Is it possible capture the correlation between continuous and categorical variable? If yes, how?

Yes, it is possible to capture the correlation between a continuous and a categorical variable. One commonly used method is to calculate the point-biserial correlation coefficient (r_pb), also known as the point-biserial correlation, which measures the relationship between one continuous variable and one dichotomous (binary) variable.

Here’s how you can calculate the point-biserial correlation coefficient:

1. Assign a numeric value to each category of the categorical variable. Usually, this is done by assigning 0 and 1 for the two categories if it’s a binary variable.
2. Calculate the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between the continuous variable and the binary numeric variable.
3. The resulting r value is the point-biserial correlation coefficient.

Another approach is to use techniques like ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) or Chi-square test, depending on the nature of your categorical variable, to assess the relationship between the continuous and categorical variables. These methods can provide insights into whether there are significant differences in the continuous variable across different categories of the categorical variable.

In summary, yes, it’s possible to capture the correlation between a continuous and categorical variable through various statistical methods such as the point-biserial correlation coefficient, ANOVA, or Chi-square test. The choice of method depends on the specific characteristics of your data and the research question you are trying to answer.