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Regression Analysis

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REGRESSION ANALYSIS

Correlation only indicates the degree and direction of relationship between two variables. It does not, necessarily connote a cause-effect relationship. Even when there are grounds to believe the causal relationship exits, correlation does not tell us which variable is the cause and which, the effect. For example, the demand for a commodity and its price will generally be found to be correlated, but the question whether demand depends on price or vice-versa; will not be answered by correlation.

The dictionary meaning of the ‘regression’ is the act of the returning or going back. The term ‘regression’ was first used by Francis Galton in 1877 while studying the relationship between the heights of fathers and sons. …show more content…

With linear regression, the X variable is often something you experimental manipulate (time, concentration...) and the Y variable is something you measure.
Regression analysis is widely used for prediction (including forecasting of time-series data). Use of regression analysis for prediction has substantial overlap with the field of machine learning. Regression analysis is also used to understand which among the independent variables are related to the dependent variable, and to explore the forms of these relationships. In restricted circumstances, regression analysis can be used to infer causal relationships between the independent and dependent variables.

A large body of techniques for carrying out regression analysis has been developed. Familiar methods such as linear regression and ordinary least squares regression are parametric, in that the regression function is defined in terms of a finite number of unknown parameters that are estimated from the data. Nonparametric regression refers to techniques that allow the regression function to lie in a specified set of functions, which may beinfinite-dimensional.

The performance of regression analysis methods in practice depends on the form of the data-generating process, and how it relates to the regression approach being used. Since the true form of the data-generating process is not known, regression analysis depends to some extent on making assumptions about this

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