Question: To prepare:
- Review popular online newspapers and/or online magazines to look for articles on research studies. Look for examples of statements and claims that might reflect a spurious correlation or an extraneous variable. Note: This is not a library assignment, nor should you look for articles that already have reported a spurious relation or extraneous variable. You need to make this connection yourself. For instance, you might see a headline in a news magazine that states something like "Fast-Paced Children's Television Programming Linked to ADHD." Look for examples like this.
- Identify one popular media example of a correlation that could be argued to be a spurious correlation or that illustrates a correlation that may have an extraneous variable.
With these thoughts in mind:
1. Briefly explain the example and the claim that has been made.
2. Identify the predictor variable and the outcome variable.
3. Identify the correlation. Is it a positive or negative correlation? How did you determine this to be the case?
4. Identify your proposed spurious (third) variable or extraneous variable.
5. Explain the connection you made among the spurious/extraneous variable and the outcome and predictor variables.
6. Post the URLs for the media example at the end of your posting.