PREPARED BY MR.

ARUN JOSE

SCATTER DIAGRAMS AND KARL PEARSON CORRELATION TABLE

Different scatter d iagram s.

PREPARED BY MR. ARUN JOSE

The size of any correlation generally evalu ates as follow s:

Correlation Value Interpretation

≤0.50 Very low

0.51 to 0.79 Low

0.80 to 0.89 Mod erate

≥0.90 H igh (Good )

A high (or low ) negative correlation has the sam e in terpretation as a high (or low )
positive correlation. A negative correlation ind icates that high scores in one variable are
associated w ith low scores in the other variable (see Figu re 2, graphs d , e, f).

St at ist ical Significance of a Correlat ion

When pairs of nu m ber u sed to com pu te r are sm all, a spu riou sly high valu e can
occu r by chance. For exam ple, suppose nu m bers 1, 2, and 3 each w ritten on a separate piece
of p aper are placed in a hat. The nu m bers are then blind ly d raw n one at a tim e on tw o
d ifferent occasions. The possibility exists that the nu m bers cou ld be d raw n in the sam e
ord er tw ice. This w ou ld prod u ce r = 1.0 (a perfect correlation.) Bu t this valu e w ou ld be a
chance occu rrence since no know n factor(s) can cau se su ch a relationship. In contrast , the
od d s of 100 nu m bers being rand om ly selected in the sam e ord er tw ice are very low . Thu s, if
the r valu e w ith N pairs=100 is high, w e conclu d e that chance cannot be a factor explaining the
correlation. Thu s, the nu m ber of pairs of valu es (N ) d eterm ines the od d s that a relationship
cou ld happ en by chance. If N is sm all, r m u st be large to be significant (not cau sed by
chance). When N is large, a sm all r-valu e m ay be significant.

Table 2 is used to d eterm ine the significance of r. The left colu m n df represents the
d egrees of freed om : df = N pairs - 2 (the nu m ber of p airs of X Y scores m inu s 2). df represents
the nu m ber of valu es that are free to vary w hen the su m of the variable is set; df
com pensates for sm all valu es of N by requ iring higher absolu te valu es of r before being
consid ered significant.
Step 1. Find the d egrees of freed om in the left colu m n: d f = N pairs of d ata -2
Step 2. Read across the d f row and com pare the obtained r valu e w ith the valu e
listed in one of the colu m ns. The head ing at the top of each colu m n ind icates
the od d s of a chance occu rrence, (the probability of error w hen d eclaring r to
PREPARED BY MR. ARUN JOSE

be significant.) p =.10 is the 10% probability; p=.05 is the 5% probability level,

and p=.01 is the 1% probability level.

Reading from the table for df = 10, a correlation as high as r = 0.497 occurs 10 times in 100
by chance alone (p=.10); r = 0.576 occurs 5 times in 100 by chance (p=.05); and r=0.708
occurs 1 time in 100 by chance (p=.01).

If r locates betw een valu es in any tw o colu m ns, u se the left of the tw o colu m ns
(greater od d s for chance). If r d oes not equ al or exceed the valu e in the p=.10 colu m n, it is
said to be nonsignificant (N S). N egative r’s are read u sing the absolu te valu e of r.
Table 2. Values of the Correlation Coefficient (r)
df p = .10 p = .05 p = .01
1 9877 .9969 .9999
2 .900 .950 .990
3 .805 .878 .959
4 .729 .811 .917
5 .669 .754 .875
6 .621 .707 .834
7 .582 .666 .798
8 .549 .632 .765
9 .521 .602 .735
10 .497 .576 .708
11 .476 .553 .684
12 .457 .532 .661
13 .441 .514 .641
14 .426 .497 .623
15 .412 .482 .606
16 .400 .468 .590
17 .389 .456 .575
18 .378 .444 .561
19 .369 .433 .549
20 .360 .423 .537
25 .323 .381 .487
30 .296 .349 .449
35 .275 .325 .418
40 .257 .304 393
45 .243 .288 .372
50 .231 .273 .354
60 .211 .250 .325
70 .195 .232 .302
80 .183 .217 .283
90 .173 .205 .267
100 .164 .195 .254
From Biometrika Tables For Statisticiarts (Vol. 1) (3rd ea.)
by E.S. Pearson and H .O. H artley (Ed s.), 1966, Lond on:
Biom etrika Tru stees. Copyright 1966 by Biom etrika.