Question

Identify the strength ("weak" "moderate" "strong") and direction ("positive" "negative") of the correlation coefficients.

Coefficient	Strength	Direction
+.09
–.87
+.59

Answer 1

The correlation coefficient, denoted by r, is a measure of the strength of the straight-line or linear relationship between two variables. The correlation coefficient takes on values ranging between +1 and -1. The following points are the accepted guidelines for interpreting the correlation coefficient:

1) 0 indicates no linear relationship.
2) +1 indicates a perfect positive linear relationship: as one variable increases in its values, the other variable also increases in its values via an exact linear rule.
3) -1 indicates a perfect negative linear relationship: as one variable increases in its values, the other variable decreases in its values via an exact linear rule.
4) Values between 0 and 0.3 (0 and -0.3) indicate a weak positive (negative) linear relationship via a shaky linear rule.
5) Values between 0.3 and 0.7 (-0.3 and -0.7) indicate a moderate positive (negative) linear relationship via a fuzzy-firm linear rule.
6) Values between 0.7 and 1.0 (-0.7 and -1.0) indicate a strong positive (negative) linear relationship via a firm linear rule

Answer
a) +0.09
Weak Positive Coefficient
b) -0.87
Strong Negative Coefficient
c) +0.59
Moderate Positive Coefficient