Correlation Flashcards
(Correlation) Describe a positive correlation.
As one co-variable increases, the other co-variable increases.
(Correlation) Describe a negative correlation.
As one co-variable increases, the other co-variable decreases.
(Correlation) Describe a no correlation.
No relationship between the co-variables.
(Correlation) Describe what is meant by ‘operationalising variables’.
Co-variables need to be operationalised so that any relationship between them can actually be measured.
(Correlation) What two key points need to be kept in mind when operationalising co-variables?
1) Any co-variable needs to be expressed as a number.
2) Each participant must have two separate (ordinal level) numbers that relate to them - one for each co-variable.
(Correlation) Describe what an alternative hypothesis (for correlation) is.
A prediction that there will be a statistically significant relationship between the two co-variables.
(Correlation) Describe what a null hypothesis (for correlation) is.
A null hypothesis can predict that “There will not be a significant correlation between co-variables y and z; any relationship will be due to chance factors”.
(Correlation) Describe what a two-tailed hypothesis (for correlation) is.
A hypothesis which takes the form of, “There will be a significant correlation between co-variables y and z”.
(Correlation) Describe what a one-tailed hypothesis (for correlation) is.
A hypothesis which indicates the researcher’s expectation that the results will go in a particular direction, usually takes the form of, “There will be a significant positive/negative correlation between co-variables y and z”.
(Correlation) What do co-variables indicate?
Two or more quantities being measured in a correlation by the researcher that may or may not vary with each other. A hypothesis that suggests there will be no difference/relationship
(Correlation) What does a correlation co-efficient indicate?
A correlation coefficient, often expressed as r, indicates a measure of the direction and strength of a relationship between two variables. When the r value is closer to +1 or -1, it indicates that there is a stronger linear relationship between the two variables.
(Correlation) Describe what a scatter graph is.
A graphical display that shows the correlation or relationship between two sets of data (or co-variables) by plotting dots to represent each pair of scores.
