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Ch. 7: Scatterplots, Association, and Correlation

This chapter discusses scatterplots and correlation. Scatterplots show the relationship between two quantitative variables through a cloud of points, and can reveal patterns such as positive or negative linear association. Correlation measures the strength and direction of linear relationships between variables from -1 to 1. A correlation close to -1 or 1 indicates a strong linear relationship, while a correlation near 0 suggests little or no association between the variables. Outliers can influence correlation, so they should be checked separately.

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82 views4 pages

Ch. 7: Scatterplots, Association, and Correlation

This chapter discusses scatterplots and correlation. Scatterplots show the relationship between two quantitative variables through a cloud of points, and can reveal patterns such as positive or negative linear association. Correlation measures the strength and direction of linear relationships between variables from -1 to 1. A correlation close to -1 or 1 indicates a strong linear relationship, while a correlation near 0 suggests little or no association between the variables. Outliers can influence correlation, so they should be checked separately.

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spryaa
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Ch.

7: Scatterplots, Association, and


Correlation
Scatterplots –
 display quantitative data and show patterns, trends, relationships,
and even the occasional extraordinary value
 often used to determine if there is an association between two
variables
 direction –
o negative: a pattern that runs from the upper left to the
lower right
o positive: a pattern that runs from the lower left to the
upper right
 form –
o linear: a straight line relationship, appears as a cloud or
swarm of points stretched out in a generally consistent,
straight form
o if the relationship isn’t straight, but curves gently, while
still increasing or decreasing steadily, we can often find
ways to make it more nearly straight
o if it curves sharply, there is much less we can say about it
 strength (of the relationship) –
o how closely the points follow the pattern
 unusual features –
o outliers: look for points standing away from the overall
pattern
o clusters or subgroups: like outliers, deserve special
attention
Making a scatterplot:
 Assign each QUANTITATIVE variable to an axis
 Clearly label the axes with the variable and its units
 Each point is placed on a scatterplot at a position that
corresponds to values of the two variables
 If both variables have values near or on both sides of zero, then
the origin will be part of the display.
 If values are far from zero, there’s no reason to include the
origin (you can draw these with axes that don’t quite meet (see
pg. 142)

TI Tips – pg. 145

Explanatory or predictor variable: placed on the x-axis

Response variable: placed on the y-axis

Correlation:
 Measures the strength of the association between two
QUANTITATIVE variables
 Between 0 and ±1 (positive association between 0 and +1;
negative association between 0 and -1)
xx y y
 NO UNITS! Data is standardized: (zx , z y )   , 
 s s 
 x y 
 Standardizing data makes the origin the new center of the
scatterplot and the scales on both axes the same
 Correlation coefficient:
o See pg. 148-149
 zx z y
o r
n 1
o Summarizes both strength and direction of a LINEAR
association between two QUANTITATIVE variables
 Conditions…
o Quantitative Variables Condition: Correlation applies only
to quantitative variables. Check that you know the
variables’ units and what they measure.
o Straight Enough Condition: Must have a linear
association
o Outlier Condition: Outliers can distort the correlation
dramatically. When you see an outlier, it’s often a good
idea to report the correlations with and without the point

**Just Checking: pg. 150


**Step-by-Step: pg. 150-151
**TI Tips: pg. 151-152

Correlation Properties:
 The sign of a correlation coefficient gives the direction of the
association
 Correlation is always between -1 and +1. Correlation can be
exactly -1 or +1, but these values are unusual in real data
because they mean that all the data points fall exactly on a
single straight line
 Correlation treats x and y symmetrically. The correlation of x
with y is the same as the correlation of y with x
 Correlation has no units.
 Correlation is not affected by changes in the center or scale of
either variable. Changing the units or baseline of either
variable has no effect on the correlation coefficient. Correlation
depends only on the z-scores, and they are unaffected by
changes in center or scale
 Correlation measures the strength of the LINEAR association
between the two variables. Variables can be strongly
associated but still have a small correlation if the association
isn’t linear
 Correlation is sensitive to outliers. A single outlying value can
make a small correlation large or make a large one small

Correlation Tables: see pg. 153


Straightening Scatterplots:
 When a scatterplot show a bent form that consistently
increases or decreases, we can often straighten the form of the
plot by re-expressing one or both variables

**Read WCGW: pg. 155-158

Lurking variable- a hidden variable that stands behind a relationship


and determines it by simultaneously affecting the other two variables

HW: #2-3, 5-6, 10, 11-12, 15, 17, 20, 22, 25

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