Category diversity audit worksheet
StatMedAnalysis | Version 2026-11-05

Instructions: save a working copy, fill blank fields, retain assumptions and
record an independent arithmetic check. Use fictional or aggregate values;
do not enter patient identifiers. This is a planning aid, not clinical advice.

1. Lock the categories
Population, sampling window and unit counted: ____________________
Mutually exclusive category definitions: _________________________
Treatment of missing, unknown and zero-count categories: _________
Are categories comparable across groups/time? ____________________

2. Tabulate aggregate counts
Category | count n_i | proportion p_i=n_i/N | -p_i ln(p_i) | p_i^2
_________|___________|_____________________|______________|______
_________|___________|_____________________|______________|______
_________|___________|_____________________|______________|______
Total N: __________ Number of observed nonzero categories: ________
Require nonnegative integer counts with total N > 0.
Use 0 ln(0)=0. Use natural logarithms; entropy units are nats.
H = sum[-p_i ln(p_i)]: ___________________________________________
Effective Shannon categories = exp(H): ___________________________
Concentration = sum(p_i^2): ______________________________________
Effective Simpson categories = 1/concentration: __________________
Hypothetical counts 10,10,20,0: H=1.03972077; exp(H)=2.82842712;
concentration=.375; inverse concentration=2.66666667.

3. Interpret carefully
What substantive question does evenness answer? __________________
How would regrouping categories change the result? ________________
These plug-in summaries are descriptive, not bias-corrected population
richness estimates or confidence intervals. Diversity alone is not a
quality, equity or clinical-benefit score. Compare compatible definitions.

4. Record limits
Sampling uncertainty / small-sample concern: _____________________
Sensitivity analysis and reporting wording: ______________________
Prepared by/date/version: __________ Independent check: __________

Guide and primary-source links (verified 2026-11-05):
https://www.statmedanalysis.com/blog/category-diversity-summary
https://docs.scipy.org/doc/scipy/reference/generated/scipy.stats.entropy.html
https://www.statmedanalysis.com/tools/entropy-diversity