Writers Den

Hypothesis 3: Frequency of child abuse is related to the parents’ ages when they married.

1. What type of relationship would you predict (positive linear, negative linear, and so on)?
2. Graph and label the relationship you predict. State a prediction based on the relationship shown by your graph.
3. Which method (experimental or nonexperimental) would you use to test this hypothesis? Why?
4. Which is the independent or “cause” variable and which is the dependent or “effect” variable?
5. State an operational definition for each variable. If experimental, describe how the independent variable might be manipulated and the dependent variable measured. If nonexperimental, describe how both variables might be measured.