Unit 5: Correlation and Regression - Practice Quiz

MGN206 — Research Methodology 60 Questions
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1 Which assumption states that the relationship between two variables should follow approximately a straight line?

Assumption of Correlation Easy
A. Normality
B. Linearity
C. Independence
D. Homogeneity

2 Which type of variables is generally appropriate for Pearson correlation?

Assumption of Correlation Easy
A. Text categories
B. Binary labels
C. Nominal variables
D. Continuous variables

3 Which feature of a dataset can strongly distort the value of Pearson correlation?

Assumption of Correlation Easy
A. Extreme outliers
B. Equal sample labels
C. Clear variable names
D. Ordered data rows

4 What does the independence assumption require in correlation analysis?

Assumption of Correlation Easy
A. Each sample has zero variation
B. Each score has the same rank
C. Each observation is independent
D. Each variable has equal values

5 What does Pearson's correlation coefficient measure?

Pearson Correlation Easy
A. A linear relationship
B. A frequency distribution
C. A change in ranks
D. A difference in means

6 What is the possible range of Pearson's correlation coefficient ?

Pearson Correlation Easy
A. to
B. to
C. to
D. to

7 What does a Pearson correlation of indicate?

Pearson Correlation Easy
A. No linear correlation
B. Perfect negative correlation
C. Weak positive correlation
D. Perfect positive correlation

8 What does a Pearson correlation close to generally indicate?

Pearson Correlation Easy
A. Little linear relationship
B. Strong linear relationship
C. Perfect positive relationship
D. Perfect negative relationship

9 Spearman correlation is calculated primarily using what type of information?

Spearman Correlation Easy
A. Variances of values
B. Frequencies of values
C. Means of values
D. Ranks of values

10 Which symbol is commonly used for Spearman's rank correlation coefficient?

Spearman Correlation Easy
A.
B.
C.
D.

11 Spearman correlation is most suitable for measuring which type of relationship?

Spearman Correlation Easy
A. Causal relationship
B. Monotonic relationship
C. Experimental relationship
D. Random relationship

12 When is Spearman correlation often preferred over Pearson correlation?

Spearman Correlation Easy
A. When data are identifiers
B. When data are file names
C. When data are unrecorded
D. When data are ordinal

13 What is the main purpose of regression analysis?

Concepts of Regression Easy
A. Ranking all observations
B. Predicting an outcome
C. Naming each variable
D. Counting missing labels

14 In regression, what is the variable being predicted called?

Concepts of Regression Easy
A. Dependent variable
B. Control variable
C. Independent variable
D. Grouping variable

15 In regression, what is an independent variable also commonly called?

Concepts of Regression Easy
A. Outcome variable
B. Error variable
C. Predictor variable
D. Response variable

16 What is a residual in a regression model?

Concepts of Regression Easy
A. Maximum value minus minimum value
B. Sample mean minus observed value
C. Observed value minus predicted value
D. Predicted value minus sample mean

17 Which equation represents a simple linear regression model?

Linear Regression Analysis Easy
A.
B.
C.
D.

18 In the equation , what does represent?

Linear Regression Analysis Easy
A. Slope of the line
B. Mean of the outcome
C. Intercept of the line
D. Range of the predictor

19 In the equation , what does represent?

Linear Regression Analysis Easy
A. Value of when
B. Value of when
C. Difference between observed and predicted
D. Change in for one unit of

20 What does a positive slope in a linear regression model indicate?

Linear Regression Analysis Easy
A. remains constant as increases
B. tends to decrease as increases
C. and have no measured values
D. tends to increase as increases

21 A researcher wants to examine the correlation between study hours and examination scores using Pearson correlation. Which assumption should be checked first to ensure that the relationship is suitable for this analysis?

Assumption of Correlation Medium
A. The variables have nominal categories
B. The variables have identical means
C. The sample contains equal groups
D. The variables have a linear relationship

22 A scatterplot shows that most observations follow a linear pattern, but one extreme observation lies far from the remaining points. What is the main concern before calculating Pearson correlation?

Assumption of Correlation Medium
A. The presence of a possible influential outlier
B. The presence of too many observations
C. The use of a continuous measurement scale
D. The absence of a dependent variable

23 Which situation most clearly violates the assumption of independence of observations in a correlation study?

Assumption of Correlation Medium
A. Measuring the same participants at several time points
B. Using scores obtained from different individuals
C. Collecting data from participants selected randomly
D. Measuring two variables for each participant once

24 A researcher records income in highly unequal groups and finds a strongly skewed distribution. Which action is most appropriate before using Pearson correlation?

Assumption of Correlation Medium
A. Delete all observations above the median
B. Replace income with participant identification numbers
C. Assume skewness has no effect on the analysis
D. Inspect the data and consider a suitable transformation

25 A study reports between stress level and sleep quality. What is the best interpretation?

Pearson Correlation Medium
A. There is a weak positive linear association
B. There is no relationship between the variables
C. Stress directly causes poor sleep quality
D. There is a strong negative linear association

26 If the Pearson correlation between two variables is , approximately what proportion of variance is shared by the variables?

Pearson Correlation Medium
A. 94 percent
B. 60 percent
C. 6 percent
D. 36 percent

27 A correlation of is found between two variables in a large sample, with a statistically significant -value. What conclusion is most appropriate?

Pearson Correlation Medium
A. The variables must have a perfect linear relationship
B. The result proves that one variable causes the other
C. The association is strong because the result is significant
D. The association is statistically detectable but practically weak

28 When every observed value of variable is multiplied by 10, while the values of remain unchanged, what happens to Pearson's correlation?

Pearson Correlation Medium
A. Its value becomes one-tenth as large
B. Its value remains unchanged
C. Its value changes from positive to negative
D. Its value becomes 10 times larger

29 A scatterplot forms a clear U-shaped pattern, but the Pearson correlation is close to zero. What does this result suggest?

Pearson Correlation Medium
A. The variables may have a nonlinear relationship
B. The variables have a strong negative relationship
C. The Pearson coefficient must have been calculated incorrectly
D. The variables are measured without error

30 A researcher collects customer satisfaction ratings on an ordered scale from 1 to 5 and wants to assess whether satisfaction increases with service quality. Which correlation is most suitable?

Spearman Correlation Medium
A. A point-biserial correlation
B. Spearman rank correlation
C. Pearson correlation only
D. A phi coefficient

31 Two participants receive the same rank for a variable because they have equal scores. How should this tied rank generally be assigned?

Spearman Correlation Medium
A. The lower rank assigned to both participants
B. A randomly selected rank for each participant
C. The average of the ranks they would occupy
D. The higher rank assigned to both participants

32 A Spearman correlation of is obtained between two rankings. What does this indicate?

Spearman Correlation Medium
A. A strong inverse monotonic association
B. A perfect absence of association
C. A strong causal effect of one ranking
D. A weak direct monotonic association

33 Which data pattern is especially appropriate for Spearman correlation rather than Pearson correlation?

Spearman Correlation Medium
A. A single variable measured without any variation
B. Two nominal variables with unrelated categories
C. A monotonic relationship with substantial outliers
D. A perfectly linear relationship with no outliers

34 In a regression model predicting exam score from study hours, which variable is the predictor?

Concepts of Regression Medium
A. The residual error
B. Study hours
C. The sample size
D. Exam score

35 What does a residual represent in a regression model?

Concepts of Regression Medium
A. The total variation in the predictor
B. The slope divided by the intercept
C. The predicted value minus the sample mean
D. The observed value minus its predicted value

36 A regression model has an value of . What does this value indicate?

Concepts of Regression Medium
A. The model predicts 49 individual observations correctly
B. The model has an error rate of exactly 49 percent
C. The correlation between variables must be
D. The model explains 49 percent of outcome variance

37 Why is extrapolating far beyond the observed range of a predictor potentially risky?

Concepts of Regression Medium
A. The residuals are always eliminated beyond the range
B. The relationship may not continue outside the observed range
C. The dependent variable becomes categorical outside the range
D. The regression slope automatically becomes zero

38 A fitted regression equation is . What is the predicted value of when ?

Linear Regression Analysis Medium
A. 16
B. 36
C. 24
D. 20

39 In the equation , what does the slope indicate?

Linear Regression Analysis Medium
A. Predicted increases by 2 for each unit increase in
B. Predicted decreases by 2 for each unit increase in
C. Predicted equals 18 for every value of
D. Predicted decreases by 18 for each unit increase in

40 A regression analysis produces residuals that become larger as the predicted values increase. Which assumption may be violated?

Linear Regression Analysis Medium
A. The assumption that all predictors are identical
B. The assumption that the outcome is categorical
C. The assumption that the slope is positive
D. The assumption of constant error variance

41 A researcher obtains a Pearson correlation of between continuous variables and . Under which additional condition does this result imply that and are statistically independent?

Assumption of Correlation Hard
A. The relationship is homoscedastic around both means
B. The variables follow a joint bivariate normal distribution
C. The sample contains more than 30 observations
D. The variables have equal marginal variances

42 A scatterplot shows a strong U-shaped relationship between and , but Pearson's correlation is approximately zero. Which interpretation is most appropriate?

Assumption of Correlation Hard
A. There is no systematic association between the variables
B. The association is strong but not adequately summarized by a linear coefficient
C. The association must result from heteroscedastic measurement error
D. The correlation is invalid because both variables must be ordinal

43 In a study of blood pressure and age, each participant contributes four repeated measurements, but all measurements are analyzed as independent pairs. What is the most likely consequence for conventional correlation inference?

Assumption of Correlation Hard
A. The estimated correlation is forced toward exactly zero
B. The coefficient becomes identical to a partial correlation
C. The standard error increases because the sample variance vanishes
D. The standard error may be underestimated because observations are dependent

44 A population has a linear positive relationship between aptitude and performance. A study includes only applicants whose aptitude scores fall in the top 5%. Assuming no other selection mechanism, what is the most likely effect on the observed Pearson correlation?

Assumption of Correlation Hard
A. It is generally inflated because extreme performance scores remain observable
B. It becomes negative because aptitude has been conditioned on
C. It is unchanged because correlation is invariant to sample selection
D. It is generally attenuated because the range of aptitude is restricted

45 Suppose , , and . What is the partial correlation ?

Pearson Correlation Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

46 For independent pairs, a sample Pearson correlation is . Under the null hypothesis , what is the corresponding statistic?

Pearson Correlation Hard
A. with degrees of freedom
B. with degrees of freedom
C. with degrees of freedom
D. with degrees of freedom

47 If and , and , what is ?

Pearson Correlation Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

48 Two equally sized groups each have internally. Group 1 has means and Group 2 has means . What can occur when the groups are pooled?

Pearson Correlation Hard
A. The pooled correlation must be negative because variances increase
B. The pooled correlation must remain exactly zero
C. The pooled correlation is undefined because group membership is categorical
D. The pooled correlation can be positive because group means covary

49 For five untied pairs, the differences between corresponding ranks are . What is Spearman's rank correlation?

Spearman Correlation Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

50 In a dataset with tied observations, which procedure correctly computes Spearman's correlation?

Spearman Correlation Hard
A. Assign arbitrary distinct ranks and apply the untied shortcut
B. Remove every tied observation and correlate the remaining ranks
C. Assign minimum ranks and divide the result by the number of ties
D. Assign average ranks and compute Pearson correlation of those ranks

51 Suppose for observations having distinct values, with no measurement error. Which pair of correlations is most plausible?

Spearman Correlation Hard
A. and Spearman's may be below
B. and Pearson's may be below
C. and Spearman's must equal
D. and Pearson's must equal

52 The observed Spearman correlation between and is . Every value is transformed using , where all , and every value using . What is the new Spearman correlation?

Spearman Correlation Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

53 The correlation between and is , with and . What is the least-squares slope when regressing on ?

Concepts of Regression Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

54 Let be the slope from regressing on , and the slope from regressing on . If both variables have positive variance, which identity is correct?

Concepts of Regression Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

55 A regression of examination score on study time gives a slope of . Which statement is justified by this coefficient alone?

Concepts of Regression Hard
A. A one-hour difference predicts a -point conditional mean difference
B. Every student gains exactly points after one extra hour
C. Study time explains of the variance in examination score
D. Each additional study hour causes a -point increase

56 A simple regression of on has a positive slope, but after controlling for , the coefficient of becomes negative. Which explanation is most defensible?

Concepts of Regression Hard
A. The negative coefficient proves that has no association with the outcome
B. The original positive slope must have resulted solely from rounding error
C. The sign change proves that ordinary least squares failed numerically
D. The marginal and conditional associations differ because is related to both variables

57 In a simple linear regression with an intercept, , , and the estimated slope is . What is the estimated intercept?

Linear Regression Analysis Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

58 A simple linear regression with an intercept has total sum of squares and residual sum of squares . If the estimated slope is negative, what are and the sample correlation ?

Linear Regression Analysis Hard
A. and
B. and
C. and
D. and

59 A fitted model is . A researcher replaces with and refits the same observations. What fitted equation results?

Linear Regression Analysis Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

60 An observation in a simple linear regression has an extreme value, a small residual under the fitted model, and the fitted slope changes substantially when it is removed. How should the observation be characterized?

Linear Regression Analysis Hard
A. It has high leverage and is influential despite its small residual
B. It has low leverage and cannot affect the fitted slope materially
C. It violates normality but cannot alter coefficient estimates
D. It is necessarily an outlier in because its residual is small