One important reason for displaying correlational data in a scatterplot prior to computing a correlation coefficient is to determine whether
A)the means for the two variables are the same.
B)the relationship between the variables is nonlinear.
C)the x- and y-axis for each variable has appropriate endpoints.
D)the causal variable is graphed on the x-axis.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A scatterplot allows us to visually inspect the relationship between two variables and determine if the relationship is linear or nonlinear. This is important because the correlation coefficient only measures linear relationships between variables, so if the relationship is nonlinear, the correlation coefficient may not accurately represent the strength or direction of the relationship. Therefore, it is important to display correlational data in a scatterplot prior to computing a correlation coefficient to ensure that the relationship between the variables is appropriately represented. The other options listed (A, C, and D) are not directly related to determining the appropriateness of a scatterplot for computing a correlation coefficient.

One Important Reason for Displaying Correlational Data in a Scatterplot