Deck 21: Analysis and Interpretation of Basic Associational Research Questions

Question 1

The Pearson product moment correlation can be used to:

A) Test the association between two continuous variables
B) Test the relation between two administrations of the same instrument
C) Test the relations between an instrument and an external criterion
D) All of the above are true

Answer 1

All of the above are true

Question 2

A researcher uses the Pearson product moment correlation to test the relation between a continuous IV and a continuous DV. The Pearson r value is -.80. The researcher interprets this result to mean that there is:

A) A strong positive relation between the two variables
B) As values of the IV increase, values of the DV will increase
C) A strong inverse relation between the two variables
D) a and b

Answer 2

A strong inverse relation between the two variables

Question 3

When doing a Pearson product moment correlation, a researcher finds that high scores on one variable are associated with low, medium, and high scores on the other variable. These results indicate:

A) A moderately strong positive relation between the two variables
B) A moderately strong negative relation between the two variables
C) No relation between the two variables
D) Inappropriate use of the Pearson product moment correlation

Answer 3

No relation between the two variables

Question 4

A researcher computes a Pearson product moment correlation that yields an r value of .50. Which of the following is true?

A) The effect size using r is large
B) 25% of the variance between the study's two variables is common to both
C) 75% of the variance between the study's two variables is unexplained
D) All of the above

Question 5

A researcher computes a Pearson product moment correlation that yields an effect size of .10. The r value is statistically significant. The researcher interprets these findings as:

A) The effect of the independent variable is weak
B) The effect of the independent variable is moderately strong
C) 90% of the variance between the two variables is common to both
D) b and c

Question 6

A researcher uses a Pearson product moment correlation to analyze the association between two continuous variables. He found that r = .13, p = .03. These results indicate:

A) A nonsignificant relation between the two variables
B) A good prediction of the dependent variable from the independent variable
C) A statistically significant but weak positive relation between the two variables
D) A large effect size

Question 7

In a correlation matrix:

A) A table of correlation coefficients shows how all the variables are related to each other
B) A diagonal separates negative from positive correlation coefficients
C) Critical values of a correlation coefficient must exceed .7 to be statistically significant
D) Effect sizes cannot be obtained

Question 8

Which of the following is true about the choice of a basic associational statistic?

A) The level of measurement of the IV determines the choice of statistic
B) The level of measurement of the DV determines the choice of statistic
C) The levels of measurement for the IV and the DV determine the choice of statistic
D) None of the above

Question 9

A researcher has two continuous variables (IV and DV) that are ranked. She uses the Spearman correlation to analyze her data. She describes the relation between the IV and the DV as positive and monotonic. This means that:

A) There is a linear relation between the two variables
B) There is no relation between the two variables
C) As one variable increases, the other variable increases, but not necessarily by the same amount
D) As one variable increases, the other variable increases in a directly proportional fashion

Question 10

Professor U. R. Okay believes that students who are rejected by their peers are more likely to fail in school. He collects data from 140 4^th graders, measuring peer status (popular versus rejected) and whether each child passed or failed 4^th grade. The statistic he should use is:

A) Spearman rho
B) Pearson product moment correlation
C) Phi
D) t test
E) Cramer's V

Question 11

Jason Fleece has 50 mothers rate their toddlers' activity level. Dr. Fleece also examines each child's medical history and counts the number of accidents that required a visit to the doctor. He finds that activity level predicts the number of accidents r = +.68. He can conclude that:

A) High activity level causes an increase in accidents
B) The more active a child is, the fewer accidents he or she will have
C) Highly active children are at greater risk of accidents
D) a and c

Question 12

A chi-square test should be conducted when:

A) Both variables are nominal with a few nonordered categories
B) Both variables are interval
C) Both variables are dichotomous
D) a and c

Question 13

For chi-square, a common effect size indicator of the strength of the relationship between the two variables is:

A) Phi
B) Relative risk
C) Risk difference
D) Odds ratio
E) All of the above
F) None of the above, chi-squares do not have effect size measures

Question 14

A continuous independent variable is typically an active, manipulated variable.

Question 15

The Pearson product moment correlation tests the association between two continuous variables.

Question 16

A strong inverse relation means that high scores on one variable will be associated with low scores on the other variable.

Question 17

An r value near zero is associated with a strong inverse relation.

Question 18

A statistically significant r value indicates the strength of the relation between the IV and the DV.

Question 19

A low correlation means that you cannot predict the DV knowing the scores of the IV.

Question 20

There is a relation between the number of participants in the study and the size of the correlation coefficient needed to obtain statistical significance.

Question 21

A statistically significant correlation coefficient may be trivial or of little importance.

Question 22

With a regression line, the closer the points are to the line, the higher the absolute value of the correlation coefficient.

Question 23

Ordered data should be divided into a few categories, if possible.

Question 24

Power is lost when using a chi-square when one of the variables is ordinal.

Question 25

When using a chi-square, there is always an obvious independent variable.

Question 26

What are the four problems related to interpreting statistical significance and correlation coefficients?

Question 27

For a chi-square test with one degree of freedom, what is a common effect size indicator of the strength of the relationship between the two variables?

Question 28

Why is reporting confidence intervals (CIs) good practice?