Comparing Relationships (Lecture 3) Flashcards
What is correlation?
Explanation/Measure of the strength of a relationship between continuous variables
- can be just dependent variables, don’t need to be independent
- both explanation of linear relationship AND magnitude/strength
How is regression similar to and different from correlation?
- It takes correlation one step further (helps predict 1 variable when given another variable)
- Recognizes and measures relationship (like correlation)
- Also describes relationship so an equation can be developed to predict 1 variable when given the other
What type of plot is used in conducting a correlation analysis?
Scatterplot
In a scatterplot, we are looking for the ____ that best estimates the varying data points.
“line of best fit”
Displays the relationship between two variables on a traditional Cartesian coordinate plane
scatterplot
Correlation does not verify ______, just indicates if there may be ______ between variables.
causation; association
The measure of the association between continuous variables
correlation
What is a positive correlation vs. a negative correlation?
Positive correlation - as one variable increases, the other variable increases
Negative correlation - as one variable increases, the other decreases
Divorce rates in Maine correlating with per capita consumption of margarine is an example of what?
Correlation-Causation Fallacy
What is the Pearson Correlation coefficient (r)?
a measure of the linear relationship between two variables
What does an r between 0 and +1 indicate?
positive correlation (as one variable increases, the second variable also increases)
What does an r between -1 and 0 indicate?
negative correlation
What does an r of 0 indicate?
no linear relationship
What values of “r” indicates a “perfect linear relationship?
r = -1 or r =1
What does an r = 0.8 indicate?
that many, but not all, of the variables are matched, meaning as one value is larger, the other does as well
r = 0.4 is a _____ correlation (stronger as it approaches +1)
weak positive
r = -0.4 is a ____ correlation (stronger as it approaches -1)
weak negative
T/F An r=0 means the two variables are unrelated or independent of one another
F - only that no linear relationship exists between the two variables
What would be the correlation “strengths” of the following values?
1. < 0.25
2. 0.26-0.5
3. 0.51-0.75
4. >0.75
- doubtful
- fair
- good
- superior
Lack of correlation could be due to either ______ or ______ in variable measures.
- low association (does not mean r=0)
- large errors
Strength of relationship is dependent on _____
data being evaluated
Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient (rs) is used with ______ data, but not ____ data
ranked/ordinal; continuous
Value of rs varies between ___ and ___
1 and -1
T/F Continuous data can be transformed into ranks then used to calculate Spearman’s rs.
T - but it is not recommended (you would not want to decrease the power of the data by making continuous ordinal)
What test is used for spearman rank correlation coefficient/
nonparametric test
Spearman rs can be used when:
- continuous data are not available
- continuous data are skewed
What is the coefficient of determination?
r^2; how data fits along line of best fit
- the concept of a r^2 can be used to assess overall model fit:
- between 0 and 1
- determines the % of variability in the dependent endpoint that is due to the independent variable
What does an r^2 close to 0 imply?
poor model fit (coincides with lower r-value) - data on the scatterplot have no pattern and are not close to the trend line
What does r^2 close to 1 imply?
excellent model fit - data on the scatterplot have a precise pattern and are tightly clustered around the trend line