Nicole H. answered • 05/16/18
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Psychology PhD, Dissertations, Research Methods, College Essays
When there is a relationship between two variables, this means that the observed variables are inter-correlated. For example, if you find a positive correlation between two variables (x and y), this means that when x increases so does y, and when x decreases so does y.
Let's apply this to a real-world example. Say you are testing the extent to which the number of hours students' study is correlated with how well they perform on exams. In this case, x is the number of hours studied and y is exam performance. If you find a positive relationship between the number of study hours and test performance, you can conclude that the more students study, the better they do on exams.
When more than two variables are related, this is called inter-correlation among the variables. For example, you may find that students who study more and who like the course subject perform better on exams. In this case, study hours, liking of the topic, and exam performance are all inter-correlated.
Remember that correlations do NOT imply causation. So with a simple correlation between variables, you cannot say that x causes y or that y causes x.
Hope that helps!
