Correlational Studies

Correlation

A measure of the extent to which two variables are related, showing the association between them.

Predictor Variable

The variable that is considered to occur before the outcome variable and is used to predict the value of the outcome variable.

Correlation Coefficient

A numerical score that represents the relationship between variables, ranging from 0 to 1, indicating the strength of the relationship.

Positive Correlation

When an increase in one variable is associated with an increase in the other variable.

Negative Correlation

When an increase in one variable is associated with a decrease in the other variable.

Zero Correlation

When there is no relationship between variables.

Spearman’s rho

A statistical test of correlation used to determine if a significant relationship exists between two variables.

Causation

The relationship where a change in one variable is the direct cause of a change in the values of another variable.

Third Variable

A variable that may be influencing the relationship between two correlated variables, indicating that correlation does not imply causation.