Exam 12: The Correlational Research Strategy

The results from a correlational study show a positive relationship between aggressive behavior for six-year-old children and the amount of violence they watch on television. Based on this relationship, which of the following conclusions is justified?

A researcher reports that there is no consistent relationship between grade point average and the number of hours spent studying for college students. The correlation between grade point average and the number of hours studying is an example of a ____.

With a very large sample, even a very small correlation can be statistically significant.

Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the correlational research strategy.

A college professor reports that students who finish exams early tend to get better grades than students who hold on to exams until the last possible moment. The correlation between exam score and amount of time spent on the exam is an example of a ____.

A researcher would like to examine the relationship between self-esteem and academic performance for high-school students. This researcher could use a correlational study or a(n) ____.

In a correlational study, commonly, ____.

A correlation of r = −0.90 means that there is essentially no consistent relationship between X and Y.

The correlational research strategy is often used to establish the ________ of a measurement by demonstrating that the scores from the study's test are strongly related to the scores from established tests.

When a person applies to rent a house, he/she sometimes is required to consent to a credit check along with his/her application. Landlords know that there is a relationship between credit score and likelihood of paying rent on time. In this situation, paying rent on time is best characterized as the ____ variable.

Dr. Jones hopes to demonstrate that children who eat a more nutritious breakfast also tend to have more academic success than their peers. If this result is obtained, then ____ would be the predictor variable and ____ would be the criterion variable for the study.

The goal of the correlational research strategy is to ____.

In correlational studies, the consistency of a relationship is typically measured and described by the numerical value obtained for a ____.

Which pair of variables should produce a negative relationship?

Regression is the statistical process for _____.

The Spearman correlation is used when both scores are _____.

A researcher conducts a survey examining eating and sleeping behavior as well as academic performance for a group of elementary school children. The results of the survey indicate that the children who eat a more nutritious breakfast tend to have better grades than the children who have a breakfast low in nutrition. However, the research suspects that the children's parents may be responsible for this relationship. Specifically, the better-educated parents probably encourage their children to eat better food and work harder in school compared to parents with less education. If the researcher is correct, this is an example of the ____.

What is indicated by a negative correlation between grade point average and the number of hours spent studying for a sample of college students?

A Pearson correlation of r = −1.00 means that all the data points fit perfectly on a straight line.

In a scatter plot, each ____.