A sociologist has been studying college instructors and is especially interested in those instructors who teach night classes. He has been collecting data for years. Some of the variables are the course grade from the student evaluations, the number of students who take the course, the age of the instructor, the income of the instructor, the field of the course (social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, music/arts), the highest level of education the instructor has completed (Bachelor, Master, Ph.D.). The sociologist has looked at relationships between many of the variables and tested if there were differences between the different fields. The only difference that was found to be significant was the mean age of social science instructors and the mean age of natural science instructors. What is most likely the cause of this one significant result?

Question

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Data snooping occurs when a researcher looks at or tests a large number of hypotheses without proper statistical control, leading to a higher chance of finding at least one statistically significant result by chance. In this case, the sociologist tested many different relationships and differences, which increases the likelihood of finding a significant result due to chance, rather than a true underlying effect.

A Sociologist Has Been Studying College Instructors and Is Especially