A researcher wanted to know if the order in which runners finish a race is correlated with their weight. She conducts an experiment and the data are given below. What is the appropriate correlation coefficient for these data?
A) r
B) rho
C) phi
D) biserial

Question

A researcher wanted to know if the order in which runners finish a race is correlated with their weight. She conducts an experiment and the data are given below.  What is the appropriate correlation coefficient for these data?
A) r 
B) rho 
C) phi 
D) biserial

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The appropriate correlation coefficient for these data is Spearman's correlation coefficient (rho) because the data are ordinal and not normally distributed. Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) can only be used when both variables are normally distributed, and it assumes a linear relationship between the variables. Phi and biserial correlation coefficients are used when one variable is dichotomous, which is not the case in this scenario.

A Researcher Wanted to Know If the Order in Which