Does your suspected cause move together with your problem? The Scatter PlotA chart plotting a potential cause (X) against the problem (Y) to visually check for correlation. Click term for full definition shows it, and the correlationA visual or statistical pattern showing that two variables move together. Click term for full definition coefficient puts a number on it. Watch the short video, then work with the toolkit PDF: it explains the method, shows a worked example and gives you a blank template to fill in.
Tool video
The short tool video will appear here.
Scatter Plot & Correlation in short
- Pair your data. Two columns: X (cause) and Y (effect). Each row is one matched pair.
- Insert the chart. In your spreadsheet: Insert › Chart › Scatter, without connecting lines.
- Label it clearly. A title that states the question, both axes with units.
- Read the pattern. Up to the right: positive. Down to the right: negative. A cloud: none.
- Quantify it. Calculate r. Add a trend line to estimate how much Y changes per unit of X.
Key points
- X on the horizontal, Y on the vertical axis.
- r near ±0.7 or more: strong; ±0.3 to 0.5: moderate.
- Regression predicts Y from X.
- Correlation prioritizes, it does not prove.