Question

I used the General Social Survey data to correlate the following variables: the highest year of school completed by the respondents (ranging from 0 to 20 years) and the number of children they have. The following results I obtained: r=-.273*** and p < .000. What can I conclude? A) There is a statistically significant negative correlation between the highest year of school completed and the number of children.

B) There is no correlation between the highest year of school completed and the number of children.
C) There is a statistically significant positive correlation between the highest year of school completed and the number of children.
D) The correlation is not statistically significant.

Answer 1

The General Social Survey data indicates a statistically significant negative correlation between the highest year of school completed and the number of children, as shown by r=-.273 and p < .000.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correlation coefficient r=-.273 indicates a negative correlation between the two variables under study: the highest year of school completed and the number of children that respondents have. The triple asterisks (***) next to the correlation coefficient suggest that this result is statistically significant at the 0.001 level (or even lower), which is emphasized by the p-value result of p < .000. This essentially means that as the number of years of school completed increases, the number of children tends to decrease, and the relationship is not due to random chance. Therefore, the correct conclusion based on the General Social Survey data is A) There is a statistically significant negative correlation between the highest year of school completed and the number of children.