Question

You have a large group of participants and you observe what brand of toothpaste they buy at the grocery store and you measure how much time they spend at the dentist every year. You're interested in whether participants who use Crest spend less time at the dentist than participants who use Brand X.

A) Case Study
B) Naturalistic Observation
C) Correlational Study
D) Experimental Study

Answer 1

The study described is a correlational study because it investigates the relationship between the brand of toothpaste used and the amount of time spent at the dentist without manipulating any variables.

Step-by-step explanation:

If you are observing which brand of toothpaste participants are buying and measuring their time spent at the dentist, and looking for a relationship between these two variables, this is most likely a correlational study. This kind of study examines whether there is a correlation or association between two variables (toothpaste brand and time spent at the dentist). As such, it is designed to determine whether a relationship exists, but it does not establish a clear cause-and-effect connection. In this case, you are not manipulating variables or conditions, which would be needed for an experimental study. Instead, you are observing behaviors in their natural settings, akin to a naturalistic observation, but since you are specifically interested in the relationship between these behaviors, it falls under a correlational study.