- it is a statistical technique used to

Correlation

measure and describe a relationship between two variables - does not show a causal relationship - shows the co-variation of scores - it requires two scores for each participant (one for each variable)

Three Characteristics of the Variable Relationship that is measured by Correlation:

1. Direction of the Relationship

i.e., positive (+) or negative (-) 2. Form of Relationship i.e., linear, nonlinear 3. Degree of the Relationship i.e., magnitude/strength

1. 2 Possible Directions of the

Relationship a. Positive Relationships (+) - converse relationship - values tend to move towards the same direction - as the value of one variable decreases/increases, the other also decreases/increases E.g. ice cream sales & temperature

b. Negative Relationships (-) - inverse relationship - values tend to move towards the opposite direction of each other - as the value of one variable increases, the other decreases - E.g., Coffee sales and temperature

2. Form of Relationship 1. Linear e.g., Sales of Beverages & Temperature 2. Non-linear/Quadratic e.g., - the learning curve - stress & level of performance

3. Degree of Relationship - the value of the correlation coefficient reflects the degree to which there is consistent, predictable relationship between the two variables

Uses of Correlation: 1. Prediction e.g., correlation between Entrance tests and academic performance 2. Validity e.g., correlation between a new test and standardized tests; measuring the same constructs 3. Reliability e.g., correlation of scores across similar populations or within a homogenous sample

degree to which X & Y vary together r = ---------------------------------------------degree to which X & Y vary separately

Pearson Product-Moment Correlation (Pearson s K): SP or Sum of Products r = ----------------------------- SSx SSy

X (Y) SP= XY - --------n X (Y) XY - --------n

r = -----------------------------_______ SSx SSy

Sum of Squares: SSx = X - (X)/n1

SSy = Y - (y)/n2

Steps: Compute for:

1. X2 2. Y2 3. X 4. Y 5. XY

Transforming/Standardizing scores into z-scores

- Performed when the variables are not of the

same units, and are therefore, not comparable e.g., weight vs. age
- Transformation makes the variables unit-less

so that the scores become comparable

Characteristics of a z-score distribution

1. Shape

the shape of the z-score distribution will be the same as the original distribution of raw scores

2. The Mean the resulting z-score distribution will always have a mean of zero; so that the mean of the raw scores will have a z-score of zero
- Raw scores that fall above the mean

will have positive z-scores (i.e., greater than zero) - Raw scores that fall below the mean will have negative z-scores (i.e., less than zero)

3. Standard Deviation

when a distribution of raw scores are transformed into a distribution of zscore, the new distribution will always have a standard deviation of 1

Each value/raw score should be transformed into a z-score using: X-Q Z = -----------------W _____ SS/N

W=

SS = X - (X)/n

Other Statistical tests that determine the correlation of variables: 1. Spearman rho - values are ranked 2. Point-Biserial - one of the two variables is dichotomous (i.e., having two values only)

Spearman Rho 6 D2 rs = 1 - ---------------n (n2 1)

Steps:
1. Rank the values; each pair should

always go together Equal values should be ranked successively, with ranks added and divided into the number of ranks 1. Compute for the difference 2. Compute for rs