Using Excel.  In no more than 5-6 sentences, address the following: Find an internet site that teaches you how to use Microsoft’s Excel program to enable you to automatically calculate Pearson’s r.  You might begin by plugging in phrases such as the following in Google and see what pops up:  (1) “Excel to calculate the correlation coefficient;” or (2) “correlation r with Excel tutorial.”  [One site hint: http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/research/correlation/excel.htm]. Using the data from six children, calculate r to determine the relationship between age and shoe size.

Age (years)     Shoe Size

7                          9

4                          4

6                         5

5                         8

4                         3

4                          6

Using a two-tailed test and alpha equal to .05, calculate r.   You will find that calculated r  is about  .68. Now what I’d like you to put on the group participation board is the URL (website address) and a review of this computer program in terms of user friendliness and how easy it is to absorb the instructions and do it yourself to come up with the right answers.  Rate it in terms of one to five stars, with five stars being “great.”  Comment about the ease of using this site, and its accuracy (of course).  Also comment on any glitches other students might run into in trying to find the calculated value of r. That is, make it easier for other students who may go to this site.

Notes 1 and 2.  Yes, one may use such programs when taking quizzes……just be sure you know how to read the print-out and find the essential information.  Usually the print-outs provide a lot of superfluous details. (2) When doing this activity, you may re-list a website that has been listed before (you may even use the one I provided).  You do not have to find a new website that has not been posted; you may even use one of the sites I offer.

Note 3.  Very important.  With Excel, when at last you see the “Summary Statistics” out-put, you will just a small matrix of data. The correlation will be a string of digits with a decimal in front.  It may be hard to spot.  Before you begin using Excel, be sure you have the Analysis ToolPak installed.  It comes with Excel 2007 and 2010 versions  To see if you have it, click on “Data” on your top menu bar.  You should be able to see the “Data Analysis” option on your far right.  If “Data Analysis” appears, you’re ready to go.  If it does not appear, go to Week 3 Activities and find instructions there on how to install Analysis ToolPak.