Deck 12: Understanding Research Results: Description and Correlation

Question 1

Three celebrity judges rank the finalists of a reality show based on their musical talents. The judges rank the contestants in the order of the most talented to the least talented. Which type of measurement scale does this scenario exemplify?

A)Ratio
B)Interval
C)Ordinal
D)Nominal

Answer 1

C

Question 2

When a line graph is employed to represent the number of subjects who received each possible score on a variable, the graph is called a _____.

A)pie chart
B)frequency polygon
C)histogram
D)bar graph

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following examples best represents the use of an interval scale?

A)Ranking the participants of a race based on their performance
B)Assessing students' ratings of their professors' performance on a five-point scale ranging from poor to excellent
C)Measuring the number of boxes of cookies sold by scouts on the west side of a town versus those sold on the east side of the town
D)Naming the different brands of cars seen in a school's parking lot

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following statements is true about ratio scales?

A)They do not have equal intervals.
B)They have an absolute zero point.
C)They exhibit minimal quantitative distinctions.
D)They are typically used to measure personality traits.

Question 5

A professor at a university ranks subjects based on students' preferences identified through a survey. He ranks science first, mathematics second, and management third. What type of measurement scale has the professor employed?

A)Nominal
B)Ordinal
C)Interval
D)Ratio

Question 6

Researchers studying the effectiveness of a diet on heart disease divided the study's participants into two groups-those with Type A personalities and those with Type B personalities. Which scale of measurement characterizes these personality variables?

A)Nominal
B)Ordinal
C)Interval
D)Ratio

Question 7

Which of the following scales of measurement lacks numeric properties?

A)Nominal
B)Ordinal
C)Interval
D)Ratio

Question 8

A researcher asks students to rate their feeling toward an increase in tuition on a seven-point scale ranging from "opposed" to "in favor of." Which type of measurement scale has the researcher used?

A)Nominal
B)Ordinal
C)Interval
D)Ratio

Question 9

Craig examines the effect of different genres of music, such as jazz, rock, rap, on task performance. Which type of measurement scale do the genres of music represent?

A)Ratio
B)Interval
C)Ordinal
D)Nominal

Question 10

At the beginning of the season, a sports writer predicts the teams that will finish in the top three places in the eastern, central, and western divisions. In this scenario, which type of measurement scale is the sports writer likely to have used?

A)Nominal
B)Ordinal
C)Interval
D)Ratio

Question 11

When graphically depicting frequency distributions, a _____ uses bars to display a frequency distribution for a quantitative variable.

A)polygon
B)histogram
C)pie chart
D)bar graph

Question 12

An interval scale is preferable to an ordinal scale because:

A)it has an absolute zero point.
B)it rank orders individuals on some characteristic.
C)it allows for more sophisticated statistical treatments.
D)it allows the measurement of individual differences.

Question 13

Which of the following is one of the three basic ways of describing results of research investigations?

A)Graphing relationships between variables
B)Making precise statements about data correlating the scores of individuals on two variables
C)Comparing group percentages
D)Comparing variable quantities

Question 14

The difference between an interval and a ratio scale is that a ratio scale _____, while an interval scale does not.

A)uses equal intervals
B)has an absolute zero
C)indicates order
D)gives numerical information

Question 15

A teacher displays her students' test grades on a notice board. As per the results, seven students received grade A, 10 students received grade B, 18 students received grade C, four students received grade D, and one student received grade E. In statistical terms, this is a _____.

A)measure of central tendency
B)measure of variability
C)frequency distribution
D)correlation table

Question 16

When studying the effect of temperature on the sale of ice cream, a researcher records the number of ice cream cones sold on cold days versus those sold on hot days. In this case, the researcher would most likely compare _____ to describe the results.

A)group percentages
B)group means
C)estimated scores
D)frequency polygons

Question 17

The principal of a school conducts a survey to compare the number of third grade and sixth grade students who buy their lunch at school. The most appropriate way to describe the results of this survey would be to compare:

A)group percentages.
B)frequency polygons.
C)group means.
D)items purchased.

Question 18

A researcher measures the time taken by subjects to press a button following a signal. This measure is an example of a(n) _____ scale.

A)nominal
B)ratio
C)ordinal
D)interval

Question 19

Which of the following statements is true about bar graphs?

A)They divide a whole circle, or "pie," into "slices" that represent relative percentages.
B)They use bars to display a frequency distribution for a quantitative variable.
C)They use a separate and distinct bar for each piece of information.
D)They use a line to represent the distribution of frequencies of scores.

Question 20

Variables with _____ scale levels exhibit minimal quantitative distinctions.

A)random
B)interval
C)ordinal
D)ratio

Question 21

The measure of central tendency that reflects the most frequent score is the _____.

A)mean
B)median
C)mode
D)meridian

Question 22

Which of the following is a measure of central tendency?

A)Frequency distribution
B)Median
C)Meridian
D)Standard deviation

Question 23

The _____ of a set of scores is obtained by adding all the scores and dividing by the number of scores.

A)mean
B)mode
C)median
D)standard deviation

Question 24

The grades received by 10 college sophomores in a test are A, B, D, A, A, A, C, B, C, and A. From this data, it can be inferred that the mode is _____.

A)C
B)A
C)D
D)B

Question 25

A correlation coefficient is always used _____.

A)to describe the strength of the relationship between two variables
B)when the design of a study utilizes a correlational method
C)to determine the significance of statistical analyses
D)when data is collected using a nominal scale

Question 26

The _____ is an appropriate indicator of central tendency only when scores are measured on an interval or ratio scale.

A)mean
B)median
C)mode
D)meridian

Question 27

Which of the following statements is true about standard deviation?

A)The standard deviation tells one what the sample as a whole, or on the average, is like.
B)The standard deviation is calculated by multiplying the variance of given data with its range.
C)The standard deviation becomes larger as more people have scores that lie farther from the mean value.
D)The standard deviation is simply the difference between the highest score and the lowest score.

Question 28

The standard deviation would be an appropriate measure of variability only if the variable is measured on:

A)nominal and ratio scales.
B)ordinal and nominal scales.
C)interval and ratio scales.
D)optimal and interval scales.

Question 29

Which of the following would be an appropriate measure of central tendency to summarize data on an ordinal scale?

A)Mean
B)Median
C)Mode
D)Meridian

Question 30

A teacher displays the results of a test on a notice board. As per the results, half the students scored more than 70 percent in the test, while the remaining scored less than 70 percent. Which measure of central tendency does this scenario represent?

A)Mean
B)Mode
C)Median
D)Meridian

Question 31

Which of the following statements is true of the correlation coefficient?

A)It is a statistic that indicates the amount of spread in a distribution of scores.
B)It is a measure of central tendency.
C)It is a measure of variability.
D)It is a statistic that describes how strongly variables are related to one another.

Question 32

A measure of _____ is a number that characterizes the amount of spread in a distribution of scores.

A)central tendency
B)effect size
C)correlation
D)variability

Question 33

Which of the following is a common manipulation used by scientists and advertisers when representing data on a bar graph?

A)The independent variable is represented on the vertical axis instead of the horizontal axis.
B)The dependent variable is represented on the horizontal axis instead of the vertical axis.
C)The distance between points on the measurement scale is exaggerated to make the results appear more dramatic than they are.
D)The data is presented using only bar graphs and histograms to exaggerate the difference between the variables.

Question 34

Which of the following statistical measures indicates the average deviation of scores from the mean?

A)Linearity deviation
B)Median
C)Standard deviation
D)Central tendency

Question 35

The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient:

A)is called the Pearson c.
B)is used when both variables have ordinal or nominal scale properties.
C)provides information about the strength of a relationship.
D)does not indicate the direction of a relationship.

Question 36

Which of the following is a measure of variability?

A)Mode
B)Mean
C)Range
D)Standard deviation

Question 37

Which of the following would be an appropriate measure of central tendency to summarize data on a nominal scale?

A)Mean
B)Median
C)Mode
D)Standard deviation

Question 38

The scores obtained by five college students in a test are 25, 25, 30, 35, and 40. What is the mean for this set of scores?

A)34
B)25
C)31
D)40

Question 39

The _____ is a measure of variability that is simply the difference between the highest score and the lowest score.

A)variance
B)standard deviation
C)median
D)range

Question 40

Workers at an automobile repair shop report that half of the automobiles they repair have a resale value below $8000. In this example, which measure of central tendency does the $8000 represent?

A)Mean
B)Mode
C)Median
D)Meridian

Question 41

A regression equation is used to:

A)determine the strength of the relationship between X and Y.
B)determine the causal relationship between X and Y.
C)predict a score for Y from a known score of X.
D)predict the difference between the scores of X and Y.

Question 42

In the context of effect size, the r² value is sometimes referred to as the:

A)range of possible values that is restricted.
B)magnitude of the correlation coefficient.
C)percent of shared variance between the two variables.
D)difference between the highest score and the lowest score.

Question 43

In assessing the relationship between variable X and variable Y, the squared value of the correlation coefficient (r²) is sometimes reported. This value represents:

A)the degree of variability in variable X.
B)the degree of variability in variable Y.
C)the effect size of the variables.
D)the percent of variability in Y that can be accounted for by X.

Question 44

After establishing that there is a reasonably high correlation between two variables, a researcher can utilize a regression equation to make predictions about the _____ variable from the _____ variable.

A)predictor; criterion
B)criterion; predictor
C)independent; dependent
D)dependent; independent

Question 45

A correlation of 0.00 indicates that _____.

A)the variables are dependent on each other
B)the variables are inversely proportional to each other
C)there is a decrease in the value of the variables
D)there is no relationship between the variables

Question 46

What happens when a correlation is nearer to 1.00 (plus or minus)?

A)The relationship between the variables becomes stronger.
B)The relationship between the variables remains constant in terms of its strength.
C)The variables become interdependent of each other.
D)The relationship between the variables is terminated.

Question 47

With respect to Pearson r, the absolute size of r is the coefficient that indicates the:

A)direction of the relationship between two variables.
B)measurement scale that applies to two variables.
C)curvilinear relationship between two variables.
D)strength of the relationship between two variables.

Question 48

Which of the following statements is true about effect size?

A)It is a statistic that describes how strongly variables are related to one another.
B)It is the difference between the highest and lowest value of a variable.
C)It ranges from 0.00 to 1.00, irrespective of the variables used.
D)It occurs when the individuals in a sample are very similar on the variable being studied.

Question 49

Anastasia finds the relationship between alcohol consumption and reaction time as -.63. However, the relationship between coffee consumption and reaction time is +.52. What can she conclude from this data?

A)The relationship between alcohol consumption and reaction time is weaker than the relationship between coffee consumption and reaction time.
B)The relationship between alcohol consumption and reaction time is stronger than the relationship between coffee consumption and reaction time.
C)The direction of the relationship between alcohol consumption and reaction time is approximately the same as that of the relationship between coffee consumption and reaction time.
D)The direction of the relationship between alcohol consumption and reaction time cannot be compared to that of the relationship between coffee consumption and reaction time.

Question 50

A correlation coefficient can be used when both variables use:

A)different scales of measurement.
B)nominal scale properties.
C)interval or ratio scale properties.
D)ordinal and interval scale properties.

Question 51

In the general form of a regression equation given by Y = a + bX, the letter X represents _____.

A)the score we wish to predict
B)the known score
C)a weighting adjustment factor
D)a constant

Question 52

_____ are calculations used to predict a person's score on one variable when that person's score on another variable is already known.

A)Regression Equations
B)Linear equations
C)Frequency distributions
D)Standard deviations

Question 53

_____ refers to the strength of association between variables.

A)Statistical index
B)Effect size
C)Standard deviation
D)Linear degree

Question 54

How does restricting the range of a variable affect the correlation coefficient?

A)It improves the correlation coefficient.
B)It reduces the magnitude of the correlation coefficient.
C)It has no effect on the correlation coefficient.
D)It changes the direction of the correlation coefficient.

Question 55

In a perfect positive relationship between two variables, the:

A)score on one variable enables predicting an individual's score on the other variable.
B)correlation coefficient would range between -1.0 and +1.0.
C)scores on one variable will be the same as the scores on the other variable.
D)correlation coefficient would be nearer to -1.0.

Question 56

Latifah measures the height of four- and five-year-olds. To her surprise, she finds no correlation between height and age. What is most likely responsible for this result?

A)Correlational methods cannot be used to calculate age and height.
B)A curvilinear relationship exists between the variables.
C)The range of the variables has been restricted.
D)The variability in the sample will not allow the accurate calculation of a correlation coefficient.

Question 57

The advantage of reporting effect size is that it:

A)tells us what the sample as a whole, or on the average, is like.
B)can be represented on a pie chart.
C)is more accurate than the correlation coefficient.
D)provides a scale of values that is consistent across all types of studies.

Question 58

In the context of correlation coefficients, which of the following problems occurs when the individuals in a sample are very similar on the variable the researcher is studying?

A)Restriction of range
B)Measurement error
C)Temporal precedence
D)Central tendency

Question 59

The general form of a regression equation is _____.

A)X = Y + ab
B)XY = a + b
C)Y = a + bX
D)ab = X + Y

Question 60

The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r) does not detect:

A)curvilinear relationships.
B)positive linear relationships.
C)negative linear relationships.
D)instances of no relationship.

Question 61

A researcher would employ structural equation modeling because:

A)it is the only appropriate statistical technique that provides a way of statistically controlling third variables.
B)it allows a researcher to test how well data fits a theoretical model that describes the relationship among variables.
C)it allows the researcher to describe how strongly different variables are related to one another.
D)it is the method that helps predict future behavior based on a person's score on some other variable.

Question 62

Which of the following statements is true about structural equation models?

A)They are developed after the data is analyzed and interpreted.
B)They are expected patterns of relationships among a set of variables.
C)They can only be used to explain the results of laboratory experiments.
D)They can only be used to explain the results of field experiments.

Question 63

Which of the following is a technique that provides a way of statistically controlling third variables?

A)Criterion assessment
B)Frequency distribution
C)Multiple correlation
D)Partial correlation

Question 64

A researcher obtains a -.87 correlation between the age of job applicants and their likelihood to be hired. However, she thinks that job skills may be an important influence. In this case, she should calculate:

A)correlation coefficient between age and hiring likelihood.
B)interrater reliability coefficient.
C)partial correlation coefficient.
D)standard deviation of the values of the variables.

Question 65

A multiple correlation is the correlation between a combined set of _____ variables and a single _____ variable.

A)interval; ratio
B)ratio; interval
C)predictor; criterion
D)criterion; predictor

Question 66

Which of the following is an accurate statement about structural equation models (SEM)?

A)They allow researchers to compare two competing models.
B)They help in eradicating the third-variable problem in nonexperimental research.
C)They can only be represented in a histogram.
D)They allow researchers to easily calculate the variance of a set of scores.

Question 67

The general form of a regression equation is Y = a + bX. In this equation, Y is the score we wish to predict and X is the known score. What is "a"?

A)It is a constant.
B)It is a weighting adjustment factor that is multiplied by X.
C)It is the slope of the line created with this equation.
D)It is the difference between X and Y.

Question 68

Which of the following statements is true about path coefficients?

A)They define how variables are causally related to one another.
B)They indicate the strength of a relationship on the -1.00 to +1.00 scale.
C)They determine how much variability exists in a set of scores.
D)They indicate the number of individuals who receive each possible score on a variable.

Question 69

When researchers are interested in predicting some future behavior based on a person's score on some other variable, they should:

A)construct several criterion variables.
B)construct a scatterplot in addition to looking at the magnitude of the correlation coefficient.
C)demonstrate that there is a reasonably high correlation between the criterion and predictor variables.
D)demonstrate that the correlation coefficient of the known and the unknown variable is closer to -1.00.

Question 70

A researcher finds that the correlation between two variables is +.63, but this correlation drops to +.20 when a third variable is partialed out. In this case, the researcher should conclude that the third variable:

A)is not a factor in the correlation.
B)increases the accuracy of prediction.
C)is responsible for the original correlation between the variables.
D)does not influence the relationship between the two variables.

Question 71

A professional baseball scout uses the batting average, on-base percentage, throwing ability, and running speed of amateur baseball players to predict their success as professional baseball players. This strategy is an example of using _____ as a predictor of the likelihood of success.

A)effect size
B)multiple correlation
C)practicality assessment
D)criterion variable assessment

Question 72

Multiple correlation is a technique for:

A)increasing the accuracy of prediction.
B)multiplying correlation coefficients.
C)making measures more reliable.
D)increasing the values of independent variables.

Question 73

Maria had to take an aptitude test before starting graduate school. In this scenario, the criterion variable will be Maria's _____.

A)appearance and personality
B)expected ability to get along with her fellow students
C)score on the aptitude test
D)expected performance as a student in graduate school

Question 74

Sumaira took an aptitude test for a position with Accountants Unlimited. She was hired the following week. In this scenario, the predictor variable is Sumaira's _____.

A)appearance and personality
B)expected ability to get along with her fellow employees
C)score on the aptitude test
D)expected performance as an accountant