Deck 23: Using Statistics to Examine Relationships

Question 1

What does the correlational diagram X Y mean?

A)X obviously precedes Y in time.
B)X is interchangeable with Y.
C)There is a relationship between X and Y.
D)Either X causes Y, or Y causes X.

Answer 1

There is a relationship between X and Y.

Question 2

Twelve research studies show a strong correlation between low levels of education and poverty. A social scientist declares that the "cure" for poverty is in free education for all of the children of the poor. What are valid arguments against this declaration?

A)The scientist believes that a low level of education, in and of itself, causes poverty, but no study has demonstrated this.
B)It is possible that low levels of education cause Item B, and Item B causes poverty.
C)It is possible that multigenerational poverty causes lower levels of education.
D)It is possible that low levels of education and poverty are both caused by social injustice.
E)Twelve correlational research studies are not enough to demonstrate cause: at least 50 studies of 100 subjects each would be required for this.

Answer 2

The scientist believes that a low level of education, in and of itself, causes poverty, but no study has demonstrated this.
It is possible that low levels of education cause Item B, and Item B causes poverty.
It is possible that multigenerational poverty causes lower levels of education.
It is possible that low levels of education and poverty are both caused by social injustice.

Question 3

For which of the following levels of measurement would a parametric statistical test like the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient be used?

A)Nominal level
B)Ordinal level
C)Interval level
D)Ratio level
E)Dichotomous

Answer 3

Interval level
Ratio level

Question 4

A study examines the relationship between strength of belief in previous lives (Yes, Not Sure, and No) and percentage of butterfat in milk most commonly purchased (Non-Fat, 1%, 2%, Whole). The data could be analyzed by which statistical test?

A)Kendall's tau
B)Pearson product-moment correlation
C)Principal components analysis
D)Bland and Altman plot

Question 5

A Pearson correlational analysis examines the relationship between variable A, hours of sleep per week, and B, symptom severity, in 43 women with post-polio syndrome. In accessing the table of values, the researcher should use which number for degrees of freedom?

A)2
B)4
C)41
D)43

Question 6

In the results and conclusions sections of a research article about adult morbid obesity and a history of being underweight during the first 2 years of life, the researcher mentions the strong negative correlation between these two variables. What does the author imply by stating this?

A)Some sort of test of correlation was performed, and it reached statistical significance.
B)A person with morbid obesity is more likely than someone without it to have been underweight during the first 2 years of life.
C)A person with morbid obesity is less likely than someone without it to have been underweight during the first 2 years of life.
D)Having been underweight during the first 2 years of life prevents morbid obesity in adulthood.
E)The statement above contains the researchers' operationalizations of the two study variables.

Question 7

Which of the following variables are able to be analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation?

A)Age
B)Race
C)Gender
D)Score on the Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)
E)Years of education
F)Temperature
G)Nickname
H)Whether or not patient has advanced directives

Question 8

The calculated Pearson r was -0.95 in a research study on number of hours parents spent at children's sporting events and number of arrests those children had experienced by age 30. What does this Pearson r value signify?

A)No relationship
B)Weak linear relationship
C)Moderate linear relationship
D)Strong linear relationship
E)Positive relationship
F)Inverse relationship
G)Negative relationship

Question 9

The Pearson product-moment correlation for two variables, fear of embarrassment and anxiety just before making an oral presentation, is r = 0.78, with a coefficient of determination of 0.6084. This means that what percentage of anxiety just before making an oral presentation can be attributed to fear of embarrassment?

A)About 0.61%
B)About 61%
C)About 0.78%
D)About 78%

Question 10

What does bivariate correlational analysis do?

A)Provides an idea of which variable causes the other one
B)Reflects a two-way connection or pattern
C)Measures the strength of multiple relationships connected with a concept
D)Measures the strength of the relationship between two variables
E)Determines the direction of the relationship between two variables

Question 11

Which correlation coefficient shows the strongest relationship?

A)0.10
B)-0.85
C)0.80
D)-0.42

Question 12

In the results and conclusions sections of a research paper about predelinquent behavior, the researcher mentions the strong correlational relationship between the number of incidents of predelinquent behavior and the number of hours the mother works outside the home. What does the author imply by stating this?

A)Some sort of test of correlation was performed, and it reached statistical significance.
B)As number of hours worked outside the home varied, so did the frequency of incidents of predelinquent behavior.
C)Having a mother work many hours outside the home causes predelinquent behavior.
D)Incidents of predelinquent behavior cause mothers to work more and more hours outside the home.
E)As number of hours worked outside the home increased, so did the frequency of incidents of predelinquent behavior.
F)The researchers avoided a Type II error, in relation to the association between these two variables.
G)The researchers operationalized the two study variables.

Question 13

What is the connection between a scatter plot and a calculation of correlation?

A)Constructing a scatter plot allows the researcher to visualize in advance whether a calculation of linear correlation is likely to reveal a relationship between the variables.
B)Constructing a scatter plot produces a correlation coefficient, as does calculating a correlation.
C)A calculation of correlation should be performed before constructing a scatter plot, because the calculation is more scientific.
D)The scatter plot provides a visual representation of the connection between two variables; a correlational calculation provides a quantification of the connection between the same variables.
E)Just like calculation of correlation, constructing a scatter plot provides a way to quantify explained variance.

Question 14

A researcher develops a new instrument for measuring adjustment to widowhood in dependents whose spouses were killed in armed conflict. The researcher's initial instrument contains 55 items, and the researcher wants to trim these down to 25 or 30 but doesn't want to lose any of the main concepts. What method of statistical analysis will the researcher use, in order to pare this tool down to a manageable size without loss of content?

A)Kendall's tau
B)Spearman's rho
C)Linear regression analysis
D)Factor analysis