NSCI 203 Chapter 7: Bivariate Correlational Research Vocab

Bivariate associations

an association that involves exactly two variables

Directionality problem

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

Moderator

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

Outlier

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

Phi coefficient

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

Point-biserial correlation

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

Spurious

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

Statistically significant

a conclusion that a result is extreme enough that it is unlikely to have happened by chance if the null hypothesis is true

T test

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

Third-variable problem

a situation in which plausible alternative explanations exist for the association between two variables