Title: Association between variables – key points
Course: UGQuants (SSPS) > Section: Associations Between 2 Variables

Association between variables – key points

Knowing the distribution of cases across values for one variable can often be informative and useful in itself. However,  where quantitative analysis really begins to become powerful is when we begin looking at the association between variables. At the heart of this is the process of comparison that is fundamental to much social and political analysis (qualitative and quantitative). At its most basic, we are able to compare how the distribution of values for one variable varies across different categories of another variable.

One key reason why we do this is that it allows us to speculate about the possible causal influence of one factor (or variable) on another. Social and political researchers tend to be very cautious indeed about making firm claims about causal relationships between variables, but the first step in inferring that such a relationship might at least be possible is to look for association between variables. To put ithis another way: does the distribution of values for a variable vary across different categories of another variable? Once this has been established, further logical conditions and statistical analysis still need to be undertaken before we can be more confident about causality (and we are seldom if ever 100% confident). But one fundamental aspect of association which is important for even a basic understanding is the concept of independent and dependent variables.