Concepts

Correlation Coefficient

Citation Formats

General Reference

Science Atlas. "Correlation Coefficient." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://science.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/correlation-coefficient.

APA Style

Science Atlas. (n.d.). Correlation Coefficient. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://science.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/correlation-coefficient

BibTeX

@misc{scienceatlas-correlation-coefficient,
  author = {Science Atlas},
  title = {Correlation Coefficient},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://science.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/correlation-coefficient},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

A correlation coefficient is a single number, ranging from negative one to positive one, that measures the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two variables. Karl Pearson formalized the product-moment correlation coefficient still named for him in an 1896 paper on regression, building on ideas about correlated variables developed earlier by Francis Galton, and it remains the most widely used measure of association between two quantitative variables.

Facts

Proposed Yearthe subject's own account

1896 1

Proposed Bythe subject's own account

Karl Pearson 1

Cross-Tradition Connections