What are some advantages of the Spearman rank correlation coef...

Question

What are some advantages of the Spearman rank correlation coefficient over the Pearson correlation coefficient?

Accepted Answer

Hello there. Today we're going to solve the following practice problem together. So first off, let us read the problem and highlight all the key pieces of information that we need to use in order to solve this problem. A researcher has two variables measured on an ordinal scale. Which correlation coefficient is most appropriate to use and why? Awesome. So it appears for this particular prompt, we asked to determine which of our multiple choice answers represents the the most appropriate correlation coefficient that is to use for this particular problem and why. So which correlation coefficient is the most appropriate to use and why, using our multiple choice answers to. Determine which correlation coefficient is the most appropriate to use based on the information that is provided to us by the prom itself. So with that in mind, let's read off our multiple choice answers to see what our final answer might be. A is Spearman because it works with ordinal data. B is Pearson because it is robust to nonlinearity. C is Pearson because it uses ranks, and D is spearman because it requires interval data. Awesome. So with that in mind, our first step that we need to take is we need to recall and note that the Spearman rank correlation coefficient is appropriate for ordinal data because it uses the ranks of the data rather than the raw values. Secondly, we need to consider that, on the other hand, as we should recall, the Pearson correlation coefficient requires interval or ratio data and assumes a linear relationship. So that means our final step, therefore, without a doubt, based on the information that we know, The difference between a spearman and a Pearson. Correlation we therefore will determine that for this particular prom Spearman is the correct choice for ordinal data. So that will mean that our final answer without a doubt will have to be multiple choice answer letter A, which once again is spearman because it works with ordinal data. Thank you so much for watching. Hopefully that helped, and I can't wait to see you in the next video. Bye.

What are some advantages of the Spearman rank correlation coefficient over the Pearson correlation coefficient?

Key Concepts

Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient

Pearson Correlation Coefficient

Non-parametric vs. Parametric Tests

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