Correlation

Types of Correlation
Positive correlation
High values of X tend to be associated with high
values of Y.
 As X increases, Y increases
Negative correlation
High values of X tend to be associated with low
values of Y.
 As X increases, Y decreases
No correlation
No consistent tendency for values on Y to
increase or decrease as X increases
Correlation Coefficient
Correlation
 Calculation for Example
CovXY = 11.12
 sX = 2.33
 sY = 6.69
cov XY 11.12 11.12
r    .713
s X sY (2.33)(6.69) 15.59
Correlation = .713
Sign is positive
Why?
If sign were negative
What would it mean?
Would not alter the degree of
relationship.
 coefficient of Correlation

Example 7.1: Correlation of Gestational Age and Birth Weight

 A small study is conducted involving 17 infants to investigate the association

between gestational age at birth, measured in weeks, and birth weight,
measured in grams.
 coefficient of Correlation

Example 7.1: Correlation of Gestational Age and Birth Weight

 We wish to estimate the association between gestational age and infant birth
weight.

 In this example, birth weight is the dependent variable and gestational age is
the independent variable. Thus Y = birth weight and X = gestational age.

 The data are displayed in a scatter diagram in the figure below.

 coefficient of Correlation
Example 7.1: Correlation of Gestational Age and Birth Weight

 For the given data, it can be shown the following

(𝑋𝑖 −𝑋)(𝑌𝑖 −𝑌)

𝑟∗ = = 0.82
𝑠𝑥 .𝑠𝑦

Conclusion: The sample’s correlation coefficient indicates a strong positive correlation

between Gestational Age and Birth Weight.