Margie received a marginally significant finding to her correlational study examining the relationship between wall color and participant mood. When writing up her results for publication she summarizes her efforts to say that certain colors cause better moods and other colors cause worse moods. What ethical violation has Margie committed in the explanation of her findings?
A) plagiarism
B) misrepresenting
C) omitting data points
D) nonmaleficence

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Margie has committed an ethical violation by misrepresenting her findings. A correlational study can indicate that there is a relationship between two variables, but it cannot establish causation. By stating that certain colors cause better or worse moods, she is misrepresenting the nature of her study's findings, which can only suggest a correlation, not causation.

Margie Received a Marginally Significant Finding to Her Correlational Study