Correlation/Regression

Rachel Cunliffe, Ross Parsonage and Matt Regan

Resources

• Student worksheets
  • Class notes (Updated!)
  • Filled in class notes (Updated!)
  • Investigations
  • Anscombe data sets
• PowerPoint for class teaching (New!)
• Excel Instructions
• Excel instructions (Flash format - requires the free Flash player)
  • Do you have the Data Analysis ToolPak?
  • Drawing a Scatter Plot
  • Sample Correlation Coefficient
  • Simple Linear Regression
  • Adding a Trend Line and its Equation to a Scatter Plot

Datasets Suitable for Regression/Correlation Analyses

• Excel data files
  • Student worksheets
  • Investigations Data
  • Other
• Websites for data
  • 2003 CensusAtSchool sampler and 2005 CensusAtSchool sampler (New!)
  • Exploring Data (Education Queensland Australia)
    In particular: Student Generated Data, Olympic Gold Medal Performances and other datasets
  • DASL
    In particular: Look at correlation and simple linear regression under Stories by Method. Also look at Data Subjects.
  • JSE (Journal of Statistics Education) data archive
    In particular diamond data, televisions.dat, and fruitfly.data
  • Statistics New Zealand Schools' Corner (Secondary)
    In particular: Look at the workbook (Mike Cambden) NZAMT8.xls and the spreadsheets Hamilton, Cattle, NZ for some ideas about Stats NZ data and regression. Also see all subject folders which contain tables in table builder format.
  • CIA The World Fact Book
  • Statistical Consulting Centre (University of Melbourne)
    In particular: 'How long does it take to sail the Sydney to Melbourne yacht race?' and "What is the equivalent for pi r-squared for clover leaves"
  • Physical Strength and Job Performance
    How does one select employees to perform physically demanding jobs? This case study examines the relationship between isometric strength tests and job performance for 147 workers.
  • US/British and metric statistics on planets
  • Olympic games statistics
  • World Record progression statistics
  • Calorie, fat, carbohydrate, protein content for various foods including fast foods by chain. (New!)

Applets

• Regression by eye A scatter plot is displayed and you can draw in regression lines by hand. You can then compare your lines to the best least squares fit. You can also try to guess the correlation coefficient, r.
• Guess the correlation coefficient competition Four scatter plots and 4 correlation coefficients and your task is to match the coefficients to the plots. New plots can be generated and a running score is kept.
• Build your own scatter plot You can add points to the plot and move points around. See the effects on the least squares fitted line (the plotted line and its equation) and the correlation coefficient.
• Components of r The slope, standard error of the estimate, and the standard deviation of X can all be manipulated independently to see the effect on the scatter plot, r and a visual representation of R-squared.
• Scatter plot and correlation coefficient The sample size, the points on the scatter plot and the correlation coefficient can all be manipulated independently for you to see their effect on each other.
• Nonlinear examples and the correlation coefficient

If you go to a page with an applet and you do not have the proper plug-in, you should be prompted automatically to download the plug-in. If this does not happen, download and execute the Java plug-in given here Java 2.

Requirements: Some of the applets require a browser that supports the Java 2 platform and the Java Swing components. We recommend the latest versions of Internet Explorer or Netscape, with the Java plug-in.

Articles

• Correlation Coefficients: some more basic ideas (Link added 03/12/2003)
• Introduction to Simple Linear Regression: some more basic ideas (Link added 03/12/2003)
• Correlation and Causation

Recommended Resource Text

• Chance Encounters: A First Course in Data Analysis and Inference by Christopher J Wild and George A. F. Seber
  (Wiley ISBN 0-471-32936-3)
• Statistical Ideas and Methods by Jessica M. Utts and Robert F. Heckard
  (Duxbury Thomson Brooks/Cole ISBN: 0-495-12250-5)
• Intro Stats by Richard D. De Veaux and Paul F. Velleman
  (PEARSON Addison Wesley ISBN 0-201-70910-4)
• Statistical Questions from the Classroom by J. Michael Shaughnessy and Beth Chance
  (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics ISBN 0-87353-582-0 but also available from the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers see Resource Catalouge, page 25.)