Correlational Research

Correlational Research

“Correlation is a statistical technique that can show whether and how strongly pairs of variables are related” (Creative Research Systems, 2010). Correlation research method is used in scientific research to study the association and/or relationship between variables. When the association between two variables becomes correlation coefficient, it is being calculated through quantitative measure. The goal for using this method is to observe if one or more variables cause and predict other variables, without having a causal relationship between them (Creative Research Systems, 2010). One great article I found is about money and happiness: “Can Money Buy Happiness: Are Lottery Winners any Happier in The Long Run?” At first people see how happy and ecstatic people that win the lottery are on television, however, past that point, there are no details on how their life is from there on. The question of whether they are happier or not still remains. The researchers developed the study by asking two paralyzed accident victims, a control group and lottery winners about their level of happiness. “There was no statistically significant difference between the lottery winners and the control group with respect to how happy they were at this stage of their lives” (Brikman, 1978). The control group as well as the lottery winners did not give any “evidence” of how happy they are going to be in couple of years (statistically insignificant). The lottery winners did not think, judge or be concerned about how happy they will be in few years, as the accident victims did. The results were that the relationship between money and the level of happiness is not linear. The increase of money might or might not increase your happiness (depends on the events). “These findings may also suggest that happiness may be relative. We may not be able to reach a higher level of happiness as a result of winning the lottery. Winning the lottery may simply raise our

References: Bradley, Megan (2000). Cyberlab for Psychology Research. Methods of Research. Retrieved November 26, 2011, from url: http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/researchmethods.html#corr Choudhury, Amit (2009). Statistical Correlation. Retrieved November 26, 2011, from url: http://www.experiment-resources.com/statistical-correlation.html Creative Research Systems (2010). The Survey System. Correlation. Retrieved November 26, 2011, from url: http://www.surveysystem.com/correlation.htm Huron, David (2000). Glossary of Research Terms in Systematic Musicology. Retrieved November 26, 2011, from url: http://musicog.ohio-state.edu/Music829C/glossary.html#floor effect McLeod, Saul (2008). Simply Psychology. Correlation. Retrieved November 26, 2011, from url: http://www.simplypsychology.org/correlation.html Stark, P.B (2001). Correlation and Association. Chapter 7. Retrieved November 26, 2011, from url: http://www.stat.berkeley.edu/~stark/SticiGui/Text/correlation.htm Wiley, John (2011). CliffNotes. Research Designs and Methods. Retrieved November 26, 2011, from url: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Research-Designs-and- Methods.topicArticleId-26831,articleId-26754.html Zechmeister, J.S., Zechmeister, E.B., & Shaughnessy, J.J. (2001). Essentials of Research Methods in Psychology. Chapter 5. New York: McGraw Hill. Retrieved from Kaplan University DocSharing. Zechmeister, J.S., Zechmeister, E.B., & Shaughnessy, J.J. (2001). Essentials of Research Methods in Psychology. Chapter 7. New York: McGraw Hill. Retrieved from Kaplan University DocSharing.