Intraclass correlation

In statistics, the intraclass correlation, or the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC),^[1] is a descriptive statistic that can be used when quantitative measurements are made on units that are organized into groups. It describes how strongly units in the same group resemble each other. While it is viewed as a type of correlation, unlike most other correlation measures, it operates on data structured as groups rather than data structured as paired observations.

A dot plot showing a dataset with low intraclass correlation. There is very little tendency for values from the same group to be similar.

The intraclass correlation is commonly used to quantify the degree to which individuals with a fixed degree of relatedness (e.g. full siblings) resemble each other in terms of a quantitative trait (see heritability). Another prominent application is the assessment of consistency or reproducibility of quantitative measurements made by different observers measuring the same quantity.

^ Koch GG (1982). "Intraclass correlation coefficient". In Samuel Kotz and Norman L. Johnson (ed.). Encyclopedia of Statistical Sciences. Vol. 4. New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 213–217.

[1] Koch GG (1982). "Intraclass correlation coefficient". In Samuel Kotz and Norman L. Johnson (ed.). Encyclopedia of Statistical Sciences. Vol. 4. New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 213–217.

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