A researcher is interested in the number of days spent unemployed and feelings of efficacy related to work.She recruits 82 unemployed professionals randomly from a list provided by her community unemployment office.She computes a correlation of -0.38.What decision would this researcher make for a two-tailed hypothesis test at a p level of 0.05?
A) The test statistic is not significant so she can fail to reject the null hypothesis.
B) The test statistic is significant, so she can reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the number of days spent unemployed is positively correlated with work efficacy.
C) The test statistic is not significant but would have been had she computed a positive correlation.
D) The test statistic is significant, so she can reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the number of days spent unemployed is negatively correlated with work efficacy.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The correlation coefficient of -0.38 suggests a negative correlation between the number of days spent unemployed and work efficacy. With a p level of 0.05, a significant correlation falls below 0.05. Therefore, the test statistic is significant, and the researcher can reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the number of days spent unemployed is negatively correlated with work efficacy.

A Researcher Is Interested in the Number of Days Spent