Correlational Study

A research method which looks for a casual relationship between two measured variables. A change in one variable is related to a change in
the other (although these changes cannot be assumed to be casual).

Things to remember about CS:

Correlational Study is carried out partly because the unmanipulability of the variable for practical or ethical reasons.
Variables must be measurable (operationalization)
Techniques vary from self-reports to observations and di erent kinds of tests.
The nature of the relationship between the two variables in a correlation can be described in terms of its direction.
Positive correlation
Negative correlation
Evaluation: operationalization is important, reliability depends on the measures of both variables being consistent.

RESEARCH METHODS IN PRACTICE

Professor Smudge is studying phobias. She thinks that there may be a correlation between how long a phobia has lasted and how severe it
is. She is asking her sample of participants with phobias to record how many years they have su ered with their fear and rate how much the
phobia interferes with their life on a scale of 1 (hardly at all) to 10 (almost constantly and prevents me from functioning normally). If there is a
link between the two measured variables, there are two possible outcomes. There may be a positive correlation – phobias that have lasted
longer may be more severe. There may, however, be no relationship between the two variables. If so, when she plotted the results on a
scatter graph, the points would appear randomly placed, rather than lying on a line.

• An alternative outcome might have been that phobias that have lasted longer are less severe. Explain why this is a negative correlation.
• If Professor Smudge found a positive correlation, it would be tempting, but incorrect, to say that the passage of time makes phobias worse.
Why would this conclusion be incorrect?
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