Jackknifing Disattenuated Correlations

The utility of the jackknife for constructing confidence intervals and testing hypotheses about the disattenuated correlation is evaluated for small samples. Computer simulations were used to generate the empirical sampling distributions of jackknife statistics for two sample sizes (30, 60), five values of the disattenuated correlation coefficient (1.00, .90, .80, .50, .00) and three pairs of reliabilities (.90, .80; .80, .80; .90, .50). The theoretical and cumulative proportions of jackknife statistics were compared at selected points in the appropriate t -distributions. The results obtained support the claim that the jackknife can be used to construct sensible confidence intervals. However, the jackknife possesses limited utility for testing hypotheses about the disattenuated correlation coefficient.