Statistical analysis is essential for B. Pharm students to design studies, analyze pharmacological data, and interpret results. This resource focuses on statistical analysis using Excel, SPSS, MINITAB® and R software, covering descriptive statistics, inferential tests (t-test, ANOVA, chi-square), regression, nonparametric methods, normality assessment, power and sample size, data visualization and effect size. Practical guidance includes data cleaning, assumption checks, command examples, and interpretation of p-values and confidence intervals. Emphasis is on translating software output into meaningful conclusions for pharmacology research, quality control and reporting. Now let’s test your knowledge with 30 MCQs on this topic.
Q1. Which statistical measure best summarizes central tendency for skewed pharmacokinetic data?
- Mean
- Median
- Mode
- Standard deviation
Correct Answer: Median
Q2. Which normality test in SPSS is recommended for small sample sizes (n < 50)?
- Kolmogorov-Smirnov test
- Shapiro-Wilk test
- Levene’s test
- Cochran’s test
Correct Answer: Shapiro-Wilk test
Q3. Which Excel function calculates the Pearson correlation coefficient between two drug concentration variables?
- CORREL()
- PEARSONR()
- RSQ()
Correct Answer: CORREL()
Q4. Which MINITAB command is typically used to perform a two-sample t-test?
- TTest
- ANOVA
- Regression
- Histogram
Correct Answer: TTest
Q5. In R, which function is used to fit a linear regression model for drug response versus dose?
- glm()
- lm()
- fit()
- reg()
Correct Answer: lm()
Q6. When should you use the Mann-Whitney U test in pharmacology data analysis?
- Comparing means of two paired samples
- Comparing two independent samples when data are non-normal
- Comparing proportions between groups
- Testing for trend across ordered groups
Correct Answer: Comparing two independent samples when data are non-normal
Q7. Which diagnostic plot is most useful for checking homoscedasticity in linear regression residuals?
- Normal Q-Q plot of predictors
- Residuals versus fitted values plot
- Histogram of the response variable
- Pairs plot of independent variables
Correct Answer: Residuals versus fitted values plot
Q8. What does a p-value represent in hypothesis testing?
- Probability that the null hypothesis is true
- Probability of observing the data, or more extreme, assuming the null hypothesis is true
- Probability that the alternative hypothesis is false
- Size of the observed effect
Correct Answer: Probability of observing the data, or more extreme, assuming the null hypothesis is true
Q9. What is the degrees of freedom for a one-sample t-test with 25 observations?
- 24
- 25
- 23
- 26
Correct Answer: 24
Q10. Which of the following software is open-source and widely used for reproducible statistical scripts?
- SPSS
- MINITAB
- Excel
- R software
Correct Answer: R software
Q11. Which test is most appropriate for comparing pre-treatment and post-treatment measurements on the same subjects?
- Independent two-sample t-test
- Paired t-test
- Chi-square test
- Mann-Whitney U test
Correct Answer: Paired t-test
Q12. Which test assesses equality of variances across groups before performing ANOVA?
- Shapiro-Wilk test
- Levene’s test
- Kruskal-Wallis test
- Dunnett’s test
Correct Answer: Levene’s test
Q13. Which nonparametric test is the equivalent of one-way ANOVA for comparing medians across three or more groups?
- Mann-Whitney U test
- Kruskal-Wallis test
- Wilcoxon signed-rank test
- Friedman test
Correct Answer: Kruskal-Wallis test
Q14. Which statistic measures the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two continuous variables?
- Spearman’s rho
- Pearson correlation coefficient
- R-squared for logistic regression
- Chi-square statistic
Correct Answer: Pearson correlation coefficient
Q15. Which Excel function returns the arithmetic mean of a set of pharmacology data?
- MEDIAN()
- AVERAGE()
- MEAN()
- MODE()
Correct Answer: AVERAGE()
Q16. What is “effect size” in the context of clinical or pharmacological studies?
- Probability of Type I error
- Magnitude of a treatment effect independent of sample size
- Sample size required for significance
- Standard error of the mean
Correct Answer: Magnitude of a treatment effect independent of sample size
Q17. Which R function performs the Shapiro-Wilk normality test?
- normal.test()
- shapiro.test()
- ks.test()
- qqplot()
Correct Answer: shapiro.test()
Q18. Which test is appropriate to assess association between two categorical variables in a large contingency table?
- Independent t-test
- Chi-square test of independence
- ANOVA
- Linear regression
Correct Answer: Chi-square test of independence
Q19. Which graphical display is best to compare distribution and detect outliers across treatment groups?
- Scatter plot
- Boxplot
- Line graph
- Pie chart
Correct Answer: Boxplot
Q20. Which SPSS menu or command is commonly used to generate frequency distributions for categorical drug-response data?
- Analyze > Compare Means
- Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Frequencies
- Graphs > Legacy Dialogs > Scatter/Dot
- Transform > Recode into Different Variables
Correct Answer: Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Frequencies
Q21. Which MINITAB analysis is used to compare means across more than two independent groups?
- One-way ANOVA
- Two-sample t-test
- Paired t-test
- Logistic regression
Correct Answer: One-way ANOVA
Q22. What does a 95% confidence interval for a mean imply?
- There is a 95% probability the sample mean is correct
- 95% of individual observations lie within this interval
- If the study were repeated many times, 95% of such intervals would contain the true population mean
- The p-value is 0.05
Correct Answer: If the study were repeated many times, 95% of such intervals would contain the true population mean
Q23. Which R package is widely used for advanced, publication-quality data visualization in pharmacology?
- lattice
- graphics
- ggplot2
- plotly
Correct Answer: ggplot2
Q24. When is Fisher’s exact test preferred over chi-square test for categorical data?
- When sample sizes are large
- When expected cell counts are small (e.g., <5)
- When variables are continuous
- When data are paired
Correct Answer: When expected cell counts are small (e.g., <5)
Q25. Which method is generally recommended for handling missing data in pharmacological analyses to reduce bias?
- Listwise deletion
- Mean imputation
- Multiple imputation
- Complete-case analysis only
Correct Answer: Multiple imputation
Q26. Which analysis is appropriate for comparing a continuous outcome measured repeatedly over time within subjects?
- Independent t-test
- Repeated measures ANOVA
- Chi-square test
- Simple linear regression
Correct Answer: Repeated measures ANOVA
Q27. Which feature in Excel must be enabled to perform linear regression using the built-in Regression dialog?
- Solver Add-in
- Analysis ToolPak
- Data Validation
- Power Query
Correct Answer: Analysis ToolPak
Q28. Which statistic indicates the proportion of variance in the dependent variable explained by the linear regression model?
- Adjusted p-value
- R-squared
- Standard error
- Fisher’s exact value
Correct Answer: R-squared
Q29. What is the purpose of a Bonferroni correction in multiple comparisons?
- To increase statistical power
- To adjust confidence intervals for variance heterogeneity
- To control the family-wise Type I error rate
- To correct for non-normality
Correct Answer: To control the family-wise Type I error rate
Q30. Which action will generally increase the statistical power of a study detecting a given effect size?
- Decrease sample size
- Lower the alpha from 0.05 to 0.01
- Increase sample size
- Use a less precise measurement instrument
Correct Answer: Increase sample size
I am a Registered Pharmacist under the Pharmacy Act, 1948, and the founder of PharmacyFreak.com. I hold a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from Rungta College of Pharmaceutical Science and Research. With a strong academic foundation and practical knowledge, I am committed to providing accurate, easy-to-understand content to support pharmacy students and professionals. My aim is to make complex pharmaceutical concepts accessible and useful for real-world application.
Mail- Sachin@pharmacyfreak.com