You are interested in knowing whether wealthier people are happier. You collected data from fifty people about their incomes and their overall happiness levels on a scale of 1 to 10. Upon analyzing the results, you find that the correlation coefficient has a value of −0.25. On the basis of this data, respond to the following:
- How would you interpret the correlation coefficient in terms of strength and direction?
- How would the results be affected if you increased the number of subjects in the study to one thousand? Why might that affect the overall correlation?
- How important is it to randomly select subjects? Explain in detail using an example of a sample that might not be truly representative of the population.
Justify your answers with appropriate reasoning and research from your textbook and course readings
