discussion 7 statistic
You may have heard it said before that “correlation does not imply causation.” This can also be called spurious correlation, which is defined as a correlation between two variables that does not result from a direct relationship between them. Instead, it results from the variables’ relationship to other variables. One example is the relationship between crime and ice cream sales. Ice cream sales and crime rates are highly correlated. However, ice cream sales do not cause crime; instead, it is both variables’ relationship to weather and temperature. Do some research and find some interesting, or even funny, examples of spurious correlation. Share, cite your source, and discuss. Why is this an example of spurious correlation? How do you know?
Do not use the same example given from another student. Make sure you read your classmates’ posts before submitting your example.
- Discussion Prompt 2
Use the data you collected from your survey created in week 4 to draw a scatterplot showing the relationship between two variables. Share your scatterplot. Calculate the correlation coefficient and share that value. Are you surprised by the results? Do your variables appear to have a linear relationship? Explain your answer.