IBM SPSS Essentials, 2nd Edition

11Inferential Analyses (Correlation or Regression)

Chapter Menu

• Chapter Learning Objectives
• Correlation
• Simple Regression
• Multiple Regression
• Hierarchical Regression
• Visualizing Your Relationship
• Summary

Chapter Learning Objectives

1. Select the appropriate analysis for your data
   1. Correlation
   2. Regression
2. Identify important and unimportant output
   1. r
   2. a
   3. b
   4. β
   5. p

Welcome to the penultimate chapter on data analyses. This chapter presents analyses that look a little different from ANOVAs and t‐tests because the current analyses are used most commonly when you have continuous IVs (although they can also be used when you have categorical IVs). Just as ANOVAs are superordinate to t‐tests, regression is superordinate to ANOVA (that is, anything you do with t‐tests you can do with ANOVAs; anything you do with ANOVAs you can do with regression). Although you can apply regression to previous situations, we don't recommend doing that – instead, use the t‐test and ANOVA when you have categorical IVs and use the regression or correlation when you have continuous IVs – it is possible (depending on your field of study) that future advisors will recommend a deeper understanding and application of regression, but for an introduction, it is generally preferred that you retain all three procedures (t‐tests, ANOVAs, and regression).

Correlation

Much as the t‐test is a simplified ANOVA, ...