An observational study found a statistically significant relationship between an explanatory variable and a response variable that surprised the researchers. If you wanted to explore possible explanations, which of the following pieces of information would not be useful?
A) How many different relationships were tested in the study and how many were statistically significant.
B) How large the sample size was for the study.
C) Whether it was a case-control study or not.
D) A confidence interval for the relative risk.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The type of observational study (case-control or not) does not directly impact the interpretation of a statistically significant relationship between variables. The other options (A, B, D) provide information about the reliability and context of the statistical findings, such as the potential for multiple comparisons, the power of the study, and the precision of the estimated effect size.

An Observational Study Found a Statistically Significant Relationship Between an Explanatory