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Scatterplot
Imagine that you are interested in studying patterns in individuals with children under the age of 10. You collect data from 25
individuals who have at least one child. After you've collected your data, you enter it into a table.
You try to draw conclusions about the data from the table; however, you find yourself overwhelmed. You decide an easier way to
analyze the data is by comparing the variables two at a time. In order to see how the variables relate to each other, you create
scatterplots.
So what is a scatterplot? A scatterplot is a graph that is used to plot the data points for two variables. Each scatterplot has a
horizontal axis (x-axis) and a vertical axis (y-axis). One variable is plotted on each axis. Scatterplots are made up of marks; each
mark represents one study participant's measures on the variables that are on the x-axis and y-axis of the scatterplot.
Most scatterplots contain a line of best fit, which is a straight line drawn through the center of the data points that best represents
the trend of the data. Scatterplots provide a visual representation of the correlation, or relationship between the two variables.
Types of Correlation
All correlations have two properties: strength and direction. The strength of a correlation is determined by its numerical value.
The direction of the correlation is determined by whether the correlation is positive or negative.
Positive correlation: Both variables move in the same direction. In other words, as one variable increases, the other
variable also increases. As one variable decreases, the other variable also decreases.
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Negative correlation: The variables move in opposite directions. As one variable increases, the other variable decreases.
As one variable decreases, the other variable increases.
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i.e., hours spent sleeping and hours spent awake are negatively correlated.
No Correlations
What does it mean to say that two variables have no correlation? It means that there is no apparent relationship between the two
variables. For example, there is no correlation between shoe size and salary. This means that high scores on shoe size are just as
likely to occur with high scores on salary as they are with low scores on salary.
Strength
The strength of a correlation indicates how strong the relationship is between the two variables. The strength is determined by the
numerical value of the correlation. A correlation of 1, whether it is +1 or -1, is a perfect correlation. In perfect correlations, the data
points lie directly on the line of fit. The further the data are from the line of fit, the weaker the correlation. A correlation of 0indicates
that there is no correlation. The following should be considered when determining the strength of a correlation:
When comparing a positive correlation to a negative correlation, only look at the numerical value. Do not consider whether
or not the correlation is positive or negative. The correlation with the highest numerical value is the strongest.
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If the numerical values of a correlation are the same, then they have the same strength no matter if the correlation is
positive or negative.
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