Covariance Analysis in Sociological Research

The major purposes of this article are four in number: (1) to direct attention to the analysis of covariance as a method of study; (2) to note the way in which certain techniques of data analysis are related to this method; (3) to mention illustratively at least one problem that might be profitably pursued from this standpoint; and (4) to cite references that will serve as points of entry into a possibly useful literature which may be unfamiliar to many sociologists. In keeping with these purposes, the following are presented: (1) a short historical note on the analysis of covariance; (2) a sunmmarization of its rudiments as a statistical procedure; (3) an analysis of its relation to elaboration, contextual analysis, and ecological correlation;