Definition

1. Noun:
   • A specific type of correlation coefficient: The biserial correlation is a statistical measure of association. It quantifies the relationship between two variables where one variable is continuous (many-valued) and the other is artificially dichotomous (i.e., it is fundamentally continuous but has been split into two categories, such as pass/fail).

Usage

• The biserial correlation is used in psychometrics and educational testing to estimate the correlation between a continuous variable (like a test score) and a latent continuous variable that has been dichotomized (like a yes/no question that measures an underlying trait).
• It is specifically applied when the dichotomous variable is assumed to arise from an underlying normal distribution. If the dichotomy is natural (e.g., male/female), the point-biserial correlation is typically used instead.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The researcher calculated the biserial correlation between total exam scores and the dichotomized item response.
  • A high biserial correlation coefficient indicated that the test item effectively discriminated between students with high and low ability on the latent trait.

Advanced Usage

• "Biserial correlation coefficient": The full term, often abbreviated as .
  • The biserial correlation coefficient was reported as 0.65.
• Distinction from Point-Biserial Correlation: A key advanced concept is differentiating the biserial correlation (for an artificial dichotomy) from the point-biserial correlation (for a true, natural dichotomy).

Variants and Related Words

• Biserial (adj): Of or relating to a biserial correlation.
  • The biserial estimate was computed.
• Point-biserial correlation (n): A correlation coefficient between a continuous variable and a naturally dichotomous variable.
• Tetrachoric correlation (n): A correlation coefficient for two artificially dichotomous variables, both assumed to underlie normally distributed continua.

Synonyms

• Biserial correlation coefficient: The full, formal name.
• r_bis: A common statistical abbreviation.

Related Phrases

• To compute/calculate the biserial correlation: The action of performing this statistical operation.
  • The software can compute the biserial correlation easily.
• Biserial estimate of correlation: Another way to refer to the resulting value.
  • The biserial estimate of correlation was significant.

Noun

1. a correlation coefficient in which one variable is many-valued and the other is dichotomous