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SPSS Guide
How to Read SPSS Correlation Output
Learn to read SPSS's symmetric bivariate correlation matrix: why the same r appears twice, what the significance asterisks mean, and judging effect size with Cohen's guidelines.
📊 r(18) = .742, p < .001 (large effect)
Step-by-step solution
💻 38 · How to Read SPSS Correlation Output
Interpreting the SPSS Bivariate Correlation Table
SPSS Guide
Research Question:
A researcher correlated weekly study hours with exam scores for 20 students using SPSS's Analyze → Correlate → Bivariate. The output is a symmetric matrix — how do you read it without double-reporting the same number?
| Study Hours | Exam Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Study Hours | Pearson Correlation | 1 | .742** |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | .000 | ||
| N | 20 | 20 | |
| Exam Score | Pearson Correlation | .742** | 1 |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | .000 | ||
| N | 20 | 20 |
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1Step 1 — Recognize the matrix is symmetric: The upper-right and lower-left cells (.742**) are the same correlation reported twice — read either one, not both, and never report r twice as if they were separate findings.
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2Step 2 — Read the asterisks: ** means significant at the .01 level (SPSS uses * for .05 and ** for .01) — confirmed by Sig. (2-tailed) = .000, which (as with any SPSS Sig. column) means p < .001, not exactly zero.
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3Step 3 — Judge the strength using Cohen's guidelines: r = .742 is a large effect (Cohen: .10 small, .30 medium, .50 large). Report the exact r, not just 'significant' — significance and strength are different questions.
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4Step 4 — Remember: correlation is not causation: This shows study hours and exam scores co-vary — it does not by itself prove that studying causes higher scores (a third variable, like motivation, could drive both).
.742
r
<.001
p (from .000)
18
df
🔴 Significant, large effect — r(18) = .742, p < .001. Study hours and exam scores are strongly positively correlated.
APA-7
A Pearson correlation revealed a significant, large positive relationship between weekly study hours and exam scores, r(18) = .742, p < .001. (Note: SPSS reported Sig. = .000, which is reported as p < .001.)