The sign of the correlation (+/-) is generally meaningless for the point-biserial correlation and the phi-coefficient.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The point-biserial correlation and the phi-coefficient are both measures of association between a dichotomous variable and a continuous variable. The sign of the correlation (+/-) is generally meaningless for these measures because it simply indicates the direction of the relationship, not the strength of the relationship.

The Sign of the Correlation (+/-) Is Generally Meaningless for the Point-Biserial