Chapter 6. Regression Analysis
One of the fundamental purposes of data analysis is the extrapolation of data. That is, the process of discovering patterns in the data and then projecting those patterns to anticipate unobserved or even future behavior. When a dataset appears to follow a pattern that looks like a mathematical function, then the algorithms used to identify that function or class of functions are characterized as regression analysis. In the simplest cases, when those functions are linear functions, the analysis is called linear regression.
