Guess the Correlation HCS 445

The Pearson correlation coefficient is a measure of degree of linear relationship between two variables. There are many correlated variables in health research: weight and height, smoking and drinking, health behaviors, etc.

The bivariate scatter plot shown below illustrates a strong negative correlation between two variables:



The next graph depicts a correlation of 1 (i.e. for a variable correlated with itself):



For this discussion, analyze the graph below which represents the correlation between weight (vertical axis; weight in pounds) and height (horizontal axis; height in inches).  Do you think there is a negative or a positive correlation coefficient between these two variables?  What value do you think this correlation coefficient will have?  You do not need to be exact, but come up with a value you think would fit the given data.  For the estimated value, what would be the coefficient of determination and what does it mean?  Is this a strong correlation?  Please explain.