A consistent finding in criminology literature is that there is an association between race and type of arrest (e.g. robbery, assault, homicide, etc.). This finding is reviewed by the criminal justice department at a university. Some believe that theses results are due to institutional discrimination, while others believe that it depends on the demographic characteristics of an area. What statisitc can test a hypothesis that states there is an association between race and type of arrest?

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A chi-square test can be used to test the hypothesis that there is an association between two categorical variables, such as race (a categorical variable) and type of arrest (also a categorical variable). The results can help determine if there is a significant association between the two variables, and if so, the strength and direction of this association. Standard deviation, t-tests, and tests of variance are not appropriate for testing this type of hypothesis.

A Consistent Finding in Criminology Literature Is That There Is