Lesson2-2-1



	EDR610 : The Class : Families : Correlational : Lesson2-2-1

Correlational Research

Correlational: We will see this term again in our Intro to Statistics course later! and it will mean a numeric or quantitative measurement of the same thing as we discuss here!

"Correlational" refers here to any question/statement (quant/qual/both) that deals with the following:

relationship(s);

association(s); (a synonym for 'relationship')

or predictive ability (sort of a 'special case' of relationship or association where 'one thing comes before another and is therefore used to predict or forecast it').
Or -- in bare bones ideas! -- 'what goes with what' or 'helps us predict what!'
Examples:(again, "keywords" are italicized)
1. What is the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover for entry-level assembly line workers?
2. This study is to determine the association among levels of academic achievement, motivation and persistence for high-school gifted and talented seniors in the sciences?
3. This study is to determine the predictive ability of high-school grade point average (GPA) to forecast first-year four-year college GPA.

Usually, our attempts to "understand" or "make sense of" complex phenomena (such as, for example, 'employee satisfaction,' 'student motivation,' 'student academic achivement') start by trying to figure out "what goes with what." This is at the heart of preliminary 'theory-building' and is the stuff of such 'correlational' studies (as the above questions!)!

Also please note the following:

The 'things' you are attempting to correlate or associate could be numeric or non-numeric, or both;

There could be more than two things at a time that you are trying to correlate/associate (such as for No. # 2, above)

2 things

between

for more than 2 things, we say, 'among.'

Did you see how, in No. # 3, above, the high-school GPA "came before," or preceded, the college GPA? This is what we mean by a 'time order' or 'sequence' for predictive ability/forecasting! One precedes the other and we try and see if knowledge of the first will help us to predict or forecast the second

However, it doesn't have to be the case that 'one comes before the other' in more general correlational studies! For instance, we could have a circular relationship between the following two concepts:

Let's say the above happens in your experience in Mary D's stats class!

Self-confidence may start low ("golly gee, statistics is tough as all get out! I'll never do well!")

With fear and trepidation, you attempt the first problem set in statistics;

Lo and behold, your grade is LOTS better than you thought it would be ("Hey, this wasn't as bad as I thought! I did much better than I expected to!")

Soooo ... it feeds back on your self-confidence ("Maybe I'm better in stats than I gave myself credit for!")

And so you're less afraid and more confident when you get the 2nd lesson packet and assignment ("Let me at it!")

AND you do EVEN BETTER! You're more relaxed and confident!

And so your self-confidence zooms even higher ... !!!
And you get the picture!!!
So: to recap, the important idea is to associate or correlate 2 or more things/concepts/ideas ... but 1) they could be measured in numbers, words, or both; 2) it doesn't HAVE to be the case that one comes before the other(s) UNLESS you are in that 'special case' of correlation: 'predictive ability/forecasting' as your goal.

Correlational Research Designs

Once you have completed this assignment, you should:

Go on to Write and Share a Correlational Research Problem Statement
or
Go back to Correlational Research Family

Send Email to Walt Coker at Walter.Coker@nau.edu
Call Walt Coker at (623) 772-0305

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