As a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science, Economics and Public Policy, I have participated in numerous economic debates and conferences as well as testifying in front of Congress and in front of regulatory agencies. So, I am familiar with the type of question asked during a Correlation Exam and how it has been used and evaluated over time.
In a recent article published in the Harvard Business Review, Michael K. Gould, author of American Nations, Nationalism and Global Order, and an associate professor at the University of California at San Diego, argued that we should be wary of the use of the phrase “correlation” in Political Science and Economics. He suggested instead that “contagion” is more appropriate because it brings to mind the idea of a “parasitic” word that spreads quickly through the research literature and gets picked up by journalists and public-relations specialists who are in business to promote political objectives.
What he failed to point out, however, is that the phrase “correlation” can also be used in Political Science and Economics to mean an indirect association between two variables, and there may be many ways in which this type of analysis can help us in the field of economics and public policy. However, the term “correlation exam” itself is not limited to Political Science and Economics. Many researchers use “correlation” in their own research as well as to describe a statistical relationship, without necessarily using the phrase “correlation exam.”
Indeed, a closer look at the name itself, suggests that the “correlation” used by Political Science and Economics may be different from the one used in the Business Review or any other article that discusses the economics or public policy. For example, if we were to consider the term “correlation exam” as used by Gould, it would most likely relate to the Political Science and Economics version known as “correlation and regression,” which were developed by Milton Lodge, Henry Farber, and William Strauss.
The purpose of a Political Science and Economics Correlation and Regression exam is to examine and evaluate the relationships between two or more variables, or variables and their relatedness, which can be measured in one way or another. The key goal of the exam is to provide a test of how well statistical techniques can be used to model certain relationships and how well they can predict the effect of variables on one another.
There are some limitations to the Political Science and Economics Correlation and Regression exam, which is the reason why it should not be seen as a substitute for the actual Correlation Exam. These include but are not limited to those factors like statistical significance and the use of the standard deviation in order to assess statistical significance.
In addition to the political nature of our field, it is also important to note that the correlation between political parties, political beliefs, government policies, and the political climate of a nation can have profound effects on the state of economic growth and prosperity. Therefore, political scientists and economists have a very important role to play in examining the relationship between political beliefs and economic growth and prosperity.
Many political scientists and economists believe that a correlation exam would benefit students in understanding how different political systems and ideologies work, as well as the relationships between social classes, ethnicity, gender, religious beliefs, the political climate, and a number of other social and economic factors that are not necessarily associated with the political process. Many political scientists and economists also believe that a correlation exam provides valuable information about the effects of a certain type of government policy on economic growth and prosperity.
Many political scientists and economists do not believe that such an exam is particularly useful in a variety of other fields, and many believe that a correlation exam is an inappropriate use of time and money for those interested in pursuing a career in politics and in the study of economics and public policy. In fact, some political scientists and economists believe that the political scientist and economists use “correlation” as a way to “Dodge their own inadequacies in the study of statistics.”
As political scientists and economists had discussed this issue many times in the past, the debate over the proper use of the term “correlation” has not been resolved. The best advice for those looking to advance their career as a Political Science or Economics researcher is to keep the term in mind when looking for a job.
