What does a correlation of .68 indicate about the relationship between two variables?

A correlation of .68 suggests a positive relationship between the two variables being investigated. This value indicates a moderate to strong positive correlation, meaning that as one variable increases, the other variable also tends to increase.

It is important to note that while some might interpret a correlation coefficient as indicating that the variables occur together a certain percentage of the time, this is not entirely accurate. Instead, the correlation coefficient reflects the strength and direction of a linear relationship, rather than a specific probability of occurrence.

The essence of a .68 correlation lies in its indication that there is a significant association between the variables, suggesting they share a relationship. The closer the correlation is to 1.0, the stronger the relationship in a positive direction, while values closer to -1.0 would indicate a strong negative correlation.

In contrast, independence of the variables would imply a correlation of 0, meaning there is no relationship at all. Similarly, negative correlation would produce a value less than 0, which is not the case here. Hence, the correct interpretation recognizes that there is indeed a substantial correlation suggesting an associative relationship between the two variables.