Chapter Seventeen

Correlation and Regression

17-1
 Product Moment Correlation

• The product moment correlation, r, summarizes the

strength of association between two metric (interval or
ratio scaled) variables, say X and Y.

• It is an index used to determine whether a linear or

straight-line relationship exists between X and Y.

• As it was originally proposed by Karl Pearson, it is also

known as the Pearson correlation coefficient.
It is also referred to as simple correlation, bivariate
correlation, or merely the correlation coefficient.

17-2
 Product Moment Correlation
From a sample of n observations, X and Y, the product
moment correlation, r, can be calculated as:
n
 ( X i - X )( Y i - Y )
r= i=1
n n
 (X i - X )  (Y i - Y )2
2

i=1 i=1

D iv is io n o f th e n u m er ato r an d d en o m in ato r b y ( n -1 ) g iv es

n
 ( X i - X )( Y i - Y )
n -1
r= i=1
n 2 n 2
 (X i - X )  (Y i - Y )
n -1 n -1
i=1 i=1

C OV x y
= 17-3
SxSy
 Product Moment Correlation

• r varies between -1.0 and +1.0.

• The correlation coefficient between two variables will

be the same regardless of their underlying units of
measurement.

17-4
 Explaining Attitude Toward
the City of Residence
Respondent No Attitude Toward Duration of Importance
the City Residence Attached to
Weather
1 6 10 3

2 9 12 11

3 8 12 4

4 3 4 1

5 10 12 11

6 4 6 1

7 5 8 7

8 2 2 4

9 11 18 8

10 9 9 10

11 10 17 8

12 2 2 5
© 2007 Prentice Hall 17-5
Product Moment Correlation
The correlation coefficient may be calculated as follows:
= (10 + 12 + 12 + 4 + 12 + 6 + 8 + 2 + 18 + 9 + 17 + 2)/12
X = 9.333

= (6 + 9 + 8 + 3 + 10 + 4 + 5 + 2 + 11 + 9 + 10 + 2)/12
Y = 6.583
n
=1 (X i - X )(Y i - Y ) = (10 -9.33)(6-6.58) + (12-9.33)(9-6.58)
+ (12-9.33)(8-6.58) + (4-9.33)(3-6.58)
i
+ (12-9.33)(10-6.58) + (6-9.33)(4-6.58)
+ (8-9.33)(5-6.58) + (2-9.33) (2-6.58)
+ (18-9.33)(11-6.58) + (9-9.33)(9-6.58)
+ (17-9.33)(10-6.58) + (2-9.33)(2-6.58)
= -0.3886 + 6.4614 + 3.7914 + 19.0814
+ 9.1314 + 8.5914 + 2.1014 + 33.5714
+ 38.3214 - 0.7986 + 26.2314 + 33.5714
= 179.6668
17-6
 Product Moment Correlation
n
=1 (X i - X )2 = (10-9.33)2 + (12-9.33)2 + (12-9.33)2 + (4-9.33)2
i + (12-9.33)2 + (6-9.33)2 + (8-9.33)2 + (2-9.33)2
+ (18-9.33)2 + (9-9.33)2 + (17-9.33)2 + (2-9.33)2
= 0.4489 + 7.1289 + 7.1289 + 28.4089
+ 7.1289+ 11.0889 + 1.7689 + 53.7289
+ 75.1689 + 0.1089 + 58.8289 + 53.7289
= 304.6668

n
 (Y i - Y )2 = (6-6.58)2 + (9-6.58)2 + (8-6.58)2 + (3-6.58)2
i =1 + (10-6.58)2+ (4-6.58)2 + (5-6.58)2 + (2-6.58)2
+ (11-6.58)2 + (9-6.58)2 + (10-6.58)2 + (2-6.58)2
= 0.3364 + 5.8564 + 2.0164 + 12.8164
+ 11.6964 + 6.6564 + 2.4964 + 20.9764
+ 19.5364 + 5.8564 + 11.6964 + 20.9764
= 120.9168

Thus, r= 179.6668
= 0.9361
(304.6668) (120.9168)
17-7
Decomposition of the Total Variation
2 E x p la in e d v a r ia tio n
r =
T o ta l v a r ia tio n

S S x
=
S S y

= T o ta l v a r ia tio n - E r r o r v a r ia tio n
T o ta l v a r ia tio n

S S y - S S e rro r
=
S S y

17-8
Decomposition of the Total Variation
• When it is computed for a population rather than a
sample, the product moment correlation is denoted by
, the Greek letter rho. The coefficient r is an estimator
of . 

• The statistical significance of the relationship between

two variables measured by using r can be conveniently
tested. The hypotheses are:
H0 :  = 0
H1 :   0

17-9
Decomposition of the Total Variation
The test statistic is:
1/2
t = r n-22
1-r
which has a t distribution with n - 2 degrees of freedom.
For the correlation coefficient calculated based on the
data given in Table 17.1,
12-2 1/2
t = 0.9361
1 - (0.9361)2
= 8.414
and the degrees of freedom = 12-2 = 10. From the
t distribution table (Table 4 in the Statistical Appendix),
the critical value of t for a two-tailed test and
 = 0.05 is 2.228. Hence, the null hypothesis of no
relationship between X and Y is rejected.
17-10
 Partial Correlation
A partial correlation coefficient measures the
association between two variables after controlling for,
or adjusting for, the effects of one or more additional
variables.
rx y - (rx z ) (ry z )
rx y . z =
1 - rx2z 1 - ry2z

• Partial correlations have an order associated with them.

The order indicates how many variables are being
adjusted or controlled.
• The simple correlation coefficient, r, has a zero-order, as
it does not control for any additional variables while
measuring the association between two variables.
17-11
 Partial Correlation
• The coefficient rxy.z is a first-order partial correlation
coefficient, as it controls for the effect of one additional
variable, Z.

• A second-order partial correlation coefficient controls

for the effects of two variables, a third-order for the
effects of three variables, and so on.

• The special case when a partial correlation is larger than

its respective zero-order correlation involves a
suppressor effect.

17-12
 Part Correlation Coefficient
The part correlation coefficient represents the
correlation between Y and X when the linear effects of
the other independent variables have been removed
from X but not from Y. The part correlation coefficient,
ry(x.z) is calculated as follows:
rx y - ry z rx z
ry (x . z ) =
1 - rx2z
The partial correlation coefficient is generally viewed as
more important than the part correlation coefficient.

17-13
 Nonmetric Correlation
• If the nonmetric variables are ordinal and numeric,
Spearman's rho,  s
, and Kendall's tau, , are   two
measures of nonmetric correlation, which can be used to
examine the correlation between them.
• Both these measures use rankings rather than the
absolute values of the variables, and the basic concepts
underlying them are quite similar. Both vary from -1.0 to
+1.0.
• In the absence of ties, Spearman's yields  s a closer
approximation to the Pearson product moment
correlation coefficient, ,than
 Kendall's . In these

cases, the absolute magnitude of   to be smaller
tends

than Pearson's .
• On the other hand, when the data contain a large number
of tied ranks, Kendall's seems more appropriate.

17-14
 Regression Analysis
Regression analysis examines associative relationships
between a metric dependent variable and one or more
independent variables in the following ways:
• Determine whether the independent variables explain a significant
variation in the dependent variable: whether a relationship exists.
• Determine how much of the variation in the dependent variable can
be explained by the independent variables: strength of the
relationship.
• Determine the structure or form of the relationship: the
mathematical equation relating the independent and dependent
variables.
• Predict the values of the dependent variable.
• Control for other independent variables when evaluating the
contributions of a specific variable or set of variables.
• Regression analysis is concerned with the nature and degree of
association between variables and does not imply or assume any
causality.
17-15
Statistics Associated with Bivariate

Regression Analysis
• Bivariate regression model. The basic regression
equation is Yi = +0 Xi + 1ei, where Y = dependent or
criterion variable, X = independent or predictor variable,
= intercept0of the line, = slope of the line,
1 and ei is the
error term associated with the i th observation.

• Coefficient of determination. The strength of association

is measured by the coefficient of determination, r 2. It
varies between 0 and 1 and signifies the proportion of the
total variation in Y that is accounted for by the variation in
X.

• Estimated or predicted value. The estimated or predicted

value of Yi is i = a + b x, where
Y i is the predictedYvalue of
Yi, and a and b are estimators of
0and , 1respectively.

17-16
 Statistics Associated with Bivariate
Regression Analysis
• Regression coefficient. The estimated parameter b is
usually referred to as the non-standardized regression
coefficient.
• Scattergram. A scatter diagram, or scattergram, is a plot of
the values of two variables for all the cases or observations.
• Standard error of estimate. This statistic, SEE, is the
standard deviation of the actual Y values from the predicted
values.
Y
• Standard error. The standard deviation of b, SEb, is called
the standard error.

17-17
 Statistics Associated with Bivariate
Regression Analysis
• Standardized regression coefficient. Also termed the
beta coefficient or beta weight, this is the slope
obtained by the regression of Y on X when the data are
standardized.

• Sum of squared errors. The distances of all the points

from the regression line are squared and added
together to arrive at the sum of squared errors, which is
a measure of total error, . ej2

• t statistic. A t statistic with n - 2 degrees of freedom can

be used to test the null hypothesis that no linear
relationship exists between X and Y, or H0: = 0, where
t=b over SEb
17-18
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Plot the Scatter Diagram
• A scatter diagram, or scattergram, is a plot of the
values of two variables for all the cases or observations.

• The most commonly used technique for fitting a

straight line to a scattergram is the least-squares
procedure.

In fitting the line, the least-squares procedure

minimizes the sum of squared errors,  e
. j 2

17-19
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Fig. 17.2
Plot the Scatter Diagram

Formulate the General Model

Estimate the Parameters

Estimate Standardized Regression Coefficients

Test for Significance

Determine the Strength and Significance of Association

Check Prediction Accuracy

Examine the Residuals

Cross-Validate the Model

17-20
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Formulate the Bivariate Regression Model

In the bivariate regression model, the general form of a

straight line is: Y = 0 +X 1

where
Y = dependent or criterion variable
X = independent or predictor variable
0 = intercept of the line
 1= slope of the line

The regression procedure adds an error term to account for the

probabilistic or stochastic nature of the relationship:

Yi = 0 +  1Xi + ei

where ei is the error term associated with the i th observation.

17-21
 Plot of Attitude with Duration

9
Attitude

2.25 4.5 6.75 9 11.25 13.5 15.75 18

Duration of Residence

17-22
Which Straight Line Is Best?
Line 1

Line 2

9 Line 3

Line 4
6

2.25 4.5 6.75 9 11.25 13.5 15.75 18

17-23
Bivariate Regression

β 0 + β 1X
Y
YJ
eJ

eJ

YJ

X
X1 X2 X3 X4 X5

17-24
Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Estimate the Parameters
In most cases, 0 and  1 are unknown and are estimated
from the sample observations using the equation

Y i = a + b xi
whereY i is the estimated or predicted value of Yi, and
a and b are estimators of 0 and  1 , respectively.
COV xy
b=
S x2

n
 (X i - X )(Y i - Y )
= i=1
n 2
 (X i - X )
i=1

n
 X iY i - nX Y
= i=1
n
 X i2 - nX 2
17-25
i=1
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Estimate the Parameters
The intercept, a, may then be calculated using:

a =Y - b X
For the data in Table 17.1, the estimation of parameters may be
illustrated as follows:
12
 XiYi
i =1

= (10) (6) + (12) (9) + (12) (8) + (4) (3) + (12) (10) + (6) (4)
+ (8) (5) + (2) (2) + (18) (11) + (9) (9) + (17) (10) + (2) (2)
= 917

12
 Xi 2 = 102 + 122 + 122 + 42 + 122 + 62
i =1
+ 82 + 22 + 182 + 92 + 172 + 22
= 1350 17-26
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Estimate the Parameters
It may be recalled from earlier calculations of the simple correlation that:

X = 9.333
Y = 6.583

Given n = 12, b can be calculated as:

917 - (12) (9.333) ( 6.583)
b=
1350 - (12) (9.333)2
= 0.5897

a= Y -b X
= 6.583 - (0.5897) (9.333)
= 1.0793

17-27
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Estimate the Standardized Regression Coefficient

• Standardization is the process by which the raw data are

transformed into new variables that have a mean of 0
and a variance of 1 (Chapter 14).
• When the data are standardized, the intercept assumes
a value of 0.
• The term beta coefficient or beta weight is used to
denote the standardized regression coefficient.

Byx = Bxy = rxy

• There is a simple relationship between the standardized

and non-standardized regression coefficients:

Byx = byx (Sx /Sy)

17-28
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Test for Significance

The statistical significance of the linear relationship

between X and Y may be tested by examining the
hypotheses:
H0 :  1 = 0
H1 :  1  0

A t statistic with n - 2 degrees of freedom can be

used, where t =
b
SEb
SEb denotes the standard deviation of b and is called
the standard error.
17-29
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Test for Significance
Using a computer program, the regression of attitude on duration
of residence, using the data shown in Table 17.1, yielded the
results shown in Table 17.2. The intercept, a, equals 1.0793, and
the slope, b, equals 0.5897. Therefore, the estimated equation
is:

Attitude ( Y) = 1.0793 + 0.5897 (Duration of residence)

The standard error, or standard deviation of b is estimated as

0.07008, and the value of the t statistic as t = 0.5897/0.0700 =
8.414, with n - 2 = 10 degrees of freedom.
From Table 4 in the Statistical Appendix, we see that the critical
value of t with 10 degrees of freedom and = 0.05  is 2.228 for
a two-tailed test. Since the calculated value of t is larger than
the critical value, the null hypothesis is rejected.
17-30
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Determine the Strength and Significance of Association
The total variation, SSy, may be decomposed into the variation
accounted for by the regression line, SSreg, and the error or residual
variation, SSerror or SSres, as follows:

SSy = SSreg + SSres

where n
SSy = i=1 (Yi - Y)2

n
SSreg = i (Yi - Y)2
=1

n
SSres = i=1 (Yi - Yi)2
17-31
 Decomposition of the Total
Variation in Bivariate Regression
Fig. 17.6

Y
Residual Variation
o tal n
T tio SSres
a ria Explained Variation
V SS y
SSreg
Y

X
X1 X2 X3 X4 X5

17-32
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Determine the Strength and Significance of Association

The strength of association may then be calculated as follows:

S S reg
r2 =
SSy

S S y - S S res
=
SSy

To illustrate the calculations of r2, let us consider again the effect of attitude
toward the city on the duration of residence. It may be recalled from earlier
calculations of the simple correlation coefficient that:
n
SS y =  (Y i - Y )2
i =1
= 120.9168

17-33
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Determine the Strength and Significance of Association

The predicted values ( )Ycan be calculated using the regression

equation:

Attitude ( Y) = 1.0793 + 0.5897 (Duration of residence)

For the first observation in Table 17.1, this value is:

( Y) = 1.0793 + 0.5897 x 10 = 6.9763.

For each successive observation, the predicted values are, in order,

8.1557, 8.1557, 3.4381, 8.1557, 4.6175, 5.7969, 2.2587, 11.6939,
6.3866, 11.1042, and 2.2587.

17-34
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Determine the Strength and Significance of Association
n
Therefore,
S S reg =  (Y i - Y )
2

i =1
= (6.9763-6.5833)2 + (8.1557-6.5833)2
+ (8.1557-6.5833)2 + (3.4381-6.5833)2
+ (8.1557-6.5833)2 + (4.6175-6.5833)2
+ (5.7969-6.5833)2 + (2.2587-6.5833)2
+ (11.6939 -6.5833)2 + (6.3866-6.5833)2
+ (11.1042 -6.5833)2 + (2.2587-6.5833)2
=0.1544 + 2.4724 + 2.4724 + 9.8922 + 2.4724
+ 3.8643 + 0.6184 + 18.7021 + 26.1182
+ 0.0387 + 20.4385 + 18.7021

= 105.9524
17-35
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Determine the Strength and Significance of Association
n
= (6-6.9763)2 + (9-8.1557)2 + (8-8.1557)2
SS res =  (Y i - Y i )
2

i =1 + (3-3.4381)2 + (10-8.1557)2 + (4-4.6175)2

+ (5-5.7969)2 + (2-2.2587)2 + (11-11.6939)2
+ (9-6.3866)2 + (10-11.1042)2 + (2-2.2587)2

= 14.9644

It can be seen that SSy = SSreg + SSres . Furthermore,

r2 = SSreg /SSy
= 105.9524/120.9168
= 0.8762

17-36
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Determine the Strength and Significance of
Association

Another, equivalent test for examining the significance of the linear

relationship between X and Y (significance of b) is the test for the
significance of the coefficient of determination. The hypotheses in this case
are:

H0: R2pop = 0

H1: R2pop > 0

17-37
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Determine the Strength and Significance of
Association
The appropriate test statistic is the F statistic:
SS reg
F=
SS res /(n-2)

which has an F distribution with 1 and n - 2 degrees of freedom. The F test is

a generalized form of the t test (see Chapter 15). If a random variable is t
distributed with n degrees of freedom, then t2 is F distributed with 1 and n
degrees of freedom. Hence, the F test for testing the significance of the
coefficient of determination is equivalent to testing the following hypotheses:

H 0 :  1 = 0
H0 :  1  0
or

H 0 :  = 0
H0 :   0 17-38
 Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Determine the Strength and Significance of Association
From Table 17.2, it can be seen that:

r2 = 105.9522/(105.9522 + 14.9644)

= 0.8762

Which is the same as the value calculated earlier. The value of the
F statistic is:

F = 105.9522/(14.9644/10)
= 70.8027

with 1 and 10 degrees of freedom. The calculated F statistic

exceeds the critical value of 4.96 determined from Table 5 in the
Statistical Appendix. Therefore, the relationship is significant at
= 0.05, corroborating the results of the t test. 17-39
 Bivariate Regression
Table 17.2

Multiple R 0.93608
R2 0.87624
Adjusted R2 0.86387
Standard Error 1.22329

ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
df Sum of Squares Mean Square

Regression 1 105.95222 105.95222

Residual 10 14.96444 1.49644
F = 70.80266 Significance of F = 0.0000

VARIABLES IN THE EQUATION

Variable b SEb Beta (ß) T Significance
of T
Duration 0.58972 0.07008 0.93608 8.414 0.0000
(Constant) 1.07932 0.74335 1.452 0.1772
17-40
Conducting Bivariate Regression Analysis
Check Prediction Accuracy
To estimate the accuracy of predicted values, , itYis useful to
calculate the standard error of estimate, SEE.
n

 (Y i  Yˆ i )
2

SEE  i 1

n2

or
SEE  SS res

n2

or more generally, if there are k independent variables,

SEE  SS res

n  k 1

For the data given in Table 17.2, the SEE is estimated as follows:

SEE = 14.9644/(12-2)
= 1.22329 17-41
 Assumptions
• The error term is normally distributed. For each fixed
value of X, the distribution of Y is normal.

• The means of all these normal distributions of Y, given

X, lie on a straight line with slope b.

• The mean of the error term is 0.

• The variance of the error term is constant. This

variance does not depend on the values assumed by X.

• The error terms are uncorrelated. In other words, the

observations have been drawn independently.

17-42
 Multiple Regression
The general form of the multiple regression model
is as follows:
Y =  0 +  1 X1 +  2 X2 +  3 X3+ . . . +  k Xk + e
which is estimated by the following equation:

Y = a + b 1 X1 + b 2 X2 + b 3 X3 + . . . + b k Xk

As before, the coefficient a represents the intercept,

but the b's are now the partial regression coefficients.

17-43
 Statistics Associated with Multiple
Regression
• Adjusted R2. R2, coefficient of multiple determination, is
adjusted for the number of independent variables and the
sample size to account for the diminishing returns. After the
first few variables, the additional independent variables do
not make much contribution.
• Coefficient of multiple determination. The strength of
association in multiple regression is measured by the square
of the multiple correlation coefficient, R2, which is also called
the coefficient of multiple determination.
• F test. The F test is used to test the null hypothesis that the
coefficient of multiple determination in the population, R2pop, is
zero. This is equivalent to testing the null hypothesis. The test
statistic has an F distribution with k and (n - k - 1) degrees of
freedom. 17-44
Statistics Associated with Multiple
Regression
• Partial F test. The significance of a partial regression
coefficient, , of Xi may be
 i tested using an incremental F
statistic. The incremental F statistic is based on the
increment in the explained sum of squares resulting from
the addition of the independent variable Xi to the
regression equation after all the other independent
variables have been included.

• Partial regression coefficient. The partial regression

coefficient, b1, denotes the change in the predicted value,
, per unit change in X1 when the other independent
Y
variables, X2 to Xk, are held constant.

17-45
 Conducting Multiple Regression Analysis
Partial Regression Coefficients
To understand the meaning of a partial regression coefficient, let us
consider a case in which there are two independent variables, so that:

= a + b 1X 1 + b 2X 2
Y

 First, note that the relative magnitude of the partial regression

coefficient of an independent variable is, in general, different
from that of its bivariate regression coefficient.
 The interpretation of the partial regression coefficient, b1, is that
it represents the expected change in Y when X1 is changed by one
unit but X2 is held constant or otherwise controlled. Likewise, b2
represents the expected change in
Y for a unit change in X2, when X1 is held constant. Thus, calling b1
and b2 partial regression coefficients is appropriate.

17-46
 Conducting Multiple Regression Analysis
Partial Regression Coefficients

• It can also be seen that the combined effects of X1 and X2 on Y are

additive. In other words, if X1 and X2 are each changed by one unit,
the expected change in Y would be (b1+b2).

• Suppose one was to remove the effect of X2 from X1. This could be
done by running a regression of X1 on X2. In other words, one would
X
estimate the equation 1X= a + b X2 and calculate the residual Xr = (X1 -
1). The partial regression coefficient, b1, is then equal to the bivariate
regression coefficient,
Y br , obtained from the equation = a + br Xr .

17-47
 Conducting Multiple Regression Analysis
Partial Regression Coefficients
• Extension to the case of k variables is straightforward. The partial regression
coefficient, b1, represents the expected change in Y when X1 is changed by one
unit and X2 through Xk are held constant. It can also be interpreted as the
bivariate regression coefficient, b, for the regression of Y on the residuals of X1,
when the effect of X2 through Xk has been removed from X1.
• The relationship of the standardized to the non-standardized coefficients
remains the same as before:
B1 = b1 (Sx1/Sy)
Bk = bk (Sxk /Sy)

The estimated regression equation is:

(Y) = 0.33732 + 0.48108 X1 + 0.28865 X2

or

Attitude = 0.33732 + 0.48108 (Duration) + 0.28865 (Importance)

17-48
 Multiple Regression

Multiple R 0.97210
R2 0.94498
Adjusted R2 0.93276
Standard Error 0.85974

ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
df Sum of Squares Mean Square

Regression 2 114.26425 57.13213

Residual 9 6.65241 0.73916
F = 77.29364 Significance of F = 0.0000

VARIABLES IN THE EQUATION

Variable b SEb Beta (ß) T Significance
of T
IMPORTANCE 0.28865 0.08608 0.31382 3.353 0.0085
DURATION 0.48108 0.05895 0.76363 8.160 0.0000
© 2007(Constant)
Prentice Hall 0.33732 0.56736 0.595 0.5668 17-49
Conducting Multiple Regression Analysis
Strength of Association

SSy = SSreg + SSres

where
n
SSy =  (Y i - Y )2
i =1
n
2
S S reg =  (Y i - Y )
i =1
n
2
S S res =  (Y i - Y i )
i =1

17-50
Conducting Multiple Regression Analysis
Strength of Association

The strength of association is measured by the square of the multiple

correlation coefficient, R2, which is also called the coefficient of
multiple determination.

SS reg
R2 =
SS y

R2 is adjusted for the number of independent variables and the sample

size by using the following formula:
2
2 k(1 - R )
Adjusted R2 =R -
n-k-1

17-51
Conducting Multiple Regression Analysis
Significance Testing
H0 : R2pop = 0

This is equivalent to the following null hypothesis:

H0: 1 = 2 =  3 = . . . = k = 0

The overall test can be conducted by using an F statistic:

SS reg /k
F=
SS res /(n - k - 1)

= R 2 /k
(1 - R 2 )/(n- k - 1)

which has an F distribution with k and (n - k -1) degrees of freedom.

17-52
 Conducting Multiple Regression Analysis
Significance Testing

Testing for the significance of the  i's can be done in a manner

similar to that in the bivariate case by using t tests. The
significance of the partial coefficient for importance
attached to weather may be tested by the following equation:

t= b
SE
b

which has a t distribution with n - k -1 degrees of freedom.

17-53
 Conducting Multiple Regression Analysis
Examination of Residuals
• A residual is the difference between the observed value
of Yi and the value predicted by the regression equation i.
• Scattergrams
Y of the residuals, in which the residuals are
plotted against the predicted values, i, time, or predictor
variables, provide useful insights in examiningY the
appropriateness of the underlying assumptions and
regression model fit.
• The assumption of a normally distributed error term can
be examined by constructing a histogram of the residuals.
• The assumption of constant variance of the error term can
be examined by plotting the residuals against the
predicted values of the dependent variable, i.

Y
17-54
 Conducting Multiple Regression Analysis
Examination of Residuals
• A plot of residuals against time, or the sequence of
observations, will throw some light on the assumption that the
error terms are uncorrelated.
• Plotting the residuals against the independent variables
provides evidence of the appropriateness or
inappropriateness of using a linear model. Again, the plot
should result in a random pattern.
• To examine whether any additional variables should be
included in the regression equation, one could run a
regression of the residuals on the proposed variables.
• If an examination of the residuals indicates that the
assumptions underlying linear regression are not met, the
researcher can transform the variables in an attempt to satisfy
the assumptions. 17-55
Residual Plot Indicating that
Variance Is Not Constant

Residuals

Predicted Y Values

17-56
Residual Plot Indicating a Linear Relationship
Between Residuals and Time

Residuals

Time

17-57
Plot of Residuals Indicating that
a Fitted Model Is Appropriate

Residuals

Predicted Y Values

17-58
 Stepwise Regression
The purpose of stepwise regression is to select, from a large number of
predictor variables, a small subset of variables that account for most of
the variation in the dependent or criterion variable. In this procedure,
the predictor variables enter or are removed from the regression
equation one at a time. There are several approaches to stepwise
regression.
• Forward inclusion. Initially, there are no predictor variables in the
regression equation. Predictor variables are entered one at a time, only
if they meet certain criteria specified in terms of F ratio. The order in
which the variables are included is based on the contribution to the
explained variance.
• Backward elimination. Initially, all the predictor variables are included
in the regression equation. Predictors are then removed one at a time
based on the F ratio for removal.
• Stepwise solution. Forward inclusion is combined with the removal of
predictors that no longer meet the specified criterion at each step.

17-59
 Multicollinearity
• Multicollinearity arises when intercorrelations among the
predictors are very high.
• Multicollinearity can result in several problems, including:
– The partial regression coefficients may not be estimated

precisely. The standard errors are likely to be high.

– The magnitudes as well as the signs of the partial

regression coefficients may change from sample to

sample.
– It becomes difficult to assess the relative importance of

the independent variables in explaining the variation in

the dependent variable.
– Predictor variables may be incorrectly included or

removed in stepwise regression.

17-60
 Multicollinearity
• A simple procedure for adjusting for multicollinearity
consists of using only one of the variables in a highly
correlated set of variables.

• Alternatively, the set of independent variables can be

transformed into a new set of predictors that are mutually
independent by using techniques such as principal
components analysis.

• More specialized techniques, such as ridge regression and

latent root regression, can also be used.

17-61
 Relative Importance of Predictors
Unfortunately, because the predictors are correlated,
there is no unambiguous measure of relative
importance of the predictors in regression analysis.
However, several approaches are commonly used to
assess the relative importance of predictor variables.

• Statistical significance. If the partial regression coefficient of a

variable is not significant, as determined by an incremental F test,
that variable is judged to be unimportant. An exception to this rule
is made if there are strong theoretical reasons for believing that the
variable is important.
• Square of the simple correlation coefficient. This measure, r 2,
represents the proportion of the variation in the dependent variable
explained by the independent variable in a bivariate relationship.

17-62
 Relative Importance of Predictors
• Square of the partial correlation coefficient. This measure, R
yxi.xjxk, is the coefficient of determination between the
2

dependent variable and the independent variable, controlling

for the effects of the other independent variables.
• Square of the part correlation coefficient. This coefficient
represents an increase in R 2 when a variable is entered into a
regression equation that already contains the other
independent variables.
• Measures based on standardized coefficients or beta
weights. The most commonly used measures are the
absolute values of the beta weights, |Bi| , or the squared
values, Bi 2.
• Stepwise regression. The order in which the predictors enter
or are removed from the regression equation is used to infer
their relative importance.
17-63
 Cross-Validation
• The regression model is estimated using the entire data set.
• The available data are split into two parts, the estimation sample and
the validation sample. The estimation sample generally contains 50-
90% of the total sample.
• The regression model is estimated using the data from the estimation
sample only. This model is compared to the model estimated on the
entire sample to determine the agreement in terms of the signs and
magnitudes of the partial regression coefficients.
• The estimated model is applied to the data in the validation sample to
predict the values of the dependent variable, i, for the observations in
the validation sample. Y
• The observed values Yi, and the predicted values, i, in the validation
sample are correlated to determine the simple r 2. This Ymeasure, r 2, is
compared to R 2 for the total sample and to R 2 for the estimation
sample to assess the degree of shrinkage.

17-64
Regression with Dummy Variables
Product Usage Original Dummy Variable Code
Category Variable
Code D1 D2
D3
Nonusers............... 1 1 0 0
Light Users........... 2 0 1 0
Medium Users....... 3 0 0 1
Heavy Users.......... 4 0 0 0

Y
i = a + b 1 D 1 + b 2D 2 + b 3 D 3

• In this case, "heavy users" has been selected as a reference category

and has not been directly included in the regression equation.
• The coefficient b1 is the difference in predicted i forYnonusers, as
compared to heavy users. 17-65
 Analysis of Variance and
Covariance
with Regression
In regression with dummy variables, the predicted Y
for each
category is the mean of Y for each category.

Product Usage Predicted Mean

Category Value Value
Y Y
Nonusers............... a + b1 a + b1
Light Users........... a + b2 a + b2
Medium Users....... a + b3 a + b3
Heavy Users.......... a a

17-66
Analysis of Variance and Covariance
with Regression
Given this equivalence, it is easy to see further relationships
between dummy variable regression and one-way ANOVA.

Dummy Variable Regression One-Way ANOVA

n
SS res =  (Y i - Y i )
2
= SSwithin = SSerror
i =1
n
= SSbetween = SSx
SS reg =  (Y i - Y )
2

i =1

R2 = 2
Overall F test = F test

17-67
 SPSS Windows
The CORRELATE program computes Pearson product moment
correlations and partial correlations with significance levels.
Univariate statistics, covariance,
and cross-product deviations may also be requested.
Significance levels are included in the output. To select these
procedures using SPSS for Windows click:
Analyze>Correlate>Bivariate …
Analyze>Correlate>Partial …
Scatterplots can be obtained by clicking:
Graphs>Scatter …>Simple>Define
REGRESSION calculates bivariate and multiple regression
equations, associated statistics, and plots. It allows for an easy
examination of residuals. This procedure can be run by
clicking:
Analyze>Regression Linear … 17-68
 SPSS Windows: Correlations
1. Select ANALYZE from the SPSS menu bar.

2. Click CORRELATE and then BIVARIATE..

3. Move “Attitude[attitude]” in to the VARIABLES box.. Then move

“Duration[duration]” ]” in to the VARIABLES box..

4. Check PEARSON under CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS.

5. Check ONE-TAILED under TEST OF SIGNIFICANCE.

6. Check FLAG SIGNIFICANT CORRELATIONS.

7. Click OK.

17-69
 SPSS Windows: Bivariate Regression

1. Select ANALYZE from the SPSS menu bar.

2. Click REGRESSION and then LINEAR.

3. Move “Attitude[attitude]” in to the DEPENDENT box..

4. Move “Duration[duration]” in to the INDEPENDENT(S) box..

5. Select ENTER in the METHOD box.

6. Click on STATISTICS and check ESTIMATES under REGRESSION

COEFFICIENTS.

7. Check MODEL FIT.

8. Click CONTINUE.

9. Click OK.
17-70