Calculate and Interpret a Bivariate Correlation

Activity 8.3 Instructions Document

Name: 8.3 SPSS Activity: Calculating and Interpreting Results for a Bivariate Correlation Between

Two Variables.

The following activity will present an opportunity to put into practice what you have learned and read

about regarding correlation and correlation coefficients. The narratives supplied in these exercises will

provide all the information you will need to calculate the proper statistical values. Please read the

following narrative and then use the Excel spreadsheet provided to import the data into SPSS to construct

a dataset that SPSS can use to perform the proper statistical analyses.

Problem Narrative 8.3:

Marketing for many colleges and universities always imply that more school will result in greater income.

To test this statement, data was collected from 19 individuals who attended and completed various years

in education including high school and college. That information is included in the table below.

Education Income

12 30

18 52

14 55

12 35

16 48

20 150

14 58

16 50

18 68

20 126

12 42

16 52

18 71

20 120

14 45

16 42

18 75

12 40

16 50

In the table above, education is listed in years, and income is listed in thousands. So, a 12 in the education

column would indicate that the person has completed 12 years of school (basically graduated high

school); a 14 in the education column would indicate a person who has completed 2 years of college (an

AS degree); a 16 in the education column would indicate a person who has completed 4 years of college

(a BS degree); an 18 in the education column would indicate a person who has completed 2 years of

graduate school (an MS degree); and a 20 in the education column would indicate a person who has

completed 2 additional years of graduate work (a doctoral degree). In the income column, income is listed

in thousands, so if a 40 is listed, that would indicate an annual income of $40,000 and so on. If the

marketing information provided by colleges and universities is correct, then more years of education

should correlate to higher income.

Download the Excel spreadsheet “8.3 Data Input” and import the spreadsheet into SPSS for subsequent

analyses

Part I: Import Data into SPSS:

Use the spreadsheet you just downloaded “8.3 Data Input” and import the data in this spreadsheet into

SPSS for subsequent analyses. Name your SPSS datafile “8.3 SPSS Education Income Dataset” with

the “.sav” extension. Your SPSS datafile should be ready to use for analysis.

Part II: Short Answer Questions:

Create an MSWord document to answer the short answer questions from part II and III of this exercise.

The name of the file will be “8.3 SPSS Exercise – Short Answer Questions”. Save this for subsequent

upload as one of your deliverables for this exercise.

Answer the following based on the narrative and data provided:

1. What are the variables you will be comparing in this scenario? List them.

2. What is the hypothesis?

3. If you find a significant correlation between the two variables, what does that mean exactly?

Part III: Running the Appropriate Analysis in SPSS:

Using the “8.3 SPSS Education Income Dataset” you created previously in this exercise, conduct a

bivariate correlation using a Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient to see if the assumption

stated in the narrative, that years of education and higher income are correlated. Use SPSS to generate a

scatterplot on the data and a regression line to be used for prediction within the range of our predictor

variable.

Add the following to your list of short answer questions as information obtained from your SPSS output

file.

4. What are your numerical results?

5. Did you find any significant correlations?

6. If you found any significant correlations, were they positive, negative, or neutral?

7. If you found any significant correlations, describe the strength or degree of the correlations?

8. According to the scatterplot and regression line you just generated, list the predicted income for

individuals who obtain a BS, MS, or Ph.D. degree (16, 18, or 20 years of school).

Save the Bivariate Correlation output as “8.3 SPSS Education Income Output” as a “.spv” file to

upload as a deliverable at the conclusion of this exercise.

Part IV: Results Write Up:

Write up the results of your data analysis in standard APA format being sure to mention all relevant

variables and findings in your write up. Make sure your format adheres to APA format and guidelines.

Save the document as “8.3 SPSS Results Write Up”.

(If you have questions about what a complete results write up for a Bivariate Correlation looks like, either look up conference and journal articles that use t-tests as their statistical analysis, or contact your

instructor for specific guidance.)

Your deliverables for this SPSS exercise will be:

1. The IBM SPSS data file “8.3 SPSS Education Income Dataset”

2. The IBM SPSS viewer file “8.3 SPSS Education Income Output”

3. The Short Answer document “8.3 SPSS Exercise – Short Answer Questions”.

4. The APA formatted results write up “8.3 SPSS Results Write Up”.

Upload all four of these files as your submission for this exercise to be considered for full credit.