Discussion Week 7

1. Give an example of how you may use correlation or simple regression to examine the
relationship between two variables in your area of interest. State a null and alternative
hypothesis and clearly define your variables.

Correlation and regression are the most commonly used techniques for studying the
relationship between two quantitative variables. Correlation quantifies the amount of strength
of the linear relationship between two variables, whereas regression indicates the relationship
in the form of an equation.
My area of interest is to study the relationship between homeless population and crime rate.
The two variables used in this study are homeless population and crime rate. Both variables
are measured on ratio scale. It is generally observed that both tend to be high or low in the
same locations. The null and alternate hypothesis for this study will be as follows.
H0: There is significant correlation between homeless population and crime rate.
H1: There is significant correlation between homeless populations and crime rate.


2. Present the results of part of your application assignment (the correlation between GPA and
total and the regression predicting exam score using anxiety) using APA format in
accordance with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and the
Study Notes. State null and alternative hypotheses and do not forget about effect size.

H0: There is no significant correlation between GPA and total points earned on exam.
H1: There is significant correlation between GPA and total points earned on exam.

The correlation analysis indicates that there is a significant correlation between variables
GPA and total Score (r = 0.432, n = 105, p < .001). The coefficient of determination is r
2
=
0.187, which indicates 18.7 % variation in GPA is explained by total score. Thus, we reject
the null hypothesis of no significant correlation between GPA and total score.
Hence, we conclude that there exists a significant positive correlation between GPA and total
score.
Linear regression analysis is used to test the significance of effect of anxiety on exam score.
Seventy-three students were measured for anxiety during exam period, using a scale of 1 to
10 to indicate no stress to severe stress. Students participated in a 100-point exam. The linear
and quadratic regression equations to predict exam scores based on known anxiety scores are
as follows:

Linear Regression Equation:
Exam Score (Predicted) = 64.247 + 2.818 * Anxiety
Quadratic Regression Equation:
Exam Score (Predicted) = 30.377+18.926*Anxiety 1.521 *(Anxiety)
2

The coefficient of determination for linear regression equation is r
2
= 0.238 indicating that
23.8% variation in dependent variable (exam score) is explained by independent variable
(anxiety). The model given by linear regression is significant (F (1, 71) =22.186, p < .001).
The coefficient of determination for quadratic regression equation is r
2
= 0.641 indicating
that 64% variation in exam score is explained by quadratic model. The model given by
quadratic regression is significant (F (2, 70) = 62.525, p < 0.001)
The table 1shows the predicted exam scores using linear and quadratic regression equations.
Table 1
Predicted Scores using Linear and Quadratic Regression Equation

Subject
#
Anxiety
Score
Predicted Linear
Score
Predicted Quadratic
Score
Actual Exam
Score
5 3 72.70 73.47 70
13 4 75.52 81.75 82
42 6.5 82.56 89.13 98
45 1.5 68.47 55.34 79


3. You were assigned a specific topic related to simple regression to describe as your quarterly
question. Please do that here.
Quarterly Question:
What is the measure of effect size for a correlation coefficient and how is it calculated?

Pearsons correlation coefficient can be used as an index of effect size. This index ranges
between -1 to +1. This coefficient indicates the degree that low or high scores on one variable
tend to go with low or high scores on another variable [Gravetter, F. J, 2009]. The values of
correlation coefficients of 0.10, 0.30, and 0.50 irrespective of sign are interpreted as small,
medium and large coefficients respectively. We can square the correlation coefficient to
interpret the strength of the relationship. The square of correlation coefficient gives the
proportion of criterion variance that is accounted for by its linear relationship with the predictor
[George, D. Mallery, P. ,2012].


References:
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (6
th
ed.). Washington, DC: Author. (ISBN: 1433805618)
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
George, D., & Mallery, P. (2012). IBM SPSS Statistics 19 step by step: A Simple guide and
reference (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Gravetter, F. J., & Wallnau, L. B. (2009). Statistics for the behavioral sciences (8th edition).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.



Response to: Kathyrne Mueller
Dr. Mueller,
Thank you for your comments.
In my example of correlation study, the units are different cities. The homeless population and
crime rate can be recorded from various cities. From this data we can find the correlation
between homeless population and crime rate.

Response to: Shameka Rayfus
You posted a great research question. You have a good example of correlation. In your example,
IV is communication skills and DV is leadership traits. But how will you use these variables for
Pearsons correlation? You need to collect the data on interval scale of ratio scale if you wish to
use Pearsons correlation coefficient.
Reference:
George, D., & Mallery, P. (2012). IBM SPSS Statistics 19 step by step: A Simple guide and
reference (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Response to: Osiris Ciminera
In part II of the assignment, I notice that, the quadratic model is best fit as compared to linear
model, since quadratic model explains higher variation (64%) in the dependent variable (Exam
Score) whereas, the linear models is able to explain only 24% variation in the dependent variable
(Exam Score).
Reference:
George, D., & Mallery, P. (2012). IBM SPSS Statistics 19 step by step: A Simple guide and
reference (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.