# What method is used in Google's correlate?

Here is a recent Google correlate query:

As you can see in the search box at that link, I entered "internet usage" and Google did the rest. It shows a value of 0.9298 as the "correlation" with the query "data mining". However, when I read page 2 of the Google white paper [PDF], it says:

The objective of Google Correlate is to surface the queries in
the database whose spatial or temporal pattern is most highly correlated
with a target pattern. Google Correlate employs a novel approximate nearest
neighbor (ANN) algorithm over millions of candidate queries in an online
search tree to produce results similar to the batch-based approach employed
by Google Flu Trends but in a fraction of a second. For additional details,
please see the Methods section below....


So, my question is:
Is Google using a normal Pearson or Spearman correlation to find this stuff or are they using something else? If so, can you explain the general technique?

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Also, notice in the plot that the search for "internet usage" (and "data mining") drops during the summer months and really dives around Christmas. I would guess that kids and their homework have something to do with this.

• Aren't these just Pearson correlation coefficients as reported on the tutorial? (Section Correlated Queries) – chl May 27 '11 at 20:16
• @chl: You're right. I clicked on the FAQ's, but got sidetracked by the Whitepaper. So, they're using correlation of a time series (not the change in the time series). That's like calculating the correlation of a stock price, not returns. That's a little surprising. – bill_080 May 27 '11 at 20:23
• @chl: although your answer is a little obvious, it IS still an answer, and you should make it so, so it can be accepted. – naught101 Mar 29 '12 at 9:39
• @bill_080 Any response from google about why the data differ between the two systems? I actually found this question seeking an explanation related to your observation – chandler Nov 21 '12 at 17:22
• @chandler : Google never answered the e-mail. I played with both Trend and Correlate for a while, but neither were as useful as I expected, so I moved on. – bill_080 Nov 21 '12 at 20:21