
C. Median
D. Range
Correct Answer: B
50. What is the mean of the numbers: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12?
A. 7
B. 8
C. 9
D. 10
Correct Answer: B
51. Which is the best measure of central tendency when data is ordinal?
A. Mode
B. Mean
C. Median
D. All of the above
Correct Answer: C
52. In a data set with no repeating value, the mode is:
A. 0
B. Undefined
C. Highest value
D. Lowest value
Correct Answer: B
53. What is the median of: 10, 20, 30, 40?
A. 20
B. 25
C. 30
D. 35
Correct Answer: B
54. Which measure divides the data into two equal parts?
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Standard deviation
Correct Answer: B
55. Which measure is most reliable in a symmetrical distribution?
A. Median
B. Mode
C. Mean
D. All equal
Correct Answer: C
56. For the data: 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, the mode is:
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
Correct Answer: C
57. Which of these is a positional average?
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Range
Correct Answer: B
58. A measure that can be found by inspection in a histogram is:
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Standard deviation
Correct Answer: C
59. If the mean is 50 and the mode is 40, the distribution is:
A. Symmetrical
B. Positively skewed
C. Negatively skewed
D. Normal
Correct Answer: B
60. Which of these gives a quick estimate of average value?
A. Mode
B. Median
C. Mean
D. Range
Correct Answer: C
61. What does range measure in a dataset?
A. The middle value
B. The average
C. The difference between the highest and lowest values
D. The frequency of values
Correct Answer: C
62. Which of the following is a measure of dispersion?
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Variance
D. Mode
Correct Answer: C
63. The square root of variance is:
A. Mean deviation
B. Standard deviation
C. Range
D. Quartile deviation
Correct Answer: B
64. Which measure of dispersion is most sensitive to extreme values?
A. Range
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Interquartile range
Correct Answer: A
65. The interquartile range (IQR) is calculated as:
A. Q1 + Q3
B. Q3 - Q1
C. Q2 - Q1
D. Q4 - Q1
Correct Answer: B
66. A small standard deviation means:
A. Data are widely spread
B. Data are tightly clustered around the mean
C. Data are unreliable
D. None of the above
Correct Answer: B
67. The 50th percentile corresponds to:
A. First quartile
B. Second quartile
C. Third quartile
D. Fourth quartile
Correct Answer: B
68. Percentiles divide data into:
A. 2 parts
B. 4 parts
C. 100 parts
D. 10 parts
Correct Answer: C
69. A z-score indicates:
A. Standard deviation above or below the mean
B. Range of values
C. Mean of the sample
D. Quartiles
Correct Answer: A
70. Which of the following positions is not part of quartiles?
A. Q1
B. Q2
C. Q3
D. Q4
Correct Answer: D
71. What type of chart is best for displaying parts of a whole?
A. Bar chart
B. Histogram
C. Pie chart
D. Line graph
Correct Answer: C
72. A histogram is used to display:
A. Nominal data
B. Qualitative data
C. Continuous data
D. Percentages
Correct Answer: C
73. Which graph is best for time-series data?
A. Pie chart
B. Bar chart
C. Line graph
D. Dot plot
Correct Answer: C
74. A bar chart is most suitable for:
A. Continuous data
B. Categorical data
C. Time-series data
D. Percentile data
Correct Answer: B
75. A scatter plot is used to show:
A. Frequencies
B. Trends
C. Relationship between two variables
D. Percentages
Correct Answer: C
76. What graph is appropriate for displaying frequency distribution?
A. Pie chart
B. Histogram
C. Line chart
D. Boxplot
Correct Answer: B
77. Which graph displays median and quartiles?
A. Histogram
B. Pie chart
C. Boxplot
D. Scatter plot
Correct Answer: C
78. What type of chart uses rectangular bars to represent data?
A. Pie chart
B. Line graph
C. Bar chart
D. Boxplot
Correct Answer: C
79. In a histogram, bars:
A. Do not touch each other
B. Are arranged by height only
C. Touch each other
D. Represent categorical data
Correct Answer: C
80. A chart showing cumulative frequencies is:
A. Line graph
B. Histogram
C. Ogive
D. Pie chart
Correct Answer: C
81. Which type of graph is ideal for comparing categories?
A. Bar chart
B. Pie chart
C. Scatter plot
D. Histogram
Correct Answer: A
82. In a pie chart, a slice represents:
A. Total value
B. A proportion of the total
C. Frequency distribution
D. Data range
Correct Answer: B
83. Which graph is best for outlier detection?
A. Pie chart
B. Boxplot
C. Histogram
D. Bar chart
Correct Answer: B
84. A line graph connects data points to show:
A. Cumulative frequency
B. Distribution
C. Trends over time
D. Percentages
Correct Answer: C
85. The horizontal axis in a bar graph represents:
A. Frequency
B. Categories
C. Time
D. Percentiles
Correct Answer: B
86. The vertical axis in a histogram represents:
A. Percentages
B. Categories
C. Frequencies
D. Time
Correct Answer: C
87. Which graph helps identify correlation?
A. Histogram
B. Pie chart
C. Scatter plot
D. Bar chart
Correct Answer: C
88. A cumulative frequency graph is also known as:
A. Histogram
B. Ogive
C. Line chart
D. Bar graph
Correct Answer: B
89. Which chart is not suitable for numerical data?
A. Pie chart
B. Histogram
C. Boxplot
D. Line chart
Correct Answer: A
90. The purpose of a pictorial presentation of data is to:
A. Confuse users
B. Summarize data visually
C. Provide raw data
D. Avoid interpretation
Correct Answer: B
91. Inferential statistics allows us to:
A. Describe a sample
B. Estimate population parameters from sample data
C. Record all data points
D. Compute ratios only
Correct Answer: B
92. The purpose of hypothesis testing is to:
A. Draw pie charts
B. Confirm results of descriptive statistics
C. Make conclusions about populations
D. Compare two graphs
Correct Answer: C
93. The null hypothesis (H₀) usually states that:
A. There is no effect or difference
B. There is a major difference
C. The study is biased
D. The population is large
Correct Answer: A
94. The p-value tells us:
A. The size of the population
B. The probability of obtaining results by chance
C. The number of categories
D. The average mean
Correct Answer: B
95. A p-value less than 0.05 indicates:
A. Results are not significant
B. The null hypothesis is accepted
C. Statistically significant results
D. Results are due to chance
Correct Answer: C
96. Which test compares means of two groups?
A. Chi-square test
B. T-test
C. ANOVA
D. Z-test
Correct Answer: B
97. A chi-square test is used for:
A. Comparing means
B. Categorical data comparison
C. Regression modeling
D. Descriptive statistics
Correct Answer: B
98. Which test is suitable for comparing more than two means?
A. T-test
B. Chi-square
C. ANOVA
D. Regression
Correct Answer: C
99. The confidence interval (CI) provides:
A. A range of values likely to contain the population parameter
B. A measure of dispersion
C. The median of a dataset
D. The sample size
Correct Answer: A
100. A 95% confidence interval means:
A. There’s 5% error in data
B. 95 out of 100 intervals contain the true value
C. The mean is 95% accurate
D. The population is 95% sampled
Correct Answer: B
101. Which statistical test is best for association between two continuous variables?
A. T-test
B. Correlation
C. Chi-square
D. ANOVA
Correct Answer: B
102. Regression analysis is used to:
A. Compare medians
B. Show relationships between variables
C. Categorize data
D. Estimate population size
Correct Answer: B
103. Type I error means:
A. Failing to reject a false null hypothesis
B. Rejecting a true null hypothesis
C. Accepting the alternative hypothesis
D. The sample is too small
Correct Answer: B
104. Type II error means:
A. Accepting a false null hypothesis
B. Rejecting a false null hypothesis
C. Using the wrong chart
D. Choosing incorrect sample
Correct Answer: A
105. Which of the following is not part of inferential statistics?
A. Estimation
B. Hypothesis testing
C. Describing a sample
D. Confidence interval
Correct Answer: C
106. If a sample is representative, inferential statistics:
A. Are unreliable
B. Can generalize findings to the population
C. Can only describe data
D. Should not be used
Correct Answer: B
107. In hypothesis testing, the level of significance is symbolized as:
A. α
B. β
C. δ
D. µ
Correct Answer: A
108. Which of the following increases the power of a test?
A. Smaller sample size
B. Lower confidence level
C. Larger sample size
D. Type I error
Correct Answer: C
109. Which statistical method predicts values of one variable from another?
A. Descriptive stats
B. Correlation
C. Regression
D. Chi-square
Correct Answer: C
110. The main goal of inferential statistics is to:
A. Describe data
B. Draw conclusions about populations based on samples
C. Display frequency tables
D. Show graphs
Correct Answer: B

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