According to the Pearson correlation coefficient, the closer the coefficient (R2) is to one, the more “perfect” the correlation between the items being studied. The correlation requires the studies be independent, the variables for each study be similar and they must be able correlated to one another (plotted linearly or close too linearly). A perfect correlation is 1.00. No correlation is 0.00. The coefficients between the two values determines how well the two items being studied directly correlate to each other (the closer to 1.00, the closer the correlation)(1). The coefficient can be useful in proving theories (e.g.-theory: the more education a person has, the better starting salary he/she has).
In this case, we are determining correlation between the amounts of time a person study’s to the grades he/she achieves on exams (the greater the study time, the better the grades on exams). The coefficient I calculated was 0.785 (which means there is a 78.5% chance this correlation is correct). This indicates that more often than not, the longer a person study’s, the better the grade on his/her exam. The perfect coefficient would be 1.00. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient assumes the variables are equal in the study, but does not state what variables are that were considered. Variables that affect the coefficient in this example can include: amount of sleep each person got the night before, the grades each person got in the subject matter of the exam or family issues