Final Remarks Ronald Rodgers(Prof)

I understand there is a fine line between the two correlations.  Honestly I don't
believe there is a right or wrong as Pearson’s correlation tends to be the default or go to
analysis.  If you run a correlation analysis in excel and try to get a correlation matrix from a
group of quantitative variables, excel doesn't even specify Pearson vs. spearman.  It's really
difficult to depict a monotonic relationship prior to seeing it in graph format so it’s really
about an educated guess and knowing your variables.  When analyzing strength of
association, some variables will impact each other (so both are independent) while some
variables will be impacted by others (dependent).  i.e.  age and income (age would probably
be the independent variable and income the dependent, meaning that as age increases
income would probably increase with it and as age decreases so would income -  age is not
impacted by income, but rather income is impacted by age). On the other end of the
spectrum, cell phone usage and study time- does cell phone usage impact study time or
does study time impact cell phone usage? Which one is the true dependent variable or are
they both independent variables and impact each other, which means they will move
together as opposed to one having to move in order to impact the other?
 
Also keep in mind that essentially, both Spearman’s and Pearson’s are measuring the
same thing and that is the strength of an association between variables and as such, using
more sophisticated statistical software (SPSS, SAS etc.) will allow you to run correlation
analysis using both Spearman’s and Pearson’s, in which both will return a correlation
coefficient, just with a slight variation to aid with increased validity of results. Stats is trial
and error so you'll just need to understand the interpretation and how to appropriately
publish your results to your intended audience allowing them to draw their own conclusions.

Additional help with Pearsons and Spearman's Correlation

Class to assist further with the difference between Pearsons and Spearmans correlation, I added a link
below that gives some great additional insight.  I know this can be a bit confusing because there's such
a fine line between the two and normally one can't immediately tell if there's a monotonic relationship
between variables.  However Pearsons correlation is usually the default or go-to correlation analysis.
https://statistics.laerd.com/statistical-guides/spearmans-rank-order-correlation-statistical-guide.php