Correlational Studies Overview

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to correlational studies as discussed in the lecture.

Correlational Study

A study that uses population-level data to look for associations between two or more characteristics.

Aggregate Data

Data grouped by population statistics, such as the proportion of a population with a characteristic.

Ecological Study

A correlational study that explores environmental exposures.

Ecological Fallacy

The incorrect assumption that individuals follow trends observed in population-level data.

Correlation

A statistical measure of the degree to which changes in one variable predict changes in another.

Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r)

A measure used for continuous variables that quantifies the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables.

Spearman Rank-Order Correlation (ρ)

A measure used with ranked variables to assess the strength and direction of association.

Coefficient of Determination (r²)

Shows the strength of a correlation without indicating the direction of the association.

Direct Age Standardization

The comparison of age-specific rates from study populations to a standard population.

Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR)

Compares the number of observed deaths in a study population to the expected number based on age-specific rates.

Crude Statistic

A raw statistic that gives an accurate measure of the experience in one population.

Adjusted Statistic

A statistic that has been corrected to account for other variables' effects.

Correlation Strength Interpretation

Strong: r = -0.70 to -1.00, Moderate: r = -0.30 to -0.69, Weak: r = -0.00 to -0.29.