Correlation Analysis

Correlation analysis measures the degree of linear relationship between two variables.

The sign of the correlation coefficient (between + and – 1) defines the direction of relationship, so it can be positive or negative. A positive correlation coefficient means that with the increasing value of one variable grows the value of the other variable; with the decreasing of one variable, the other variable decreases as well. The negative correlation coefficient indicates that as one variable increases the other one decreases, and the opposite.

The correlation coefficient with a value zero (r=0.0) means that a linear connection of the variables doesn’t exist, and the correlation coefficient r = +1.0 and r = -1.0 shows a perfect linear connection.

Correlation analysis is often used in customer satisfaction surveys and employee satisfaction surveys in order to give an answer to a question like “what elements contribute the most to a person’s satisfaction or loyalty?“. This approach enables to separate dimensions of importance in relation to satisfaction.