When the correlation coefficient is weak, the researcher must consider two possibilities:A. there simply is no consistent, systematic relationship between the two items in the population and the association exists, but it is not linear and must be investigated further.B. there is a consistent, systematic relationship between the two items in the population, but it is not linear and must be investigated further.C. there simply is no consistent, systematic relationship between the two items in the population and the association exists, but it is linear and must be investigated further.D. there simply is no consistent, systematic relationship between the two items in the population and the association exists, but it is linear and does not need to be investigated further.E. there is a consistent, systematic relationship between the two items in the population, but it is linear and must be investigated further.
Answer: A
The correct answer is A. When the correlation coefficient is weak, it means that there is no strong linear relationship between the two variables being examined. However, this does not rule out the possibility of a non-linear relationship or other forms of association between the variables. Thus, the researcher must consider the possibility that there is no consistent, systematic relationship between the two items in the population, or that the association exists but is not linear and requires further investigation. Option B is incorrect because it assumes that there is a consistent, systematic relationship, which is not necessarily true when the correlation coefficient is weak. Option C is incorrect because it assumes that the association is linear when this may not be the case. Option D is incorrect because it assumes that the association does not need to be investigated further, which is not true since a weak correlation coefficient indicates that further investigation may be necessary. Option E is incorrect because it assumes that there is a consistent, systematic relationship, but it may not be linear and needs further investigation.
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