Lesson 3 - 1

Scatterplots and Correlation

Knowledge Objectives

• Explain the difference between an explanatory variable and a response variable

• Explain what it means for two variables to be positively or negatively associated

• Define the correlation r and describe what it measures

• List the four basic properties of the correlation r that you need to know in order to interpret any correlation

• List four other facts about correlation that must be kept in mind when using r

Construction Objectives• Given a set of bivariate data, construct a scatterplot.

• Explain what is meant by the direction, form, and strength of the overall pattern of a scatterplot.

• Explain how to recognize an outlier in a scatterplot.

• Explain how to add categorical variables to a scatterplot.

• Use a TI-83/84/89 to construct a scatterplot.

• Given a set of bivariate data, use technology to compute the correlation r.

Vocabulary• Bivariate data – • Categorical Variables – • Correlation (r) –• Negatively Associated –• Outlier – • Positively Associated –• Scatterplot – • Scatterplot Direction – • Scatterplot Form – • Scatterplot Strength –

Scatter Plots

• Shows relationship between two quantitative variables measured on the same individual.

• Each individual in the data set is represented by a point in the scatter diagram.

• Explanatory variable plotted on horizontal axis and the response variable plotted on vertical axis.

• Do not connect the points when drawing a scatter diagram.

Drawing Scatter Plots by Hand

• Plot the explanatory variable on the x-axis. If there is no explanatory-response distinction, either variable can go on the horizontal axis.

• Label both axes

• Scale both axes (but not necessarily the same scale on both axes). Intervals must be uniform.

• Make your plot large enough so that the details can be seen easily.

• If you have a grid, adopt a scale so that you plot uses the entire grid

TI-83 Instructions for Scatter Plots

• Enter explanatory variable in L1• Enter response variable in L2• Press 2nd y= for StatPlot, select 1: Plot1• Turn plot1 on by highlighting ON and enter• Highlight the scatter plot icon and enter• Press ZOOM and select 9: ZoomStat

Interpreting Scatterplots• Just like distributions had certain important

characteristics (Shape, Outliers, Center, Spread)

• Scatter plots should be described by– Direction

positive association (positive slope left to right)negative association (negative slope left to right)

– Form linear – straight line, curved – quadratic, cubic, etc, exponential, etc

– Strength of the formweakmoderate (either weak or strong)strong

– Outliers (any points not conforming to the form)– Clusters (any sub-groups not conforming to the form)

Resp

on

se

Explanatory

Resp

on

se

Explanatory

Resp

on

se

Explanatory

Resp

on

se

Explanatory

Resp

on

se

Explanatory

Strong Negative Quadratic Association Weak Negative Linear Association

No RelationStrong Positive Linear Association

Strong Negative Linear Association

Example 1

Example 2

Describe the scatterplot below

Colorado

MildNegativeExponentialAssociation

One obviousoutlier

Two clusters > 50% < 50%

Example 3Describe the scatterplot below

MildPositiveLinearAssociation

One mildoutlier

Adding Categorical Variables

Use a different plotting color or symbol for each category

Associations

• Remember the emphasis in the definitions on above and below average values in examining the definition for linear correlation coefficient, r

Where x is the sample mean of the explanatory variable sx is the sample standard deviation for x y is the sample mean of the response variable sy is the sample standard deviation for y n is the number of individuals in the sample

Linear Correlation Coefficient, r

(xi – x)---------- sx

(yi – y)---------- sy

1r = ------ n – 1 Σ

Equivalent Form for r

• Easy for computers (and calculators)

r =

xi yixiyi – ----------- nΣ Σ Σ

√ xi xi

2 – -------- nΣ

(Σ )2 yi yi

2 – -------- nΣ

(Σ )2

=sxy

√sxx √syy

Important Properties of r

• Correlation makes no distinction between explanatory and response variables

• r does not change when we change the units of measurement of x, y or both

• Positive r indicates positive association between the variables and negative r indicates negative association

• The correlation r is always a number between -1 and 1

Linear Correlation Coefficient Properties

• The linear correlation coefficient is always between -1 and 1

• If r = 1, then the variables have a perfect positive linear relation

• If r = -1, then the variables have a perfect negative linear relation

• The closer r is to 1, then the stronger the evidence for a positive linear relation

• The closer r is to -1, then the stronger the evidence for a negative linear relation

• If r is close to zero, then there is little evidence of a linear relation between the two variables. R close to zero does not mean that there is no relation between the two variables

• The linear correlation coefficient is a unitless measure of association

TI-83 Instructions for Correlation Coefficient

• With explanatory variable in L1 and response variable in L2

• Turn diagnostics on by – Go to catalog (2nd 0)– Scroll down and when diagnosticOn is

highlighted, hit enter twice

• Press STAT, highlight CALC and select 4: LinReg (ax + b) and hit enter twice

• Read r value (last line)

Example 4

• Draw a scatter plot of the above data

• Compute the correlation coefficient

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

x 3 2 2 4 5 15 22 13 6 5 4 1

y 0 1 2 1 2 9 16 5 3 3 1 0

r = 0.9613

y

x

Example 5

Match the r values to the Scatterplots to the left

1)r = -0.99

2)r = -0.7

3)r = -0.3

4)r = 0

5)r = 0.5

6)r = 0.9

A

B

C F

E

D F

E

A

C

B

D

Cautions to Heed

• Correlation requires that both variables be quantitative, so that it makes sense to do the arithmetic indicated by the formula for r

• Correlation does not describe curved relationships between variables, not matter how strong they are

• Like the mean and the standard deviation, the correlation is not resistant: r is strongly affected by a few outlying observations

• Correlation is not a complete summary of two-variable data

Observational Data Reminder

• If bivariate (two variable) data are observational, then we cannot conclude that any relation between the explanatory and response variable are due to cause and effect

• Remember Observational versus Experimental Data

Summary and Homework

• Summary– Scatter plots can show associations between

variables and are described using direction, form, strength and outliers

– Correlation r measures the strength and direction of the linear association between two variables

– r ranges between -1 and 1 with 0 indicating no linear association

• Homework– 3.7, 3.8, 3.13 – 3.16, 3.21