|
| |
|
Back |
Activity
Instructions:
Read the lecture material and complete the activity below. You are not
required to turn this work in, but if you have questions about the
activity, please contact the instructor
via email.
Identify the direction and all possible interpretation
of each of the following correlations. Be sure to identify each example as
positive, negative, or zero (not correlated). Then give all possible
interpretations for the results. Be cautious and wary of reaching ‘causal
conclusions’!
1. Professor Johansen finds that for every diet beverage someone drinks
during the day, the likelihood of heart attacks increases by 4 percent.
2. Margaret notices that the temperature in her office drops several
degrees from July to December. In a careful review of the budget she
discovers that the company’s utility expenses also drop from July to
December.
3. Fontaine who runs a gym has created a special exercise/weight lifting
class for women that are overweight. He finds that for two days a woman
attends the class she loses ˝ % body fat.
4. Many students in Professor Handel’s class express that they want a
review session. Professor Handel agrees to hold an open review session for
two hours the day before the exam. He then has his TA write down when each
student arrives at the session and when they depart. When the exams are
graded, Professor Handel announces there will be no more review sessions.
The longer students spent at the review session the lower their score on
the exam.
5. Over a four week period a teacher watches elementary school children
playing during recess. She counts the number of times students slide down
a recently added playground slide. As the weeks progress she sees little
change in sliding behavior over time.
6. Ariel enjoys collecting Black and Decker tools. Her garage is filled
with every gadget ever made by Black and Decker. Her neighbors knowing
this frequently borrow tools from her. Ariel notes that her neighbors are
better about returning the tools when they live on her side of the street
than when they live across the street.
Back | | |
|
