“Correlation means Causation.”

• Debate the following statement: “Correlation means Causation.” Determine whether this statement is true or false, and provide reasoning for your determination, using the Possible Relationships Between Variables table from your textbook.
• Biddle and Hamermesh (1990) built a multiple regression model to study the tradeoff between time spent in sleeping and working, and to look at other factors affecting sleep:

Sleep = β0 + β1 totwrk + β2 educ + β3 age + ε

where sleep and totwrk (total work) are measured in minutes per week and educ and age are measured in years. Suppose the following equation is estimated:

Sleep = 3500 – 0.15 totwrk – 11.20 educ + 2.29 age + ε

• Discuss what would happen to someone’s sleep if they choose to work more.
• Analyze whether the factors of totwrk, educ, and age are enough factors to explain the variation in sleep. Explain which additional factors should be explored in order to explain the variation in sleep. Provide your reasoning.

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