Vol. 8(4), pp.

99-106, July 2020

DOI: 10.14662/IJELC2020.085 International Journal of
Copy© right 2020
Author(s) retain the copyright of this article English Literature and
ISSN: 2360-7831 Culture
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Review

REVIEW ON CORRELATION RESEARCH

Wubante Mekonnen
Debre Markos University, Ethiopia, P.O.B 269

Accepted 6 July 2020

Correlational research is a type of non-experimental research method, in which a researcher measures

two variables, understands and assesses the statistical relationship between them with no influence
from any extraneous variable. It is designed to test research hypotheses in cases where it is not
possible or desirable to experimentally manipulate the independent variable of interest. It is also
desirable because it allows the investigation of behavior in naturally occurring situations. This article
reviews the purpose, design, methods, threats and other aspects like pros and cons of correlational
research. It also considers the possible topics that can be investigated in correlational research.

Key Words: Correlation, Design, Method

Cite This Article As: Wubante M (2020). REVIEW ON CORRELATION RESEARCH. Inter. J. Eng. Lit. Cult. 8(4):
99-106

INTRODUCTION Sometimes correlational research is referred as a

form of descriptive research.
What is Correlation Research? Describes the degree to which two or more
quantitative variables are related.
According to Creswell, correlational research
designs are used by investigators to describe and
measure the degree of relationship between two Purposes of Correlation Research
or more variables or sets of scores.
It is a procedure in which subjects’ scores on two • Two basic purposes:
variables are simply measured, without
manipulation of any variables, to determine Help explain important human behaviors
whether there is a relationship. (Explanatory Studies)
Correlational research examines the relationship
between two or more non-manipulated variables. Explanatory Study: An explanatory correlational design
Correlation is simply a statistical measurement of explains or clarifies the degree of association among two
the relationship between two variables. or more variables at one point in time. Researchers are
Correlation refers to how much two things relate interested in whether two variables co-vary, in which a
to each other. change in one variable is reflected in changes in the
A correlation is a special kind of association; other. An example is whether motivation is associated
there is a linear relation between the values of with academic performance.
the variables.
Correlational research is sometimes called
associational research.
100 Inter. J. Eng. Lit. Cult.

Predict Likely Outcomes (Prediction Studies)

Select a random sample (preferably with n > 30)
In a prediction design, the investigator identifies Obtain data for each member of the sample on
variables that will positively predict an outcome or each variable being investigated
criterion. In this form of research, the researcher uses Compute correlations in order to determine
one or more predictor variables and a criterion (or degree of relationship
outcome) variable. A prediction permits us to forecast
future performance, such as whether a student’s GPA in Types of Correlational Research
college can be predicted from his or her high school
performance. Essentially there are three types of correlational research
Correlational designs provide an opportunity for us to that have been identified:
predict scores and explain the relationship among
variables. In correlational research designs, investigators 1. Positive Correlation: A positive correlation between
use the correlation statistical test to describe and two variables is when an increase in one variable leads to
measure the degree of association (or relationship) an increase in the other variable and a decrease in one
between two or more variables or sets of scores. In this variable will see a decrease in the other variable. For
design, the researchers do not attempt to control or example, the amount of money a person has might
manipulate the variables as in an experiment; instead, positively correlate with the number of cars he has.
they relate, using the correlation statistic, two or more
scores for each person (e.g., a student motivation and a 2. Negative Correlation: A negative correlation is quite
student achievement score for each individual). literally the opposite of positive correlation. This means, if
there is an increase in one variable, the second variable
will show a decrease and vice versa. For example, the
Correlation Research Design level of being educated might negatively correlate with
the crime rate when an increase in one variable leads to
Typically oriented by research questions or a decrease in another and vice versa. This means if in
hypotheses some ways the level of education in a country is
A relatively straightforward design: improved, it can lead to lowering the crime rates.
Identify variables for inclusion
Formulate questions or hypotheses 3. No Correlation: In this third type, two variables are not
correlated. This means a change in one variable may not
necessarily see a change in the other variable. For
example, being a millionaire and happiness are not
correlated. This means an increase in money doesn’t
lead to happiness.

The types of correlational relationships are summarized using diagrams as follows:

 Wubante 101

Methods of Computing Coefficient of Correlation

In ease of ungrouped data of bivariate distribution, the following three methods are used to compute the value of co-
efficient of correlation:
1. Scatter Diagram Method
2. Pearson’s Product Moment Coefficient of Correlation
3. Spearman’s Rank Order Coefficient of Correlation

1. Scatter Diagram Method

Scatter diagram or dot diagram is a graphic device for drawing certain conclusions about the correlation between two
variables.
In preparing a scatter diagram, the observed pairs of observations are plotted by dots on a graph paper in a two
dimensional space by taking the measurements on variable X along the horizontal axis and that on variable Y along the
vertical axis. The placement of these dots on the graph reveals the change in the variable as to whether they change in
the same or in the opposite directions. It is a very easy, simple but rough method of computing correlation. The
frequencies or points are plotted on a graph by taking convenient scales for the two series. The plotted points will tend to
concentrate in a band of greater or smaller width according to its degree. ‘The line of best fit’ is drawn with a free hand
and its direction indicates the nature of correlation. Scatter diagrams, as an example, showing various degrees of
correlation are shown in the figure below.

2. Pearson’s Product Moment Coefficient of Correlation

The Pearson correlation coefficient is just one of many types of coefficients in the field of statistics. The following
lesson provides the formula, examples of when the coefficient is used, and its significance.
The Karl Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient (or simply, the Pearson’s correlation coefficient) is a
measure of the strength of a linear association between two variables and is denoted by r or rxy (x and y being
the two variables involved).
This method of correlation attempts to draw a line of best fit through the data of two variables, and the value of
the Pearson correlation coefficient, r, indicates how far away all these data points are to this line of best fit.
The Pearson correlation coefficient is a very helpful statistical formula that measures the strength between
variables and relationships. In the field of statistics, this formula is often referred to as the Pearson R test. When
conducting a statistical test between two variables, it is a good idea to conduct a Pearson correlation coefficient
value to determine just how strong that relationship is between those two variables.

Formula

In order to determine how strong the relationship is between two variables, a formula must be followed to produce what
is referred to as the coefficient value. The coefficient value can range between -1.00 and 1.00. If the coefficient value is
in the negative range, then that means the relationship between the variables is negatively correlated, or as one value
increases, the other decreases. If the value is in the positive range, then that means the relationship between the
variables is positively correlated, or both values increase or decrease together. Let's look at the formula for conducting
the Pearson correlation coefficient value.
102 Inter. J. Eng. Lit. Cult.

Method: Calculating Correlation Coefficient

2 2
Step 1: Make a chart. Use the given data, and add three more columns: xy, x , and y .
Step 2: Multiply x and y together to fill the xy column.
2
Step 3: Take the square of the numbers in the x column, and put the result in the x column
2
Step 4: Take the square of the numbers in the y column, and put the result in the y column.
Step 5: Add up all of the numbers in the columns and put the result at the bottom of the column. The Greek letter sigma
(Σ) is a short way of saying “sum of.”
Step 6: calculate the correlation coefficient using the formula.
Step 7: Interpret the results

Example 1: Correlation between Two Variables

2 2
No. X Y X Y XY
1 10 80 100 6400 800
2 30 60 900 3600 1800
3 50 140 2500 19600 7000
4 60 160 3600 25600 9600
2 2
N=4 ∑X=150 ∑Y=440 ∑ X =7100 ∑Y =55200 ∑XY=19200
The correlation of coefficient between X’ and Y’ will be:

The value of coefficient of correlation is + .85. This shows a high degree of relationship between the two variables.

Example 2

Calculate the correlation of coefficient between the number of cigarettes smoked and the longevity of a test subject.

Solution

Let us first assign random variables to our data in the following way:
X – The number of cigarettes smoked
Y – Years lived
Let us now construct a table to compute all the values we are going to use in our correlation formula. Note that N here =
9
 Wubante 103

2 2
X X Y Y XY
25 625 63 3669 1575
35 1225 68 4624 2380
10 100 72 5184 720
40 1600 62 3844 2480
85 7225 65 4225 5525
75 5625 46 2116 3450
60 3600 51 2601 3060
45 2025 60 3600 2700
50 2500 55 3136 2750
2 2
ΣX = 425 ΣX = 24525 ΣY = 542 ΣY = 33188 ΣXY = 24640
2 2 2 2
(ΣX) = 425 = 180625 (ΣY) = 542 = 293764
Using the values in the formula, we get: r xy=−0.61

This implies a negative correlation between the considered variables i.e. the higher the number of cigarettes smoked per
week in last 5 years, the lesser the number of years lived. Note that it DOES NOT mean that smoking cigarettes
decreases the life span. Because there might be other factors responsible for one’s death. Still, it is an important
conclusion nevertheless.

3. Spearman’s Rank Order Coefficient of Correlation

When data are measured on, at least, an ordinal scale, the ordered categories can be replaced by their ranks
and Pearson’s correlation coefficient calculated on these ranks. This is called Spearman’s rank correlation
coefficient (r) and provides a measure of how closely two sets of rankings agree with each other.
A correlation can easily be drawn as a scatter graph, but the most precise way to compare several pairs of data
is to use a statistical test - this establishes whether the correlation is really significant or if it could have been the
result of chance alone.
Spearman’s Rank correlation coefficient is a technique which can be used to summarize the strength and
direction (negative or positive) of a relationship between two variables. The result will always be between 1 and
minus 1.
This non-parametric analysis tool provides a way to compare two sets of ordinal data (data that can be rank
ordered in a meaningful manner). The result, r, is a measure of the association between two datasets.
You may want to know if two reviewers have similar ratings for movies, or if two assessment techniques provide
similar results. If r is 1 it means when one series increases the other does also. If r is -1, there is a negative
relationship, meaning as one series increases the other decreases. At zero there is no relationship between the
two series.
This does not work for sets with a non-linear relationship; say a parabolic function for example.

Method: Calculating the Coefficient

Step 1: Collect the data, and create a table from your data.
Step 2: Rank the data: Ranking is achieved by giving the ranking '1' to the biggest number in a column, '2' to the second
biggest value and so on. The smallest value in the column will get the lowest ranking. This should be done for both sets
of measurements.
Step 3: Calculate the difference in ranks (D): This is the difference between the ranks of the two values on each row of
the table.
Step 4: Square the differences (D²) to remove negative values and then sum them (D²).
2
Step 5: Sum column D
Step 6: Calculate r
Step 7: Interpret the results
104 Inter. J. Eng. Lit. Cult.

Calculating Correlation from Ranked Data

Rank Correlation

The formula of Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient is given as:

2
r =1-6x∑D
2
N (N -1)

r= the coefficients of rank correlation

2=
D the difference in rank between paired values of X and Y
N= sample size

Example 1: In a speech contest two professors judged 10 students. Their judgments were in ranks, which are presented
below. Determine the extent to which their judgments were in agreement.
2
Students Professor K’s Professor M’s Difference D
Ranks Ranks (D= R1-R2)
(R-1) (R-2)
A 1 1 0 0
B 3 2 1 1
C 4 5 -1 1
D 7 9 -2 4
E 6 6 0 0
F 9 8 1 1
G 8 10 -2 4
H 10 7 3 9
I 2 4 -2 4
J 5 3 2 4
2
N=10 ∑D=0 ∑D =28
2
r=1-6x∑D = 1- 6x28= 1-168= 1- .17= +.83
2 2
N (N -1) 10(10 -1) 990

The value of coefficient of correlation between scores in Mathematics and General Science is positive and high.

Calculating r from Test Scores

Example 2: The following data give the scores of 5 students in Mathematics and General Science respectively:
Compute the correlation between the two series of test scores by Rank Difference Method.

2
Students Score Score in Rank in Rank in Test Diff. in Ranks D
in Gen. Sci. Test 1 (R1) 2 (R2) D (R1-R2)
Math
A 8 10 2 1 1 1
B 7 8 3 2 1 1
C 9 7 1 3 -2 4
D 5 4 4 5 -1 1
E 1 5 5 4 1 1
N=5 ∑D=0 ∑D2=8
2
r=1-6x∑D = 1- 6x8= 1-48= 1- .40= +.60
2 2
N (N -1) 5(5 -1) 120
 Wubante 105

The value of coefficient of correlation between scores in Mathematics and General Science is positive and moderate.

Interpretation of the Coefficient of Correlation

Correlation coefficient is used to test the strength of relationship between two variables.
A coefficient can range from r = +1.00 to -1.00.
Merely computation of correlation does not have any significance until and unless we determine how large must
the coefficient be in order to be significant, and
What does correlation tell us about the data?
What do we mean by the obtained value of coefficient of correlation?

(Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2000)

Threats to Internal Validity

• There are some threats identified in conducting correlational research:

1. Subject Characteristics

Individuals or groups have two or more characteristics; might be a cause of variation in the other two variables.

2. Location

Location is different for different subject.

One location may be more comfortable compared to others.

3. Instrumentation

Instrument decay; care must be taken to ensure the observers don’t become tired, bored or inattentive.
Data collector characteristics; different gender, age or ethnicity may affect specific response.

4. Testing: Experience of responding to the first instrument may influence subject responses to the second instrument.

5. Mortality: Loss of subjects may make a relationship more (or less) likely in the remaining data.
106 Inter. J. Eng. Lit. Cult.

Strengths and Limitations of Correlational Research

Strengths Limitations
1. Can collect much information from many 1. Correlation does not indicate
subjects at one time. causation (cause and effect).
2. Can study a wide range of variables and 2. Problems with self-report method.
their interrelations. 3. Individuals are not studied in-depth.
3. Allow researchers an opportunity to 4. Correlational studies tend to have low
investigate variables that would be impossible or internal validity.
unethical to manipulate.
4. Correlational studies tend to have high
external validity.

Correlation Research Questions/ Topics: Examples REFERENCES

1. What is the relationship between gender, Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2000). Research
academic performance and university drug use? Methods in Education (5th ed.). London: New York.
2. Is there an association between personality type Crawford, M. (2014). Strengths and Limitations of
and seniority in companies? Correlational Design. Walden University.
3. What is the relationship between obesity and Creswell, J. (2012). Educational Research (4th ed.).
heart disease? Boston: Pearson Education Inc.
4. Is there a relationship between family income and Fitzgerald, S., Rumrill, P., & Schenker, J. (2004).
grade point average? Correlational Designs in Rehabilitation Research.
5. What is the relationship between education and Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 20 (2), 143-150.
income? Gallitano, G. (2002). Identifying Predictive and
6. Is there a relationship between intelligence and Correlational Variables in Male Recidivistic Criminal
self-esteem? Offenders (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from
7. What relationship exists between anxiety and Pro-Quest Information and Learning Company.
achievement? Kumar, R. (2005). Research Methodology. SAGE
8. Use of aptitude test to predict success Publications.
Mujis, D. (2004). Doing Quantitative Research in
CONCLUSION Education. SAGE Publications.
Stangor, C. (2011). Research Methods for the Behavioral
Correlational research is designed to test research Sciences. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
hypotheses in cases where it is not possible or desirable
to experimentally manipulate the independent variable of
interest. It is also desirable because it allows the
investigation of behavior in naturally occurring situations.