MODULE 7 CORRELATIONAL
ANALYSIS AND LINEAR
REGRESSION (CNSL 503 PORTAGE
LEARNING STATISTICS MODULE 7
CORRELATIONAL ANALYSIS AND
LINEAR REGRESSION) WITH
CORRECT SOLUTIONS
Question: What is performed to measure and describe how
two quantitative variables are related?
Correct answer: Correlational analysis
Question: Correlational analysis is performed when variables
are observed in their ___ rather than being manipulated in a study?
Correct answer: Observed in their natural state
Question: What describes the direction of a relationship, form
of a relationship (linear, curvilinear, quadratic, or cubic), and the degree of a relationship?
Correct answer: Correlation
Question: What describes the direction of the linear
relationship between two variables?
Correct answer: Covariance
Question: If two variables covary, what two directions exist in
the plot of variables?
Correct answer: 1. Both variables increase or decrease
together. OR 2. As one variable increases the other decreases
Question: Covariance does not imply what?
Correct answer: Covariance does not imply causation
Question: What is a limitation of correlational studies, and
what is the first step in determining causality?
Correct answer: Causation, causality
Question: What are the most common ways correlations are
represented graphically?
Correct answer: Scatterplots, a graph in which two
measurements are obtained from each individual in the study and paired variable scores are plotted as coordinate pairs.
Question: In scatterplots, where is the independent variable
and where is the dependent variable?
Correct answer: In scatterplots, the independent variable is on
the x-axis and the dependent variable is on the y-axis.
Question: In scatterplots, what is the independent variable
called and what is the dependent variable called?
Correct answer: Explanatory, response
Question: What does a linear relationship describe when
plotted pairs?
Correct answer: Approximate a straight line
Question: What does a positive correlation indicate?
Correct answer: That both variables are increasing together
Question: What does a negative correlation indicate?
Correct answer: That an increase in the explanatory variable
results in a decrease in response variables
Question: What does no correlation indicate?
Correct answer: There is no relationship between two
variables, on a scatterplot points are spread out and do not resemble a straight line.
Question: When values of two variables appear to be related,
but the relationship does not follow a linear pattern, what is this called?
Correct answer: Nonlinear or curvilinear relationship (for
example exponential relationship)
Question: What measures the degree of linear relationship or
consistency of the relationship?