I am looking for some clarification on whether the formulas listed in the title are equivalent or not, and if so why do the formulas look so different?
For example, in a guide I found on Laerd (my rep is too low to post the link) for Spearman correlation, it states the formula for calculating the Spearman correlation with tied ranks is:
Which is the same formula I use when calculating the Pearson product-moment correlation.
Yet a book I am using as a reference, Introduction to Modern Nonparametric Statistics by James J. Higgins, lists the formula for calculating the Spearman correlation with tied ranks as:
Overall, are these formulas interchangeable? Is there any benefit in using one over the other? Or am I totally missing the point, and they are calculating different values?
Best Answer
I have discovered that the two formulas are equivalent when the Pearson correlation is applied to the ranks adjusted for ties. The Pearson correlation formula in its current state is not equivalent. However, when you simply switch all the X and Y variables out with their rank equivalent, i.e. in the numerator to:
SUMMATION**(Rx - Rx(mean))(Ry - Ry(mean))**
Where Rx are the ranks applied to X and Ry are the Ranks applied to Y the two formulas become equivalent.
Discovered in p. 155, Introduction to Modern Nonparametric Statistics by James J. Higgins