Introduction to Correlation Packet

Scatterplots
A scatter plot is used to visually depict the relationship between two variables.

No relationship Strong relationships Weak relationships

y y y

x x x

y y y

x x x

Watch the following video on how to create a scatterplot by hand:

https://youtu.be/NcgRa0uotXs

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 Templates
Template for correlation hypotheses:

Non Directional:

- There is a relationship between ______________ and __________________.

Example: There is a relationship between self-esteem and exam scores.

Directional (two options possible):

- There is a positive relationship between ______________ and __________________.

Example: There is a positive relationship between self-esteem and exam scores.

OR

- There is a negative relationship between ______________ and __________________.

Example: There is a negative relationship between self-esteem and exam scores.

Template for write up for correlation:

Template with blanks to fill in:

There was a ______________, _______________, ___________________ relationship between

____________ and ___________, with ___________ practical significance, r( ) = , p .05, r2 = .

Template with Explanation of what to include:

There was a magnitude/strength of r(weak, moderate, or strong), direction (positive or negative), stat
sig or not stat sig, relationship between variable 1 and variable 2, with magnitude/strength of r2
(weak, moderate, or strong) practical significance, r(insert df here) = insert value of r here, p < or
> .05, r2 = insert the square of the value of r here.

Example of a completed write up:

There was a strong, positive, statistically significant, relationship between self-esteem and test scores
with strong practical significance, r(10) = .89, p < .05, r2 = .79.

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 Correlation in SPSS

- The variables are listed as columns and rows.

- “Pearson Correlation” row is the value of r.

- Ignore the Pearson correlation of any variable with itself. Be sure to cross out to avoid confusion.

- “Sig.” row gives you the % of error of the correlation. It is expressed as a decimal. If it is less
than .05 it is significant.

- 2 tailed tests for nondirectional hypotheses, one tailed tests for directional hypotheses.

- “N” row gives you the total sample size.

- Notice that the diagonal simply provides duplicate information. Be sure to cross out the duplicate
information to avoid confusion.

- df is not provided. Compute it as N – 2.

- The measure of practical significance for a correlation, namely r 2 (coefficient of determination), is

also not provided. Simply square the value of Pearson r.

- To interpret r and r 2 use Cohen’s conventions (.1 weak, .3 moderate, .5 or above is large). Zero is
no correlation.

SPSS Example
Correlations

age IQ income
age Pearson 1 0.199 .567**
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.399 0.009
N 20 20 20
IQ Pearson 0.199 1 0.42
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.399 0.065
N 20 20 20
income Pearson .567** 0.42 1
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.009 0.065
N 20 20 20
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

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Practice Problems

1. What type of correlation does the data in the following scatterplot represent?
1000
900
800
700
Ice Cream Sales

600
500
400
300
200
100
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Temperature in Celcius

2. What does the correlation show about the relationship between temperature
and sales of ice cream from question #1?
3. Based on the scatterplot, can it be claimed that the temperature caused there
to be more ice cream sold from question #1? Explain.
4. A researcher is interested if a relationship exists between students’ scores on
a science exam and their GPA. They find that students with higher science
scores, also have higher GPA.
5. Manufacturing time per unit for a new aircraft tends to decrease each time the
total number of units doubles.
6. A sales manager found that with varying amounts of radio advertisements,
there were varying amounts of appliances sold.
7. A company is trying to determine the relationship between workers’ salary and
their absentee rate. They find that workers with a higher salary tend to have
lower rates of absenteeism.
8. A Waste Management Company finds that there is a relationship between the
age of a truck and the cost to fix it. They find that the older the truck is, the more
costly it is to repair.

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Formula:

r =N ∑ X Y −¿ ¿

N = sample size (how many rows)

ΣX = add up all the X values

(ΣX)2 =
1st add up all the X values
2nd square that sum

ΣX2 =
1st square the X values individually
2nd add them up

ΣY = add up all the Y values

(ΣY)2 =
1st add up all the Y values
2nd square that sum

ΣY2 =
1st square the Y values individually
2nd add them up

ΣXY =
1st multiply all XY
2nd add them all up

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For all of the problems in this packet, use the following formula and answer the
following questions:

a) What is the researcher’s hypothesis? (use the template for hypotheses)

b) Is the hypothesis directional or non-directional? Will you run a one tailed or two
tailed test?

c) Graph the data with a scatterplot. Based the graph, evaluate linearity, strength, and
direction. Do you think the data appears to support the hypothesis?

d) Compute the correlation using the formula for r

e) Interpret and Report your results (interpret the magnitude, direction, statistical and
practical significance). (use the template for correlation write ups)

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Practice

1. Is there a relationship between hours slept and test score?

Hours Test
Slept Score
X Y X2 Y2 XY
8 83 N=
7 86 ΣX =
7 74 (ΣX)2 =
8 88 ΣX2 =
6 76 ΣY =
5 63 (ΣY)2 =
7 90 ΣY2 =
4 60 ΣXY =
9 89
7 81
SUM

2. For 8 people enrolled in a weight management program a researcher wants to know if there is
a positive relationship between exercise and weight loss. Exercise is measured in points so
that activities like running, swimming, and bike riding are on the same scale. Weight loss is
measured in pounds. Below are the results for the 8 participants.

Exercis Weight
e Loss
X Y XY X2 Y2
3 6 18 9 36 N=
5 8 40 25 64 ΣX =
1 7 7 1 49 (ΣX)2 =
4 7 28 16 49 ΣX2 =
3 5 15 9 25 ΣY =
2 3 6 4 9 (ΣY)2 =
6 10 60 36 100 ΣY2 =
4 6 24 16 36 ΣXY =
∑ 28 52 198 116 368

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 3. Jeremy and Jody were asked to time runners at a track meet. The following are the times they
recorded for each runner in minutes. Jeremy and Jody’s want to make sure that their
measurements are related.

Jeremy Jody
X Y XY X2 Y2
7.80 7.80 60.84 60.84 60.84 N=
6.40 6.20 39.68 40.96 38.44 ΣX =
7.00 7.20 50.40 49.00 51.84 (ΣX)2 =
6.70 6.80 45.56 44.89 46.24 ΣX2 =
5.90 6.00 35.40 34.81 36.00 ΣY =
7.20 7.00 50.40 51.84 49.00 (ΣY)2 =
6.20 6.40 39.68 38.44 40.96 ΣY2 =
∑ 47.20 47.40 321.9 320.78 323.32 ΣXY =
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4. Ten participants in a study took a test to measure extraversion. Higher scores on the test
indicated higher extraversion. One week later they took the same test again. Below are their
scores. They are interested in whether the scores on each test are consistent.

Time 1 Time 2
X Y XY X2 Y2
5 8 40 25 64 N=
12 4 48 144 16 ΣX =
6 6 36 36 36 (ΣX)2 =
2 8 16 4 64 ΣX2 =
1 5 5 1 25 ΣY =
9 7 63 81 49 (ΣY)2 =
10 4 40 100 16 ΣY2 =
6 11 66 36 121 ΣXY =
4 10 40 16 100
8 6 48 64 36
∑ 63 69 402 507 527

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 5. Dr. Smith believes that GPA is positively related to intelligence. The scores are below.
Dr. Rating GPA
X Y XY X2 Y2
10 4 40 100 16 N=
4 2 8 16 4 ΣX =
7 3 21 49 9 (ΣX)2 =
6 3 18 36 9 ΣX2 =
2 2 4 4 4 ΣY =
8 3 24 64 9 (ΣY)2 =
6 4 24 36 16 ΣY2 =
8 4 32 64 16 ΣXY =
3 2 6 9 4
9 4 36 81 16
∑ 63 31 213 459 103

6. Assume that during a three-hour period spent outside, a person recorded the temperature and
their water consumption. The researcher is interested in whether there was a relationship
between the temperature and the amount of water consumed. The data is shown in the table
below.

Temperatur Water
e (F) Consumption
(oz)
X Y X2 Y2 XY N=
99 48 9801 2304 4752 ΣX =
85 27 7225 729 2295 (ΣX)2 =
97 48 9409 2304 4656 ΣX2 =
75 16 5625 256 1200 ΣY =
92 32 8464 1024 2944 (ΣY)2 =
85 25 7225 625 2125 ΣY2 =
83 20 6889 400 1660 ΣXY =
∑ 616 216 54638 7642 19632

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 7. A researcher is interested in whether there is a relationship between exposure to violence as a
child and aggressive behavior as an adult. The data is below.

X = level of exposure to violence as a child

Y = level of aggressive behavior as an adult
X Y X2 Y2 XY
8 14 64 196 112 N=
7 13 49 169 91 ΣX =
6 10 36 100 60 (ΣX)2 =
5 9 25 81 45 ΣX2 =
4 8 16 64 32 ΣY =
5 9 25 81 45 (ΣY)2 =
6 12 36 144 72 ΣY2 =
8 11 64 121 88 ΣXY =
∑ 49 86 315 956 545

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