Covariance/Variance Matrix

The term covariance/variance matrix describes a matrix that usually has the variances for each of the variables in the diagonal and the covariance between two variables in the off-diagonal elements. Table 1 provides an example of a display of a matrix containing such elements. This term used is only one of many possible terms used to describe the information, such as covariance matrix, variance matrix, or variance/covariance matrix. The matrix is importance to research, including communication research, because it is an efficient display of sets of associations often used in statistical manipulation, more than in practical applications. This entry describes the importance of the matrix and provides some indication of how to examine the elements of matrix to glean useful information. One of ...

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