The number portion of the correlation coefficient indicates the strength of the relationship. The correlation coefficient is usually represented by the letter r. A correlation coefficient is a number from -1 to +1 that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between variables. We can measure correlation by calculating a statistic known as a correlation coefficient. When two variables are correlated, it simply means that as one variable changes, so does the other. How do we determine if there is indeed a relationship between two things? And when there is a relationship, how can we discern whether it is attributable to coincidence or causation? Correlational ResearchĬorrelation means that there is a relationship between two or more variables (such as ice cream consumption and crime), but this relationship does not necessarily imply cause and effect. Also, when it is warm outside, we are more likely to seek a cool treat like ice cream. When the temperature is warm, there are lots of people out of their houses, interacting with each other, getting annoyed with one another, and sometimes committing crimes. It is much more likely that both ice cream sales and crime rates are related to the temperature outside. Did you know that as sales in ice cream increase, so does the overall rate of crime? Is it possible that indulging in your favorite flavor of ice cream could send you on a crime spree? Or, after committing crime do you think you might decide to treat yourself to a cone? There is no question that a relationship exists between ice cream and crime (e.g., Harper, 2013), but it would be pretty foolish to decide that one thing actually caused the other to occur.
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