Anne has two ordinal-level variables in a data set. Which of the following should she use to calculate a correlation between these two variables?
A) Spearman rho
B) Pearson r
C) Alpha coefficient
D) Kappa tau

Question

Anne has two ordinal-level variables in a data set. Which of the following should she use to calculate a correlation between these two variables?
A) Spearman rho
B) Pearson r 
C) Alpha coefficient
D) Kappa tau

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Since Anne has two ordinal-level variables, which do not have a linear relationship, Spearman rho is the best choice to calculate a correlation between these variables. Pearson r should not be used as it is only suitable for interval or ratio level variables with a linear relationship. Alpha coefficient and Kappa tau are not suitable for correlation calculation.

Anne Has Two Ordinal-Level Variables in a Data Set