LINEAR REGRESSION AND CORRELATION

Statistics is also concerned in determining whether a relationship exists

between two or more variables.
In studying the relations between two variables, data are collected, and a
scatter plot is constructed to determine the nature of relationship. The possibilities
include a positive linear relationship, a negative linear relationship, a nonlinear
relationship, or no visible relationship at all. Next is to compute the value of the
correlation coefficient and to test the significance of the relationship. If the
correlation is significant, the equation if the regression is determined. The
regression line is the data’s line of best fit, which enables the researcher to see the
trend and make predictions on the basis of the data.
In a simple relationship, there are two variables- an independent variable
(also called an explanatory variable or a predictor variable) and a dependent
variable (also called a response variable). A simple relationship analysis is called
simple regression, where there is one independent variable that is used to predict
the dependent variable.
The scatter plot is a visual way to describe the nature of the relationship
between the variables.
 Correlation is a statistical method used to determine whether a linear
relationship or association between variables exists. The measure of the degree of
the relationship is known as the correlation coefficient it is computed from the
sample data to measure the strength and direction of linear relationship between
two variables. The symbol for the sample correlation coefficient is r while the
symbol for the population correlation is 𝜌 (rho). The range of the values of the
correlation coefficient is from -1 to +1.
If there is a perfect positive linear relationship between the variables, the
value of r is equal to +1. For a perfect negative linear relationship between
variables, the value of the r is equal to -1. When there is no linear relationship
exists between the variables, the value of r is equal to 0. A positive correlation is
present when high values in one variable are associated with high values in another
variable. On the other hand, when high values are associated with low values in the
other variable, a negative variable is present.
One of the several ways to compute the correlation coefficient is by using the
Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC) or simply the Pearson r,
named after the statistician Karl Pearson, who pioneered the research in this area.
References:
- Mathematics in the Modern World by R.O. Alejan, E.V. Veloria, G.B.
Bonghanoy, J.E.V. Ondaro, J.D. Sumalinog

- Mathematics in the Modern World by CENGAGE