Deck 8: Correlation

Question 1

Examine the following scatterplot. How would you describe its appearance?

A) Positive relationship
B) Negative relationship
C) No relationship
D) Inverse relationship

Answer 1

Positive relationship

Question 2

Looking at the data set below, what is the r-value between participation and total number of medals won?

A) r = +.176
B) r = +.227
C) r = -.299
D) r = +.866

Answer 2

r = +.176

Question 3

Refer to the 505 agility test data (see below), performed with pads and without pads. Analyse the data using SPSS and report the r-value.

A) +.807
B) +.907
C) +.707
D) +.607

Answer 3

+.807

Question 4

A correlation coefficient will fall within which of the following ranges?

A) -1 to +1
B) 0 to +1
C) 0 to -1
D) -0.5 to +0.5

Question 5

Suppose you wanted to identify the strength of a relationship between the FIFA world ranking of a country's football team and the subsequent performance in the World Cup. What type of correlation test might you run?

A) Pearson's coefficient
B) Spearman's rho
C) Kendall's tau
D) Kolmogorov-Smirnov

Question 6

When discussing the concept of covariance, the distance from a specific observation (i.e. data point) to that of the mean of a given variable is known as

A) Residual
B) Effect
C) Difference
D) Margin

Question 7

Success or failure in a high jump is an example of which type of correlation?

A) Biserial correlation
B) Point-biserial correlation
C) Spearman's rho correlation
D) Kendall's tau correlation

Question 8

The following data concerns energy expenditure and perceived pain (10-point Likert scale, where 10 = worst possible pain and 0 = no pain at all) from five cyclists completing a stage in the Tour de France. Complete the following table and answer the question below. Calculate the r-value (by hand) between energy expenditure and pain. You will be required to calculate the covariance first.

A) r = .98
B) r = .90
C) r = .88
D) r = .80

Question 9

Suppose you were interested in the relationship between body mass and basal metabolic rate and calculated an r value of -.79. How would you account for the variability between the two variables?

A) Square the r-value.
B) Take the square root of the r-value.
C) Take the log of the r-value.
D) Divide the r-value by itself.

Question 10

How would you describe the following variable: qualification versus non-qualification for the Olympic 100 m final?

A) Dichotomous, discrete variable
B) Dichotomous, continuous variable
C) Dichotomous, random variable
D) Dichotomous, proportional variable

Question 11

Which of the following is not a correlation test?

A) Spearman's rho
B) Pearson product-moment
C) Kendall's tau
D) Kolmogorov-Smirnov

Question 12

Assuming the appropriate criteria have been met, which correlation test would you run?

A) Pearson's coefficient
B) Spearman's rho
C) Kendall's tau
D) Kolmogorov-Smirnov

Question 13

If the R² value for intrinsic motivation and success in performing a specific Olympic high board dive (e.g. reverse twist with pike) is +.71, how much variability can be accounted for by other variables?

A) 29%
B) 32%
C) 35%
D) 40%

Question 14

What symbol is used to denote a correlation coefficient?

A) r
B) c
C) p
D) t

Question 15

Which of the following best describes the variable competition status: competing versus not competing?

A) Dichotomous, discrete variable
B) Dichotomous, continuous variable
C) Dichotomous, random variable
D) Dichotomous, proportional variable

Question 16

Which of the following r-values represents the weakest relationship?

A) +.20
B) +.92
C) -.78
D) +.34

Question 17

When researching the effects of heart rate on pistol shooting, you notice a negative relationship between the two variables. Which of the following options best describes a negative relationship?

A) As the first variable increases, the second decreases.
B) The first variable increases with the second variable.
C) The first variable decreases with the second variable.
D) The relationship has a curvilinear relationship.

Question 18

Prior to performing a correlation test, what procedure should be performed?

A) Inspect a scatterplot of the data.
B) Perform a regression analysis.
C) Analyse to data using an independent t-test.
D) Inspect a histogram of the data.

Question 19

Muscular strength in men and women is an example of which type of correlation?

A) Biserial correlation
B) Point-biserial correlation
C) Spearman's rho correlation
D) Kendall's tau correlation

Question 20

Researchers wanted to know if the success of the UK in specific sports at the Olympics influenced sports participation in the UK. Having collected data from a variety of sports and the total number of medals won, which type of correction test might you want to run?

A) Pearson's coefficient
B) Spearman's rho
C) Kendall's tau
D) Kolmogorov-Smirnov

Question 21

If the variability between gender and muscular strength had provided a negative, rather than positive, value, what would this imply?

A) The coding was reversed in SPSS.
B) Data have been inputted incorrectly.
C) The wrong correlation test was applied.
D) None of the answers above would explain the direction of the correlation.

Question 22

If the relationship between gender and muscular strength was r = .42, how much variability could be accounted for between the two variables?

A) .18
B) .14
C) .12
D) .10

Question 23

Sports scientists were interested in the effects of anxiety and experience on high board diving performance. All three variables are correlated with each other, but what correlation test could be run if you wanted to find out the degree of 'exclusive' variance anxiety had on diving performance without the interaction of the experience variable?

A) Partial correlation
B) Biserial correlation
C) Point-biserial correlation
D) Semi-partial correlation