The Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r)

A correlation coefficient is a single number that describes the degree to which the two variables show a relationship, typically by seeing if a value change in one variable results in a value change in the other variable that suggests they influence one another. The most widely used coefficient is the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, whose symbol is r. The Pearson r measures the degree of linear correlation between two variables. To represent correlation in terms of percentages, values of Pearson r need to be converted to another statistic called the coefficient of determination, whose symbol is r 2 , which indicates how to compute it: simply square r. those who have high employment test scores have high supervisors&s; ratings, and those who have low test scores have low supervisors&s; ratings. This illustrates what is meant by a direct relationship. In an inverse relationship, those who are high on one variable are low on the other.