12: Linear Regression and Correlation
Regression analysis is a statistical process for estimating the relationships among variables and includes many techniques for modeling and analyzing several variables. When the focus is on the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables.
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- 12.1: Prelude to Linear Regression and Correlation
- In this chapter, you will be studying the simplest form of regression, "linear regression" with one independent variable (x). This involves data that fits a line in two dimensions. You will also study correlation which measures how strong the relationship is.
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- 12.2: Linear Equations
- Linear regression for two variables is based on a linear equation with one independent variable. The equation has the form: y=a+bx where a and b are constant numbers. The variable x is the independent variable, and y is the dependent variable. Typically, you choose a value to substitute for the independent variable and then solve for the dependent variable.
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- 12.3: Scatter Plots
- A scatter plot shows the direction of a relationship between the variables. A clear direction happens when there is either: High values of one variable occurring with high values of the other variable or low values of one variable occurring with low values of the other variable. High values of one variable occurring with low values of the other variable.
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- 12.4: The Regression Equation
- A regression line, or a line of best fit, can be drawn on a scatter plot and used to predict outcomes for the x and y variables in a given data set or sample data. There are several ways to find a regression line, but usually the least-squares regression line is used because it creates a uniform line. Residuals measure the distance from the actual value of y and the estimated value of y . The Sum of Squared Errors, when set to its minimum, calculates the points on the line of best fit.
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- 12.5: Testing the Significance of the Correlation Coefficient
- The correlation coefficient tells us about the strength and direction of the linear relationship between x and y. However, the reliability of the linear model also depends on how many observed data points are in the sample. We need to look at both the value of the correlation coefficient r and the sample size n, and perform a hypothesis test of the "significance of the correlation coefficient" to decide whether the linear relationship in the sample data is strong enough to use to linear model.
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- 12.6: Prediction
- After determining the presence of a strong correlation coefficient and calculating the line of best fit, you can use the least squares regression line to make predictions about your data. The process of predicting inside of the observed x values observed in the data is called interpolation. The process of predicting outside of the observed x-values observed in the data is called extrapolation.
Contributors and Attributions
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Barbara Illowsky and Susan Dean (De Anza College) with many other contributing authors. Content produced by OpenStax College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 license. Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/30189442-699...b91b9de@18.114 .