Some more Correlations and the reason why we do studies
Just a few correlations to keep in mind when you hear that some event is “statistically” correlated to another.
The correlation coefficient ranges from −1 to 1. A value of 1 implies that a linear equation describes the relationship between X and Y perfectly, with all data points lying on a line for which Y increases as X increases. A value of −1 implies that all data points lie on a line for which Y decreases as X increases. A value of 0 implies that there is no linear correlation between the variables
–1.0 A perfect negative relationship
–0.70. A strong negative relationship
–0.50. A moderate negative relationship
–0.30. A weak negative relationship
0.0 No linear relationship
+0.30. A weak positive relationship
+0.50. A moderate positive relationship
+0.70. A strong positive relationship
+1.0 A perfect positive relationship
So let’s have a look at some very strong correlations:
US Spending vs Suicides (Correlation r=0.99789126)
Cheese vs Death Bed-sheets (Correlation r=0.947091)
Divorce Rate vs Margarine (Correlation r=0.992558)
Miss America vs Murders by Steam (Correlation r=0.870127)
See other Spurious Correlations at tylervigen.com