Marcus used a non-directional (two-tailed) hypothesis to investigate the relationship between daily social media usage (in hours) and self-reported loneliness scores (out of 20).
He obtained the following data from a sample of 9 participants:
| Participant | Social media hours per day | Rank 1 | Loneliness score | Rank 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1.5 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| B | 3.0 | 5 | 8 | 4.5 |
| C | 4.5 | 7 | 12 | 7 |
| D | 0.5 | 1 | 6 | 2.5 |
| E | 2.5 | 4 | 6 | 2.5 |
| F | 5.0 | 8 | 15 | 8 |
| G | 2.0 | 3 | 8 | 4.5 |
| H | 4.0 | 6 | 10 | 6 |
| I | 6.0 | 9 | 18 | 9 |
Marcus calculated a Spearman's rank correlation coefficient of rs=0.685r_s = 0.685rs=0.685.
An extract from the table of critical values for Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (rsr_srs) is shown below:
| NNN (Number of pairs) | p≤0.10p \le 0.10p≤0.10 (two-tailed) | p≤0.05p \le 0.05p≤0.05 (two-tailed) | p≤0.01p \le 0.01p≤0.01 (two-tailed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 0.829 | 0.886 | 1.000 |
| 7 | 0.714 | 0.786 | 0.929 |
| 8 | 0.643 | 0.738 | 0.881 |
| 9 | 0.600 | 0.700 | 0.833 |
Explain whether Marcus's data were significant at p≤0.05 p \le 0.05\,p≤0.05 and if his research hypothesis should be accepted.
Practise Edexcel A Level Psychology Methods with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 100 questions, matched to the Edexcel A Level Psychology (9PS0) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.