This chapter addressed the general topic of summarizing the relationship between a pair of interval level fields using a correlation coefficient. The most prominent of these, the Pearson product moment correlation, was the primary focus of the examples since it serves as the basis for regression models. Making correlation matrices readable using various pivot table editing techniques was demonstrated since it is often necessary to include such matrices in reports and presentations.
Rank order correlations, Spearman and Tau-b, were discussed as alternatives to the linear Pearson correlation, and partial correlations were explored as well. At this point, the foundation has been laid for moving on to the next chapter, which focuses on what is perhaps the most central statistical technique--regression.