Abstract
IT was in experimental psychology that the methods of rank, correlation were first introduced, and Spearmants coefficient ρ has been familiar to statistician for many years. More recent work on the same lines has produced an alternative coefficient τ (by Kendall) and a general coefficient (by Daniels) of which the above two, and even the familiar product moment coefficient, are particular cases. It is still, for the most part, psychological workers who are interested in this branch of statistics, since many of their observational variables are non-measurable. This has stimulated research in what has proved to be a somewhat difficult mathematical field ; and in the book under review Prof. M. G. Kendall has gathered together what is known on the subject, and has given a coherent mathematical treatment to it all. With the growth of mathematical statistics, it seems inevitable that books should begin to be issued on specific topics within the general framework, and this book is to be welcomed as a worthy addition to such a series.
Rank Correlation Methods
By Maurice G. Kendall. Pp. vii + 160. (London: Charles Griffin and Co., Ltd., 1948.) 18s. net.
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WISHART, J. Correlation of Non-Measurable Variables. Nature 164, 680 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/164680a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/164680a0