A researcher distributes a survey to college students.One question asks,"How many hours per night do you sleep?" and another asks,"What is your GPA?" If the study has a cross-sectional design,which conclusion is possible?
A)Students who sleep more have higher GPAs.
B)Excessive sleep boosts GPAs.
C)Because they don't sleep enough,some students have lower GPAs.
D)Having a higher GPA causes students to sleep less.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Cross-sectional studies can identify associations between variables (e.g., sleep hours and GPA) at a single point in time but cannot determine causality. Thus, it's possible to conclude that students who sleep more have higher GPAs based on observed associations, but not why this is the case.

A Researcher Distributes a Survey to College Students