CSP Quantitative Research & Statistics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A researcher finds a Pearson r of 0.85 between hours studied and exam scores. What does this indicate?
- A strong positive linear relationship (Correct answer)
- A weak positive relationship
- A perfect causal relationship
- A moderate negative relationship
Correct answer: A strong positive linear relationship
A Pearson r of 0.85 indicates a strong positive linear relationship, meaning as hours studied increase, exam scores tend to increase substantially.
Question 2: Which measure of central tendency is most appropriate when data contains extreme outliers?
- Mean
- Median (Correct answer)
- Mode
- Range
Correct answer: Median
The median is most appropriate with outliers because it is not affected by extreme values, unlike the mean which gets pulled toward outliers.
Question 3: In a multiple regression analysis, what does the R-squared value represent?
- The slope of the regression line
- The proportion of variance in the dependent variable explained by predictors (Correct answer)
- The statistical significance of each predictor
- The correlation between two independent variables
Correct answer: The proportion of variance in the dependent variable explained by predictors
R-squared (coefficient of determination) represents the proportion of variance in the dependent variable that is explained by the independent variables in the model.
Question 4: A sociologist uses a Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). This scale produces which level of measurement?
- Nominal
- Ratio
- Ordinal (Correct answer)
- Interval
Correct answer: Ordinal
Likert scales produce ordinal data because responses have a meaningful rank order, but the intervals between response categories are not necessarily equal.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of conducting a factor analysis in sociological research?
- To test differences between group means
- To identify underlying dimensions among a set of observed variables (Correct answer)
- To predict a categorical outcome from continuous predictors
- To compare proportions across two populations
Correct answer: To identify underlying dimensions among a set of observed variables
Factor analysis identifies latent constructs or underlying dimensions that explain patterns of correlations among multiple observed variables.
Question 6: When a researcher increases sample size while keeping all else constant, what happens to the standard error of the mean?
- It increases proportionally
- It remains unchanged
- It decreases (Correct answer)
- It becomes equal to the population standard deviation
Correct answer: It decreases
Standard error decreases as sample size increases because SE = σ/√n, so larger n produces a smaller denominator and thus a smaller SE.
Question 7: A chi-square test of independence is used to determine whether:
- Two continuous variables are linearly related
- A sample mean differs significantly from a population mean
- Two categorical variables are associated in the population (Correct answer)
- A distribution follows a normal curve
Correct answer: Two categorical variables are associated in the population
The chi-square test of independence assesses whether there is a statistically significant association between two categorical variables.
CSP Quantitative Research & Statistics 2
A researcher finds a Pearson r of 0.85 between hours studied and exam scores.
What does this indicate?