The appropriate correlation coefficient for measuring the direction and strength of the linear relationship between one continuous and one dichotomous variable is
A)the Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient
B)the point-biserial correlation coefficient
C)the phi correlation coefficient
D)none of the above

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The appropriate correlation coefficient for measuring the direction and strength of the linear relationship between one continuous and one dichotomous variable is the point-biserial correlation coefficient. This is because it specifically measures the correlation between a continuous variable and a dichotomous variable. The Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient measures the correlation between two ordinal variables, while the phi correlation coefficient measures the correlation between two nominal variables. Therefore, B is the best choice.

The Appropriate Correlation Coefficient for Measuring the Direction and Strength