Two variables are unrelated to one another, but calculations indicate a strong negative correlation coefficient for the two variables. This outcome is most likely a result of:
-errors that are normally distributed.
-non-spurious correlation.
-a number of

This outcome is most likely a result of a number of outliers. Outliers are data points that have extreme values and do not follow the pattern of the rest of the data set. In this situation, the outliers could be causing a negative correlation coefficient, even though the underlying relationship between the two variables is unrelated.