Ch 7: Bivariate Correlational Research

Question 1

bivariate association

Answer 1

aka bivariate correlation; an association that involves exactly two variables

Question 2

directionality problem

Answer 2

a situation in which it is unclear which variable in an association came first

Question 3

moderator

Answer 3

a third variable that, depending on its level, changes the relationship between two other variables

Question 4

outlier

Answer 4

one or a few cases that stand out as either much higher or much lower than most of the other scores in a sample

Question 5

phi coefficient

Answer 5

a statistical test designed to evaluate the association between two categorical variables

Question 6

point-biserial correlation

Answer 6

a statistical test used for evaluating the association between one categorical variable and one quantitative variable

Question 7

spurious

Answer 7

an association that is attributable only to systematic mean differences on subgroups within the sample

Question 8

statistically significant

Answer 8

aka statistical conclusion validity; the extent to which statistical conclusions derived from a study are accurate and reasonanble

Question 9

t test

Answer 9

a statistical test used to evaluate the size and significance of the difference between two means

Question 10

third-variable problem

Answer 10

a situation in which plausible alternative explanations for a proposed causal relationship between two variables