The Relevance and Significance of Correlation in Social Science Research (Published)
As important as statistics in the social sciences are, their application to real life situation has been minimal. Many scientific discoveries of great importance would have been impossible if scientists had only conceived of the world in terms of certainty. In many situations studied by scientists, and most certainly in all situations studied in social sciences, researchers can at best identify and measure imperfect associations between variables. Drawing largely from secondary sources, this paper examined the relevance and significance of correlation in social science. Findings showed that correlation is indispensable especially in studies that require the understanding of certainty and the degree to which variables show a mutual association.
Keywords: Correlation, Research, Variable, statistics