This lesson explores a key concept for statistics and probability: correlation.
- correlation
- causation
- high correlation
- low correlation
- no correlation
- positive correlation
- negative correlation
- correlation coefficients
Correlation
Correlation measures the relationship between or amongst variables. If two variables are very related, there is a high correlation. If two variables are not very related, there is a low correlation. If there is no relationship between two variables, there is no correlation. Examine the examples below.
High correlation:
- How much people exercise and their physical fitness
- A person’s height and the height of people in his/her family
- An area’s amount of precipitation and the water level in local aquifers
Low / No correlation:
- How much junk food someone eats and the car they drive
- Someone’s name and what kind of sports they like to play
- The amount of pollen in the air and the number of people ticketed for traffic violations
Understanding correlations is useful for statisticians because relationships are kinds of patterns. If a pattern is consistently true now, it is possible that it will continue to be true in the future. This allows for prediction and determining the probability of future outcomes.
Graphing Correlation
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