Partial Correlation Calculator
Find the relationship between two variables after removing the influence of control variables from both.
Updated · By Bibin XavierData 90 × 12
| IDtext · 90 levels | Grouptext · 3 levels | Gendertext · 2 levels | Agenumeric | Hours_Studynumeric | Anxietynumeric | Motivationnumeric | Pre_Scorenumeric | Post_Scorenumeric | Exam_Scorenumeric | Passednumeric · coded | Satisfactionnumeric · coded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S001 | Control | Male | 23 | 11.2 | 29 | 4.6 | 60 | 62 | 67 | 1 | 2 |
| S002 | Workshop | Female | 23 | 3.9 | 28 | 3.5 | 54 | 70 | 54 | 0 | 2 |
| S003 | Online | Female | 18 | 10.1 | 32 | 4 | 55 | 57 | 66 | 0 | 3 |
| S004 | Control | Male | 26 | 13.6 | 41 | 3.5 | 52 | 55 | 59 | 0 | 3 |
| S005 | Workshop | Female | 22 | 9.7 | 27 | 3.6 | 56 | 63 | 65 | 0 | 4 |
| S006 | Online | Female | 20 | 7.9 | 32 | 3.8 | 65 | 82 | 65 | 0 | 2 |
| S007 | Control | Female | 20 | 6.3 | 28 | 3 | 72 | 83 | 61 | 0 | 3 |
| S008 | Workshop | Male | 22 | 8 | 29 | 3.1 | 64 | 72 | 62 | 1 | 3 |
Variables and options
Results
90 rows · example dataZero-order and partial correlation
| r | df | t | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zero-order: Hours_Study – Exam_Score | .362 | 88 | 3.64 | < .001 |
| Partial, controlling for Motivation | .148 | 87 | 1.39 | .167 |
Interpretation
Controlling for Motivation, the correlation between Hours_Study and Exam_Score falls from .36 to .15 and is not statistically significant.
How to cite this tool
Using these results in a thesis, journal article, report or class assignment? Please cite this free tool so others can find it. It keeps the site free.
APA 7
Xavier, B. (2026). Partial Correlation Calculator [Web application]. FreeStatisticalTools.com. https://freestatisticaltools.com/partial-correlation-calculator/
BibTeX
@software{xavier_partialcorrelation_2026,
author = {Xavier, Bibin},
title = {Partial Correlation Calculator},
publisher = {FreeStatisticalTools.com},
year = {2026},
url = {https://freestatisticaltools.com/partial-correlation-calculator/},
note = {Web application}
}Suggested sentence for your methods section: “The analysis was carried out with the free Partial Correlation Calculator tool on FreeStatisticalTools.com (Xavier, 2026).”
What is partial correlation?
Partial correlation measures the relationship between two variables after removing the influence of one or more control variables from both. Compare it with the zero-order correlation to see how much a third variable explains.
When to use partial correlation
Use it when a third variable may explain part of the relationship between two others.
How to use this tool
- Enter your data. Paste columns from Excel, Google Sheets or SPSS with variable names in the first row, or upload a CSV or Excel file. The example data shows the expected layout.
- Choose the variables. Select the variable x, variable y and control variables.
- Read the results. Results update automatically. Read the plain-English interpretation, then use Copy table to paste APA-style tables into Word and Copy for the results sentence.
How to report partial correlation in APA style
“Controlling for motivation, study hours remained correlated with exam scores, r(87) = .31, p = .003.”
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between partial and zero-order correlation?
The zero-order correlation is the ordinary correlation. The partial correlation removes the linear effect of the control variables from both variables first.
How many degrees of freedom does a partial correlation have?
df = n − 2 − k, where k is the number of control variables.
Is partial correlation the same as semi-partial correlation?
No. A semi-partial correlation removes the control variables from only one of the two variables.
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