Quarterly figures for e-commerce retail sales were obtained from the first quarter of 2001 through the fourth quarter of 2007. A regression model was estimated to describe the trend in e-commerce retail sales over time. Suppose that for the regression model estimated using the data described, the Durbin-Watson statistic was calculated as 1.727. Using α = 0.01 we can conclude that
A) There is evidence of positive autocorrelation.
B) There is evidence of negative autocorrelation.
C) There is no evidence of positive or negative autocorrelation.
D) There is evidence of an outlier.
E) The test is inconclusive.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Durbin-Watson statistic tests for autocorrelation in the residuals of a regression model. The statistic ranges from 0 to 4, where a value of 2 indicates no autocorrelation, a value less than 2 suggests positive autocorrelation, and a value greater than 2 suggests negative autocorrelation. We can conclude that there is no evidence of positive or negative autocorrelation at a significance level of 0.01, since 1.727 falls between the lower and upper critical values for the test.

Quarterly Figures for E-Commerce Retail Sales Were Obtained from the First