CORRELATIONAL

RESEARCH DESIGN
CHAPTER 11
WHAT IS CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH?

• Investigators use the correlation

statistical test to describe and measure
the degree of association (or
relationship) between two or more
variables or sets of scores
CORRELATION

— A statistical test to determine the tendency

or pattern for two (or more) variables or two
sets of data to vary consistently
• Co-vary – means that we can predict a score
on one variable with knowledge about the
individual's score on another variable
• Product-moment correlation coefficient
• the statistic that expresses a correlation
statistic as a linear relationship
• It is also called the bivariate correlation, zero-
order correlation, or simply r, and it is indicated
by an "r" for its notation.
WHEN DO YOU USE CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH?

• You use this design when you seek to examine the

relationship between two or more variables
• To predict an outcome:
• Look at how the variables co-vary together
• Use one variable to predict the score on another
variable
• You also can use this design when you know and
can apply statistical knowledge based on
calculating the correlation statistical test
HOW DID CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH DEVELOPED?

• 1895 Pearson develops correlation

formula.
• 1897 Yule develops solutions for
correlating two, three, and four variables
• 1935 Fisher pioneered significance
testing and analysis of variance
• 1963 Campbell and Stanley write about
experimental and quasi-experimental
designs (including correlational designs)
• 1970s and 1980s computers give the ability
to statistically control variables and do
multiple regression.
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF CORRELATIONAL DESIGNS?

1. Explanatory Design

2. Prediction Design
EXPLANATORY RESEARCH DESIGNS

— Is a correlational design which the

researcher is interested in the extent to which
two variables (or more) co-vary, that is,
where changes in one variable are reflected
in changes in the other
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EXPLANATORY RESEARCH
DESIGN

• Correlate two or more variables

• Collect data at one point in time
• Analyze all participants as a single group
• Obtain at least two scores for each
individual in the group — one for each
variable
• Report the correlation statistic
• Interpretation based on statistical test
results indicate that the changes in one
variable are reflected in changes in the other
PREDICTION RESEARCH DESIGNS

— Its purpose is to identify variables that will

predict an outcome or criterion
• Predictor variable – a variable used to make
a forecast about an outcome in
correlational research
• Criterion variable – the outcome being
predicted in correlational research
CHARACTERISTICS OF A PREDICTION RESEARCH
DESIGN

• Typically include the word "prediction" in

the title
• Typically measure the predictor variable (s)
one in time and the criterion variable at a
later point in time
• Forecast future performance
WHAT ARE THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF
CORRELATIONAL DESIGNS?

• Displays of scores (scatterplots and

matrices)
• Associations between scores (direction,
form and strength)
• Multiple variable analysis (partial
correlations, and multiple regression)
DISPLAYS OF SCORES

— If you have two scores in correlation

research, you can plot these scores on a
graph (or scatterplot) or present them in a
table (or correlation matrix)
SCATTERPLOTS (OR SCATTER DIAGRAM)

—A pictorial image displayed on a graph of

two sets of scores for participants
CORRELATION MATRIX

— Presents a visual display

of correlation coefficients for all variables in a
study
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SCORES

• Direction (positive or negative)

• Form (linear or nonlinear)
• Degree and strength (size of coefficient)
WHAT IS THE DIRECTION OF THE ASSOCIATION?

• Positive correlation - Scores change in same direction

• Negative correlation - Scores change in opposite
direction
• If scores on one variable do not relate in any pattern
on the other variable, then no linear association
exists.
WHAT IS THE FORM OF THE ASSOCIATION?

• Linear relationship
• Positive linear relationship of scores - where
low (or high) scores on one variable relate to
low (or high) scores on a second variable.
• Negative linear relationship result - where low
scores on one variable relate to high scores on
the other variable.
• Uncorrelated and nonlinear relationships
• Uncorrelated relationship of scores - the
variables are independent of each other.
• Curvilinear distribution (or nonlinear
relationship) - U-shaped relationship in scores.
• Part (d) shows an increase, plateau, and decline in
the Y-axis variable with increasing values of the X
axis variable
• Part (e) indicates a decrease, plateau, and increase
in the Y-axis variable, with increasing values of the
X-axis variable
NONLINEAR ASSOCIATIONS STATISTICS

• Spearman rho (rs) - Correlation coefficient

for nonlinear ordinal data
• Point-biserial - Used to correlate
continuous interval data with a dichotomous
variable
• Phi-coefficient - Used to determine the
degree of association when both variable
measures are dichotomous
WHAT IS THE DEGREE AND STRENGTH OF
ASSOCIATION?

Degree of association means that the

association between two variables or sets
of scores is a correlation coefficient of –1.00
to +1.00, with 0.00 indicating no linear
association at all.
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TWO SCORES:
DEGREE AND STRENGTH OF ASSOCIATION

• .20–.35:When correlations range from .20

to .35, there is only a slight relationship.
• .35–.65:When correlations are above .35,
they are useful for limited prediction.
• .66–.85:When correlations fall into this
range, good prediction can result from one
variable to the other. Coefficients in this
range would be considered very good.
• .86 and above: Correlations in this range
are typically achieved for studies of construct
validity or test-retest reliability.
MULTIPLE VARIABLE ANALYSIS

• In many correlation studies, researchers

predict outcomes based on more than one
predictor variable. Thus, they need to
account for the impact of each variable.
MULTIPLE VARIABLE ANALYSIS APPROACHES

1.Partial correlations

2.Multiple regression
PARTIAL CORRELATIONS

— It is used to determine the amount of

variance that an intervening variable explains
in both the independent and dependent
variables.
COMMON VARIANCE SHARED FOR BIVARIATE AND
PARTIAL CORRELATIONS
MULTIPLE REGRESSION

• Statistical procedure for examining the

combined relationship of multiple
independent variables with a single
dependent variable.
• To see what impact multiple variables have
on an outcome, researchers use regression
analysis.
REGRESSION LINE

• line of “best fit” for all of the points of

scores on the graph
• This line comes the closest to all of the
points on the plot and it is calculated by
drawing a line that minimizes the squared
distance of the points from the line
BASED ON A MATHEMATICAL FORMULA, A
RESEARCHER CAN CALCULATE AN EQUATION THAT
EXPRESSES THIS LINE:

Y (predicted) = b (X) + a
Where
Y = predicted score on depression
X = actual score on number of hours of Internet use
b = slope of the regression line (called the
unstandardized regression coefficient)
a = the intercept or a constant, the value of the
predicted Y (depression) score when X = 0.
PREDICTED SCORES ON AN OUTCOME CAN BE GENERATED
USING AN EQUATION THAT IS SIMILAR TO THE
SIMPLE REGRESSION EQUATION, BUT IT INCLUDES
ADDITIONAL PREDICTORS.

Y (predicted) = b1(X1) + b2 (X2) + a

Where
Y = the predicted scores
b1 = a constant for the slope of X1 ( b2, for X2)
a = the intercept
REGRESSION TABLE

• Shows the overall amount of variance

explained in a dependent variable by all
independent variables, called R2 ( R
squared)
• Also shows the regression weight—the
amount of contribution of each variable
controlling for the variance of all other
variables, called beta—for each variable.
BETA WEIGHT

• A coefficient indicating the magnitude of

prediction for a variable after removing the
effects of all other predictors.
• The coefficient of a beta weight identifiesthe
strength of the relationship of a predictor
variable of the outcomes and enables a
researcher to compare (in data with a normal
distribution) the strength of one predictor
variable with the strength of other predictors.
META ANALYSIS
• Intent – to summarize the results of
many correlational studies
• Process:
• Locate correlational studies on a single topic
• Note the results for each study
• Calculate an overall result for all of the studies
• Reports this result
POTENTIAL ETHICAL ISSUES IN
CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH

• Not measuring appropriate controls

• Not having a sufficient sample size and
meeting the assumptions of the statistic
• Making up data
• Stating cause and effect when data show
patterns of relationships
• Not reporting effect sizes
• Plagiarizing others
• Not reporting contradictory findings
• Not sharing data reports with others
WHAT ARE THE STEPS IN CONDUCTING A
CORRELATIONAL STUDY?
STEP 1. DETERMINE IF A CORRELATIONAL STUDY
BEST ADDRESSES
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
STEP 2. IDENTIFY INDIVIDUALS TO STUDY
STEP 3. IDENTIFY TWO OR MORE MEASURES FOR
EACH INDIVIDUAL IN THE STUDY
STEP 4. COLLECT DATA AND MONITOR
POTENTIAL THREATS
STEP 5. ANALYZE THE DATA AND REPRESENT
THE RESULTS
STEP 6. INTERPRET THE RESULTS
HOW DO YOU EVALUATE A CORRELATIONAL STUDY?

• An adequate sample size for hypothesis

testing.
• The display of correlational results in a
matrix or graph.
• An interpretation about the direction and
magnitude of the association between two
(or more) variables.
• An assessment of the magnitude of the
relationship based on
the coefficient of determination, p values,
effect size, or the size of the coefficient.
• The choice of an appropriate statistic for
analysis.
• The identification of predictor and the
criterion variables.
• If a visual model of the relationships is
advanced, the researcher indicates
the expected direction of the relationships
among variables, or the predicted
direction based on observed data.
• The clear identification of the statistical
procedures.
THANK YOU :)
WE HOPE YOU'VE LEARN SOMETHING NEW
FROM US

Presented by: GROUP 6

Agapor, Ron Ron
Bobis, Ma. Alissa
Catequista, Jazmin
Gonzales, Trisha