phi: Find the phi coefficient of correlation between two dichotomous variables
Description
Given a 1 x 4 vector or a 2 x 2 matrix of frequencies, find the phi coefficient of correlation. Typical use is in the case of predicting a dichotomous criterion from a dichotomous predictor.
Usage
phi(t, digits = 2)
Arguments
t
a 1 x 4 vector or a 2 x 2 matrix
digits
round the result to digits
Value
phi coefficient of correlation
Details
In many prediction situations, a dichotomous predictor (accept/reject) is validated against a dichotomous criterion (success/failure). Although a polychoric correlation estimates the underlying Pearson correlation as if the predictor and criteria were continuous and bivariate normal variables, the phi coefficient is the Pearson applied to a matrix of 0's and 1s.
The calculation follows J. Wiggins discussion of personality assessment.