Exam 15: Multivariate and Advanced Quantitative Methods

A third variable that is related to two other concepts/variables in a way that makes them appear to be related even in cases when they are not is called a(n)

Write 4-5 sentences in which you describe a research project that relies on a nationally representative sample to study the relationship between gender and time spent on housework.Focus primarily on the null hypothesis that this study would test and the importance of the p-value for testing the null.Be sure to identify the independent and the dependent variable (your only two variables for this example are gender and time spent on housework),and the specific null hypothesis for this example.Be sure to describe a scenario about the study's observed relationship between gender and housework that clearly illustrates the null hypothesis for this example,and identify what p-value would be required for rejecting the null.

Once a statistically significant correlation has been confirmed between an independent and dependent variable,________ are used to examine why the correlation occurs,and ________ are used to examine under what conditions the correlation occurs.

Janae has examined sample data on a possible association between age and use of online coupons,comparing those who are 65 years or older to those 64 years of age or younger.She observes a 9% difference in online coupon use by age,such that those under 65 in her sample use coupons more than those who are 65 or older.She has a p-value of 0.08,which tells her that

In sociological research,suppression is

Reverse causality is an issue that comes up when

Using an equation to express the relationship between the dependent variable and many independent variables simultaneously is a powerful feature of

Ben has used a random sample of 20,000 respondents to test the relationship between participating in a summer reading program and children's reading scores in the following academic year.He observes a modest difference in reading scores by program participation and is able to reject the null hypothesis with a p-value of 0.04.When Ben presents his findings,his colleagues question whether the difference is very meaningful.Their concerns are most likely related to the fact that

If a study uses a p-value of 0.05 to determine statistical significance,the study's results only have a 1 in 20 chance of being due to random chance.If a researcher runs a large number of analyses,however,this increases the possibility that p-values

Write 3-4 sentences explaining the difference between statistical and practical significance,including the description of a scenario (either hypothetical or one you learned about in this course)in which you could have statistical but not practical significance.In your answer,make it clear how your example demonstrates statistical and practical significance as well as the reason to be cautious about findings that are statistically,but not practically,significant.

A body of research shows that people who have been divorced have a higher risk of divorce in any future marriage with another spouse.However,rather than divorce causing additional divorces,this seems to be more about other factors,such as how tolerant people are of divorce behavior.In this case,divorce attitudes would be a confounding factor because

A researcher observes a link between his hypothesized independent variable and dependent variable.He then adds a new variable to his model that occurs after the independent variable.He is modeling this added variable as a(n)

One major reason that sociological research must consider the possible impact of confounding factors is that

Jeanette is studying the association between middle-aged adults' education level and the education level of their parents.She has access to some genetic information about both generations,and decides to control for how shared genetics might explain the relationship between the education levels of middle-aged adults and their parents.In a separate study,Bowden is analyzing whether economic resources predict elementary school students' grades indirectly through the nutritional quality of students' diets.In these two studies,shared genetics

There is a wealth of research on the U.S.population showing that people with higher incomes have longer life expectancies.However,if we include gender in the model,the story can become more complicated because men have higher average incomes than women do,but have shorter average lives than women do.Here,we can see that gender could be a suppressor variable of the relationship between income and life expectancy because

Two separate studies examine the potential association between occupation type and voter participation.The first advertises online for participants and asks those who respond to tell the researchers in-depth accounts regarding their paid work and their voting behaviors for the last three years.The second study randomly selects 200 respondents and asks them to complete a standardized set of survey questions about their paid work and voting behaviors over the past five years.The first study observes a patterned relationship between work and voting,while the second study does not.The reason the second study's results are more valid is that the

Arturo wants to use a probability sample to study the potential effects of health policies on infant mortality risk.To achieve this goal,the most important thing Arturo can do is to

A researcher examines the possible effect of single-sex high-school education on men's college grades.He provides tables of his final results,which include several p-values that are less than 0.05,but he does not describe his many preliminary analyses,nor does he ever specify which high-school type he expects to predict higher grades among male college students.The scientific community is likely to have concerns over his interpretation of the p-values primarily because the researcher

In her study of married people,Aiko finds an association between more frequent religious service participation and staying married longer.She also explores whether stronger community ties explain at least part of this association.For this example,which of the following scenarios is MOST illustrative of using a control variable in regression analysis?

Consider the relationship between education and income,such that more education is associated with higher income,on average.Identify 2-3 control variables that should be included in the study,making sure to explain why these are potentially important controls.Explain how this would specifically operate with the use of regression analysis,including the regression analysis equation as it corresponds to all the variables in your model.Finally,explain what you would look for regarding the potential of control variables on your results.