What does the correlational diagram X Y mean? a. X obviously ...

[faduma]

What does the correlational diagram X Y mean?
 
  a. X obviously precedes Y in time.
  b. X is interchangeable with Y.
  c. There is a relationship between X and Y.
  d. Either X causes Y, or Y causes X.

Question 2

A researcher develops a new instrument for measuring adjustment to widowhood in dependents whose spouses were killed in armed conflict.
 
  The researcher's initial instrument contains 55 items, and he wants to trim these down to 25 or 30 but doesn't want to lose any of the main concepts. What method of statistical analysis will the researcher use, in order to pare this tool down to a manageable size without loss of content?
  a. Kendall's tau
  b. Spearman's rho
  c. Linear regression analysis
  d. Factor analysis

[Mholman93]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: C
Correlational analyses identify relationships or associations among variables. In the diagram, the arrow points to both variables, further confirming that one doesn't cause the other: X is merely related to Y and nothing more.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: D
Factor analysis is one of the statistical techniques designed to examine interrelationships among large numbers of variables to reduce them to a smaller set of variables, and to identify clusters of variables that are most closely linked together (factors).