This page offers structured overviews of one or more selected methods. Add additional methods for comparisons (max. of 3) by clicking on the dropdown button in the right-hand column. To practice with a specific method click the button at the bottom row of the table
Pearson correlation
Chi-squared test for the relationship between two categorical variables
Goodness of fit test
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Variable 1
Independent /column variable
Independent variable
One quantitative of interval or ratio level
One categorical with $I$ independent groups ($I \geqslant 2$)
None
Variable 2
Dependent /row variable
Dependent variable
One quantitative of interval or ratio level
One categorical with $J$ independent groups ($J \geqslant 2$)
One categorical with $J$ independent groups ($J \geqslant 2$)
Null hypothesis
Null hypothesis
Null hypothesis
H0: $\rho = \rho_0$
Here $\rho$ is the Pearson correlation in the population, and $\rho_0$ is the Pearson correlation in the population according to the null hypothesis (usually 0). The Pearson correlation is a measure for the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two variables of at least interval measurement level.
H0: there is no association between the row and column variable
More precisely, if there are $I$ independent random samples of size $n_i$ from each of $I$ populations, defined by the independent variable:
H0: the distribution of the dependent variable is the same in each of the $I$ populations
If there is one random sample of size $N$ from the total population:
H0: the row and column variables are independent
H0: the population proportions in each of the $J$ conditions are $\pi_1$, $\pi_2$, $\ldots$, $\pi_J$
or equivalently
H0: the probability of drawing an observation from condition 1 is $\pi_1$, the probability of drawing an observation from condition 2 is $\pi_2$, $\ldots$,
the probability of drawing an observation from condition $J$ is $\pi_J$
Alternative hypothesis
Alternative hypothesis
Alternative hypothesis
H1 two sided: $\rho \neq \rho_0$
H1 right sided: $\rho > \rho_0$
H1 left sided: $\rho < \rho_0$
H1: there is an association between the row and column variable
More precisely, if there are $I$ independent random samples of size $n_i$ from each of $I$ populations, defined by the independent variable:
H1: the distribution of the dependent variable is not the same in all of the $I$ populations
If there is one random sample of size $N$ from the total population:
H1: the row and column variables are dependent
H1: the population proportions are not all as specified under the null hypothesis
or equivalently
H1: the probabilities of drawing an observation from each of the conditions are not all as specified under the null hypothesis
Assumptions of test for correlation
Assumptions
Assumptions
In the population, the two variables are jointly normally distributed (this covers the normality, homoscedasticity, and linearity assumptions)
Sample of pairs is a simple random sample from the population of pairs. That is, pairs are independent of one another
Note: these assumptions are only important for the significance test and confidence interval, not for the correlation coefficient itself. The correlation coefficient just measures the strength of the linear relationship between two variables.
Sample size is large enough for $X^2$ to be approximately chi-squared distributed under the null hypothesis. Rule of thumb:
2 $\times$ 2 table: all four expected cell counts are 5 or more
Larger than 2 $\times$ 2 tables: average of the expected cell counts is 5 or more, smallest expected cell count is 1 or more
There are $I$ independent simple random samples from each of $I$ populations defined by the independent variable, or there is one simple random sample from the total population
Sample size is large enough for $X^2$ to be approximately chi-squared distributed. Rule of thumb: all $J$ expected cell counts are 5 or more
Sample is a simple random sample from the population. That is, observations are independent of one another
Test statistic
Test statistic
Test statistic
Test statistic for testing H0: $\rho = 0$:
$t = \dfrac{r \times \sqrt{N - 2}}{\sqrt{1 - r^2}} $
where $r$ is the sample correlation $r = \frac{1}{N - 1} \sum_{j}\Big(\frac{x_{j} - \bar{x}}{s_x} \Big) \Big(\frac{y_{j} - \bar{y}}{s_y} \Big)$ and $N$ is the sample size
Test statistic for testing values for $\rho$ other than $\rho = 0$:
$r_{Fisher} = \dfrac{1}{2} \times \log\Bigg(\dfrac{1 + r}{1 - r} \Bigg )$, where $r$ is the sample correlation
$\rho_{0_{Fisher}} = \dfrac{1}{2} \times \log\Bigg( \dfrac{1 + \rho_0}{1 - \rho_0} \Bigg )$, where $\rho_0$ is the population correlation according to H0
$X^2 = \sum{\frac{(\mbox{observed cell count} - \mbox{expected cell count})^2}{\mbox{expected cell count}}}$
Here for each cell, the expected cell count = $\dfrac{\mbox{row total} \times \mbox{column total}}{\mbox{total sample size}}$, the observed cell count is the observed sample count in that same cell, and the sum is over all $I \times J$ cells.
$X^2 = \sum{\frac{(\mbox{observed cell count} - \mbox{expected cell count})^2}{\mbox{expected cell count}}}$
Here the expected cell count for one cell = $N \times \pi_j$, the observed cell count is the observed sample count in that same cell, and the sum is over all $J$ cells.
where $r_{Fisher} = \frac{1}{2} \times \log\Bigg(\dfrac{1 + r}{1 - r} \Bigg )$ and the critical value $z^*$ is the value under the normal curve with the area $C / 100$ between $-z^*$ and $z^*$ (e.g. $z^*$ = 1.96 for a 95% confidence interval).
Then transform back to get the approximate $C$% confidence interval for $\rho$:
The Pearson correlation coefficient is a measure for the linear relationship between two quantitative variables.
The Pearson correlation coefficient squared reflects the proportion of variance explained in one variable by the other variable.
The Pearson correlation coefficient can take on values between -1 (perfect negative relationship) and 1 (perfect positive relationship). A value of 0 means no linear relationship.
The absolute size of the Pearson correlation coefficient is not affected by any linear transformation of the variables. However, the sign of the Pearson correlation will flip when the scores on one of the two variables are multiplied by a negative number (reversing the direction of measurement of that variable). For example:
the correlation between $x$ and $y$ is equivalent to the correlation between $3x + 5$ and $2y - 6$.
the absolute value of the correlation between $x$ and $y$ is equivalent to the absolute value of the correlation between $-3x + 5$ and $2y - 6$. However, the signs of the two correlation coefficients will be in opposite directions, due to the multiplication of $x$ by $-3$.
The Pearson correlation coefficient does not say anything about causality.
The Pearson correlation coefficient is sensitive to outliers.
Results significance test ($t$ and $p$ value) testing $H_0$: $\beta_1 = 0$ are equivalent to results significance test testing $H_0$: $\rho = 0$
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Example context
Example context
Example context
Is there a linear relationship between physical health and mental health?
Is there an association between economic class and gender? Is the distribution of economic class different between men and women?
Is the proportion of people with a low, moderate, and high social economic status in the population different from $\pi_{low} = 0.2,$ $\pi_{moderate} = 0.6,$ and $\pi_{high} = 0.2$?
SPSS
SPSS
SPSS
Analyze > Correlate > Bivariate...
Put your two variables in the box below Variables
Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Crosstabs...
Put one of your two categorical variables in the box below Row(s), and the other categorical variable in the box below Column(s)
Click the Statistics... button, and click on the square in front of Chi-square
Put your categorical variable in the box below Test Variable List
Fill in the population proportions / probabilities according to $H_0$ in the box below Expected Values. If $H_0$ states that they are all equal, just pick 'All categories equal' (default)
Jamovi
Jamovi
Jamovi
Regression > Correlation Matrix
Put your two variables in the white box at the right
Under Correlation Coefficients, select Pearson (selected by default)
Under Hypothesis, select your alternative hypothesis
Frequencies > Independent Samples - $\chi^2$ test of association
Put one of your two categorical variables in the box below Rows, and the other categorical variable in the box below Columns
Frequencies > N Outcomes - $\chi^2$ Goodness of fit
Put your categorical variable in the box below Variable
Click on Expected Proportions and fill in the population proportions / probabilities according to $H_0$ in the boxes below Ratio. If $H_0$ states that they are all equal, you can leave the ratios equal to the default values (1)