 Table of contents

1. Correlational vs. experimental research

Correlational
2. When to use correlational Research
research | When &
How to Use
3. How to collect correlational data
4. How to analyze correlational data
Published on July 7,and
5. Correlation 2021 by Pritha Bhandari. Revised on June 22, 2023.
causation
6. Other interesting articles
A 7.
correlational
Frequently research designabout
asked questions investigates relationships
correlational research between
variables without the researcher controlling or manipulating any of
them.

A correlation reflects the strength and/or direction of the

relationship between two (or more) variables. The direction of a
correlation can be either positive or negative.

Positive correlation

Both variables change in the same direction

As height increases, weight also increases

Negative correlation

The variables change in opposite directions

As coffee consumption increases, tiredness decreases

 Zero correlation

 Table
There is noof contentsbetween the variables
relationship

1. Correlational vs. experimental research

Coffee consumption is not correlated with height
2. When to use correlational research
3. How to collect correlational data
4. How to analyze correlational data
5. Correlation and causation
6. Other interesting articles
7. Frequently asked questions about correlational research

Correlational vs. experimental research

Correlational and experimental research both use quantitative
methods to investigate relationships between variables. But there
are important differences in data collection methods and the types
of conclusions you can draw.

Purpose

Used to test strength of association between variables

Used to test cause-and-effect relationships between variables

 Variables

 Tableare
Variables of contents
only observed with no manipulation or intervention by
researchers
1. Correlational vs. experimental research
2. When to use correlational research
An independent variable is manipulated and a dependent variable is
3. How to collect correlational data
observed
4. How to analyze correlational data
5. Correlation and causation
Control
6. Other interesting articles
7. Frequently
Limited control asked questions
is used, so other about correlational
variables may play aresearch
role in the
relationship

Extraneous variables are controlled so that they can’t impact your

variables of interest

Validity

High external validity: you can confidently generalize your conclusions

to other populations or settings

High internal validity: you can confidently draw conclusions about

causation
  Table of contents
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When to use correlational research

Correlational research is ideal for gathering data quickly from
natural settings. That helps you generalize your findings to real-life
situations in an externally valid way.

There are a few situations where correlational research is an

appropriate choice.
To investigate non-causal relationships
You want to find out if there is an association between two
 Table of contents
variables, but you don’t expect to find a causal relationship
1. Correlational
between them. vs. experimental research
2. When to use correlational research
Correlational research
3. How to collect can provide
correlational data insights into complex real-world
4. How to analyze
relationships, correlational
helping researchers data
develop theories and make
5. Correlation and causation
predictions.
6. Other interesting articles
7. Frequently asked questions about correlational research
Example

You want to know if there is any correlation between the

number of children people have and which political party
they vote for. You don’t think having more children causes
people to vote differently—it’s more likely that both are
influenced by other variables such as age, religion, ideology
and socioeconomic status. But a strong correlation could be
useful for making predictions about voting patterns.

To explore causal relationships between variables

You think there is a causal relationship between two variables, but
it is impractical, unethical, or too costly to conduct experimental
research that manipulates one of the variables.

Correlational research can provide initial indications or additional

support for theories about causal relationships.

Example
 You want to investigate whether greenhouse gas emissions
cause global warming. It is not practically possible to do an
 Table of contents
experiment that controls global emissions over time, but
1.through
Correlational vs. experimental
observation research
and analysis you can show a strong
2. When to use correlational research
correlation that supports the theory.
3. How to collect correlational data
4. How to analyze correlational data
To
5. test new measurement
Correlation and causation tools
6. Other interesting articles
You have developed a new instrument for measuring your variable,
7. Frequently asked questions about correlational research
and you need to test its reliability or validity.

Correlational research can be used to assess whether a tool

consistently or accurately captures the concept it aims to measure.

Example

You develop a new scale to measure loneliness in young

children based on anecdotal evidence during lockdowns. To
validate this scale, you need to test whether it’s actually
measuring loneliness. You collect data on loneliness using
three different measures, including the new scale, and test
the degrees of correlations between the different
measurements. Finding high correlations means that your
scale is valid.
How to collect correlational data
 Table
There of contents
are many different methods you can use in correlational
research. In the social
1. Correlational and behavioral
vs. experimental sciences, the most common
research
data
2. collection methods
When to use for this
correlational type of research include surveys,
research
observations, and secondary
3. How to collect correlationaldata.
data
4. How to analyze correlational data
It’s important to carefully choose and plan your methods to ensure
5. Correlation and causation
the
6. reliability and validity
Other interesting of your results. You should carefully
articles
select a representative
7. Frequently sampleabout
asked questions so that your dataresearch
correlational reflects the
population you’re interested in without research bias.

Surveys
In survey research, you can use questionnaires to measure your
variables of interest. You can conduct surveys online, by mail, by
phone, or in person.

Surveys are a quick, flexible way to collect standardized data from

many participants, but it’s important to ensure that your questions
are worded in an unbiased way and capture relevant insights.

Example

To find out if there is a relationship between vegetarianism

and income, you send out a questionnaire about diet to a
sample of people from different income brackets. You
statistically analyze the responses to determine whether
vegetarians generally have higher incomes.
Naturalistic observation
Naturalistic observation is a type of field research where you
 Table of contents
gather data about a behavior or phenomenon in its natural
1. Correlational vs. experimental research
environment.
2. When to use correlational research
This
3. method often correlational
How to collect involves recording,
data counting, describing, and
4. How to analyze
categorizing actionscorrelational
and events. data
Naturalistic observation can
5. Correlation
include and causation
both qualitative and quantitative elements, but to assess
6. Other interesting articles
correlation, you collect data that can be analyzed quantitatively
7. Frequently asked questions about correlational research
(e.g., frequencies, durations, scales, and amounts).

Naturalistic observation lets you easily generalize your results to

real world contexts, and you can study experiences that aren’t
replicable in lab settings. But data analysis can be time-consuming
and unpredictable, and researcher bias may skew the
interpretations.

Example

To find out if there is a correlation between gender and class

participation, you observe college seminars, note the
frequency and duration of students’ contributions, and
categorize them based on gender. You statistically analyze
the data to determine whether men are more likely to speak
up in class than women.
Secondary data
Instead of collecting original data, you can also use data that has
 Table of contents
already been collected for a different purpose, such as official
1. Correlational
records, polls, or vs. experimental
previous research
studies.
2. When to use correlational research
Using secondary
3. How to collectdata is inexpensive
correlational data and fast, because data
4. How to
collection is analyze correlational
complete. However,data
the data may be unreliable,
5. Correlation
incomplete andentirely
or not causation
relevant, and you have no control over
6. Other interesting articles
the reliability or validity of the data collection procedures.
7. Frequently asked questions about correlational research

Example

To find out if working hours are related to mental health, you

use official national statistics and scientific studies from
several different countries to combine data on average
working hours and rates of mental illness. You statistically
analyze the data to see if countries that work fewer hours
have better mental health outcomes.

How to analyze correlational data

After collecting data, you can statistically analyze the relationship
between variables using correlation or regression analyses, or
both. You can also visualize the relationships between variables
with a scatterplot.
Different types of correlation coefficients and regression analyses
are appropriate for your data based on their levels of measurement
 Table of contents
and distributions.
1. Correlational vs. experimental research
Correlation analysis
2. When to use correlational research
3. How
Using to collect correlational
a correlation analysis, youdata
can summarize the relationship
4. Howvariables
between to analyzeinto
correlational data coefficient: a single number
a correlation
5. Correlation and causation
that describes the strength and direction of the relationship
6. Other interesting articles
between variables. With this number, you’ll quantify the degree of
7. Frequently asked questions about correlational research
the relationship between variables.

The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, also known

as Pearson’s r, is commonly used for assessing a linear relationship
between two quantitative variables.

Correlation coefficients are usually found for two variables at a

time, but you can use a multiple correlation coefficient for three or
more variables.

Regression analysis
With a regression analysis, you can predict how much a change in
one variable will be associated with a change in the other variable.
The result is a regression equation that describes the line on a
graph of your variables.

You can use this equation to predict the value of one variable
based on the given value(s) of the other variable(s). It’s best to
perform a regression analysis after testing for a correlation
between your variables.
  Table of contents
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1. Correlational vs. experimental research
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7. Frequently asked questions about correlational research

Correlation and causation

It’s important to remember that correlation does not imply
causation. Just because you find a correlation between two things
doesn’t mean you can conclude one of them causes the other for a
few reasons.

Directionality problem
If two variables are correlated, it could be because one of them is a
cause and the other is an effect. But the correlational research
design doesn’t allow you to infer which is which. To err on the side
of caution, researchers don’t conclude causality from correlational
studies.

Example

You find a positive correlation between vitamin D levels and

depression: people with low vitamin D levels are more likely
 to have depression. But you can’t be certain about whether
having low vitamin D levels causes depression, or whether
 Table of contents
having depression causes reduced intakes of vitamin D
1.through
Correlational vs. or
lifestyle experimental research Therefore, you can
appetite changes.
2. When to use correlational research
only conclude that there is a relationship between these two
3. How to collect correlational data
variables.
4. How to analyze correlational data
5. Correlation and causation

Third variable
6. Other problem
interesting articles
7. Frequently asked questions about correlational research
A confounding variable is a third variable that influences other
variables to make them seem causally related even though they are
not. Instead, there are separate causal links between the
confounder and each variable.

In correlational research, there’s limited or no researcher control

over extraneous variables. Even if you statistically control for some
potential confounders, there may still be other hidden variables
that disguise the relationship between your study variables.

Example

You find a strong positive correlation between working hours

and work-related stress: people with lower working hours
report lower levels of work-related stress. However, this
doesn’t prove that lower working hours causes a reduction in
stress.
 There are many other variables that may influence both
variables, such as average income, working conditions, and
 Table of contents
job insecurity. You might statistically control for these
1.variables,
Correlational
but vs.
youexperimental research
can’t say for certain that lower working
2. When to use correlational research
hours reduce stress because other variables may complicate
3. How to collect correlational data
the relationship.
4. How to analyze correlational data
5. Correlation and causation
6. Othera interesting
Although articles
correlational study can’t demonstrate causation on its
7. Frequently asked questions about correlational research
own, it can help you develop a causal hypothesis that’s tested in
controlled experiments.

Other interesting articles

If you want to know more about statistics, methodology, or
research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles
with explanations and examples.

 Statistics

Normal distribution
Skewness
Kurtosis
Degrees of freedom
Variance
Null hypothesis
  Methodology
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Discourse analysis
1. Correlational vs. experimental research
Control groups
2. When to use correlational research
3. Mixed methods
How to research data
collect correlational
4. Non-probability sampling data
How to analyze correlational
5. Quantitative research
Correlation and causation
6. Ecological
Other interesting
validityarticles
7. Frequently asked questions about correlational research

 Research bias

Rosenthal effect
Implicit bias
Cognitive bias
Selection bias
Negativity bias
Status quo bias

Frequently asked questions about

correlational research

What is a correlation? 
What is correlational research? 

 Table of contents
What’s the difference between correlational and 

1. Correlational
experimental vs. experimental research
research?
2. When to use correlational research
3. How
How to collect
many correlational
variables data
are in a correlation? 

4. How to analyze correlational data

What is a correlation
5. Correlation coefficient?
and causation 

6. Other interesting articles

7. Frequently asked questions about correlational research

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1. Correlational vs. experimental research

Pritha
2. When to use correlational Bhandari
research
3. Howhas
Pritha to collect correlational
an academic data
background in English, psychology and
4.cognitive
How to analyze correlational
neuroscience. As andata
interdisciplinary researcher, she
5.enjoys writing
Correlation articles
and explaining tricky research concepts for
causation
students and academics.
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2. When to use correlational research
3.Correlation
How to collectCoefficient | Types,
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5.A correlation
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