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PsychBuddy
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Results Tip! How to Report Correlations

When reporting correlations, make sure to include the:


  1. Significance

  2. Strength

  3. Direction of effect


e.g., "Results showed there was a significant, strong, positive correlation between hours of sunshine per day in Melbourne, and positive mood amongst residents, r (184) = .56, p < .001.”

1. Significance


Remember, if…

  • p < .05 = significant correlation

  • p > .05 = not significant correlation


2. Strength


3. Direction of Effect

  • + = positive (e.g., higher sunshine is correlated with higher happiness)

  • - = negative (e.g., higher sunshine is correlated with lower happiness)



Correlation Reporting Tips!


Correlation Tables

  • If you are reporting correlations amongst three or more variables, I would recommend using a correlation table.

  • The APA Style guide provides an example of how to set out a correlation table in APA format here.

  • Don't forget that correlations have assumptions! Check them out here. The most common error I see students make re correlations is including variables that are not continuous or dichotomous variables in their correlation Table (e.g., male, female, non-binary).

    • If you include a dichotomous variable in your correlation table (e.g., you only have male and female participants) insert a note underneath specifying how that variable was coded (0 = male and 1 = female). See the example note in the APA Style guide.

Reporting Correlations in Text

  • If you do report your statistics in text:

    • r(degrees of freedom) = the r statistic, p = p value.

    • The r statistic should be reported to 2 decimal places.

    • The p values should be reported to 3 decimal places.

    • Do not include a leading 0 in front of r or the p value (i.e., it is .56 NOT 0.56).

    • Degrees of freedom for r is N - 2 (the number of data points minus 2)

  • Report correlations in the order of your hypotheses. E.g., if you are hypothesising a mediation - report the correlation between the IV and mediator and then the mediator and DV.


Remember, for APA Style, do not repeat statistics in both a Table and in text. So if you have a correlation table do not also report the r values in text - just their interpretation.

Happy Researching!

Clearly a sunny day in Melbourne.


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