Like most of you I'm teaching research methods. One big idea that students often miss is the idea that you can't assume a cause and effect relationship when you find a correlation. This point is driven home by the "Spurious Correlations" found at this site. These are sure to generate discussion in your class!
http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations
Best wishes for a great school year!
Kristin Whitlock
Also, the creator of this website has compiled these examples into a book! I just ordered it, so I can't verify that you'd want a copy for your own classroom (yet), but it looks promising.
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