Measures of Association for Cross Classifications

In 1954, prior to the era of modem high speed computers, Leo A. Goodman and William H. Kruskal published the fmt of a series of four landmark papers on measures of association for cross classifications. By describing each of several cross classifications using one or more interpretable measures, they aimed to guide other investigators in the use of sensible data summaries. Because of their clarity of exposition, and their thoughtful statistical approach to such a complex problem, the guidance in this paper is as useful and important today as it was on its publication 25 years ago. in a cross-classification by a single number inevita- Summarizing association bly loses information. Only by the thoughtful choice of a measure of association can one hope to lose only the less important information and thus arrive at a satisfactory data summary. The series of four papers reprinted here serve as an outstanding guide to the choice of such measures and their use.