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Why Pearson's r is Not a Good Similarity Coefficient for Comparing Collections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

George L. Cowgill
George L. Cowgill*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402
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Abstract

Pearson's coefficient of linear correlation, r, sometimes is used to express the similarity between two archaeological collections when each collection is characterized by the percents of the artifact types it includes. Examples show that r can be extremely misleading when used in this way, and patterns of similarity among a group of collections can be wildly misrepresented. The Brainerd–Robinson statistic is one example of a similarity coefficient that is much better than r for comparing collections.

Résumé

Résumé

El coeficiente de Pearson de correlación lineal, r, se usa a veces para representor la semejanza entre dos colecciones arqueológicas, cuando cada colección esta caracterizada por los porcentajes de los tipos de artefactos incluídos. Ejemplos muestran que r, usado en esta manera, puede ser muy engañoso, y patrones de semejanza dentro de un grupo de colecciones pueden ser muy desfigurados. La estadística Brainerd–Robinson es un ejemplo de un coeficiente de semejanza más apropiado que r para hacer comparaciones entre colecciones.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 55 , Issue 3 , July 1990 , pp. 512 - 521
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1990 

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References

References Cited

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