Spearman's rank-order coefficient

Spearman's rank-order coefficient [ˈspɪəmənz]

n

(Mathematics & Measurements / Statistics) a statistic measuring the extent to which two sets of discrete data place the distinct items in the same order, given by r_S = 1 - 6Σd²/n(n² - 1), where Σd² is the sum of the squares of the differences of ranks between the two orderings and n is the number of items in each Also called Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficient

[named after Charles E. Spearman (1863-1945), English mathematician and statistician]