correlation

→a way of establishing whether there is a relationship between 2 co-variables and then we assess the strength of that relationship

the deal with correlations is that they state a relationship, not a cause and effect

to analyse the relationship:

positive correlation= 2 co-variables are directly proportional to eachother

negative correlation= 2 co-variables are indirectly proportional to eachother

correlation coefficient

→is a statistical method for assessing the strength of a correlation

(+) and (-) tells you the direction of the correlation

eval

strengths

+can identify a relationship which can prompt more research (pleminary(pre-test for something))

+researchers can analyse the data statistically

+economical

limitations

-can’t establish cause and effect

-variables have to be quantified which means measures may lack validity

-there could be a third variable accounting for association