ABSTRACT
Correlation is the measurement of the extent to which pairs of related values of two variables tend to change together or ‘co-vary’; it is a standardised measure of co-variation. Statements such as ‘there is a correlation between severe punishment and later delinquency in young boys’ or ‘severe punishment and delinquency in young boys tend to correlate’ are often made in theoretical literature. Actually, the authors would not accept these statements as valid unless the correlational relationships were at least significant. An important first step, however, is to establish the strength of a correlational relationship. Measure of the closeness of the relationship in a correlation, indicated by a number between 0 and 1 (positive or negative). Strength does not indicate significance even if high.
