We present a method to derive the density scaling relation \langle n \rangle \propto L ^ { - \alpha } in regions of star formation or in their turbulent vicinities from straightforward binning of the column-density distribution ( N -pdf ) .
The outcome of the method is studied for three types of N -pdf : power law ( 7 / 5 \leq \alpha \leq 5 / 3 ) , lognormal ( 0.7 \lesssim \alpha \lesssim 1.4 ) and combination of lognormals .
In the last case , the method of Stanchev et al .
( 2015 ) was also applied for comparison and a very weak ( or close to zero ) correlation was found .
We conclude that the considered ‘ binning approach ’ reflects rather the local morphology of the N -pdf with no reference to the physical conditions in a considered region .
The rough consistency of the derived slopes with the widely adopted Larson ’ s ( 1981 ) value \alpha \sim 1.1 is suggested to support claims that the density-size relation in molecular clouds is indeed an artifact of the observed N -pdf .