Research Methods 5: Correlations Flashcards
Correlation analysis aims to discover…
whether there is an association or relationship between two different variables.
A correlation analysis establishes…
the direction and strength of the link between two variables.
A positive correlation is…
as one variable increases so does the other.
A negative correlation is…
as one variable increases the other decreases.
A zero correlation is…
no relationship between two variables.
Correlation coefficient is..
a statistic that reflects the degree to which two sets of scores are related. -1 is perfect negative correlation. 0 is no correlation. 1 is perfect positive correlation.
Correlation analysis strength: suggests trends
Suggests trends that can lead to experiments. Strength because if a relationship between two variables is established then an experiment can be conducted to further our knowledge on cause and effect.
Correlation analysis strength: experiments impossible/unethical
Often used to establish relationship between two naturally occurring variables that would be unethical to test during an experiment. Strength because it can provide insight into areas of psychology that otherwise couldn’t be studied.
Correlation analysis strength: high ecological validity
Often used to establish relation between two naturally occurring variables. Strength because they have high ecological validity.
Correlations vs. Experiments
Experiment: IV and DV, establish the IV causes DV, lab setting to control for confounding variables, hypothesis that there will be a difference in DV because of IV.
Correlation: two variables, establishes if there’s relationship between two variables, findings might be affected by other variables, hypothesis states that there will be a relationship between the two variables.
