Find the mistakes Researchers in Florida found a negative correlation between sh

Question

Find the mistakes

Researchers in Florida found a negative correlation between shark attacks and bikini sales; the number of shark attacks decreases as bikini sales decrease. Researchers believe that this correlation is driven by a third variable, i.e., the number of people at the beach during the summer, and decide to conduct a point-biserial correlation to account for this. This analysis yields a Pearson coefficient of r = 0.02. From these findings, the researchers can conclude that wearing a bikini does not cause shark attacks when beach-going is controlled for.

Explanation / Answer

Researchers in Florida found a negative correlation between shark attacks and bikini sales; then the number of shark attacks increases as bikini sales decrease. The research analysis yields a Pearson coefficient of r = 0.02 which is vey low and near 0, so we can conclude that wearing a bikini and shark attacks are not correlated. Correlation does not always indicate causation. Shark attacks are likelier to happen in summer and bikini sales will be less in summer when the the number of people at the beach may be less as compared in winter. So, the seasonal factor may affect both Shark attacks and bikin sales.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse F
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.