The regression models in this chapter include the simple and multiple linear regression models, the multivariate general linear model, the polynomial model, and the nonlinear regression model. Functions for fitting regression models, computing summary statistics from a fitted regression, computing diagnostics, and computing confidence intervals for individual cases are provided. This chapter also provides methods for building a model from a set of candidate variables.

The simple linear regression model is

where the observed values of the yi’s constitute the responses or values of the dependent variable, the xi’s are the settings of the independent (explanatory) variable, β0 and β1 are the intercept and slope parameters (respectively) and the ɛi’s are independently distributed normal errors, each with mean 0 and variance σ2.

The multiple linear regression model is

where the observed values of the yi’s constitute the responses or values of the dependent variable; the xi1’s, xi2’s, ..., xik’s are the settings of the k independent (explanatory) variables; β0, β1, ..., βk are the regression coefficients; and the ɛi’s are independently distributed normal errors, each with mean 0 and variance σ2.

Function imsls_f_regression fits both the simple and multiple linear regression models using a fast Given’s transformation and includes an option for excluding the intercept β0. The responses are input in array y, and the independent variables are input in array x, where the individual cases correspond to the rows and the variables correspond to the columns.

After the model has been fitted using imsls_f_regression, function imsls_f_regression_summary computes summary statistics and imsls_f_regression_prediction computes predicted values, confidence intervals, and case statistics for the fitted model. The information about the fit is communicated from imsls_f_regression to imsls_f_regression_summary and imsls_f_regression_prediction by passing an argument of structure type Imsls_f_regression.

Several functions provide the option for excluding the intercept from a model. In most practical applications, the intercept should be included in the model. For functions that use the sums of squares and crossproducts matrix as input, the no-intercept case can be handled by using the raw sums of squares and crossproducts matrix as input in place of the corrected sums of squares and crossproducts. The raw sums of squares and crossproducts matrix can be computed as (x1,  x2, ..., xk, y)T (x1, x2, ..., xk, y).

Variable selection can be performed by imsls_f_regression_selection, which computes all best-subset regressions, or by imsls_f_regression_stepwise, which computes stepwise regression. The method used by imsls_f_regression_selection is generally preferred over that used by imsls_f_regression_stepwise because imsls_f_regression_selection implicitly examines all possible models in the search for a model that optimizes some criterion while stepwise does not examine all possible models. However, the computer time and memory requirements for imsls_f_regression_selection can be much greater than that for imsls_f_regression_stepwise when the number of candidate variables is large.

The polynomial model is

where the observed values of the yi’s constitute the responses or values of the dependent variable; the xi’s are the settings of the independent (explanatory) variable; β0, β1, ..., βk are the regression coefficients; and the ɛi’s are independently distributed normal errors each with mean 0 and variance σ2.

Function imsls_f_poly_regression fits a polynomial regression model with the option of determining the degree of the model and also produces summary information. Function imsls_f_poly_prediction computes predicted values, confidence intervals, and case statistics for the model fit by imsls_f_poly_regression.

The information about the fit is communicated from imsls_f_poly_regression to imsls_f_poly_prediction by passing an argument of structure type Imsls_f_poly_regression.

Variables used in the general linear model are either continuous or classification variables. Typically, multiple regression models use continuous variables, whereas analysis of variance models use classification variables. Although the notation used to specify analysis of variance models and multiple regression models may look quite different, the models are essentially the same. The term “general linear model” emphasizes that a common notational scheme is used for specifying a model that may contain both continuous and classification variables.

A general linear model is specified by its effects (sources of variation). An effect is referred to in this text as a single variable or a product of variables. (The term “effect” is often used in a narrower sense, referring only to a single regression coefficient.) In particular, an “effect” is composed of one of the following:

Effects of the first type are common in multiple regression models. Effects of the second type appear as main effects in analysis of variance models. Effects of the third type appear as interactions in analysis of variance models. Effects of the fourth type appear in polynomial models and response surface models as powers and crossproducts of some basic variables. Effects of the fifth type appear in one-way analysis of covariance models as regression coefficients that indicate lack of parallelism of a regression function across the groups.

The analysis of a general linear model occurs in two stages. The first stage calls function imsls_f_regressors_for_glm to specify all regressors except the intercept. The second stage calls imsls_f_regression, at which point the model will be specified as either having (default) or not having an intercept.

For this discussion, define a variable INTCEP as follows:

The remaining variables (n_continuous, n_class, x_class_columns, n_effects, n_var_effects, and indices_effects) are defined for function imsls_f_regressors_for_glm. All these variables have defaults except for n_continuous and n_class, both of which must be specified. (See the documentation for imsls_f_regressors_for_glm for a discussion of the defaults.) The meaning of each of these arguments is as follows:

Suppose the data matrix has as its first four columns two continuous variables in Columns 0 and 1 and two classification variables in Columns 2 and 3. The data might appear as follows:

Each distinct value of a classification variable determines a level. The classification variable in Column 2 has two levels. The classification variable in Column 3 has three levels. (Integer values are recommended, but not required, for values of the classification variables. The values of the classification variables corresponding to the same level must be identical.) Some examples of regression functions and their specifications are as follows:

Function imsls_f_regression fits a multivariate general linear model, where regressors for the general linear model have been generated using function imsls_f_regressors_for_glm.

Linear dependence of the regressors frequently arises in regression models—sometimes by design and sometimes by accident. The functions in this chapter are designed to handle linear dependence of the regressors; i.e., the n × p matrix X (the matrix of regressors) in the general linear model can have rank less than p. Often, the models are referred to as non-full rank models.

As discussed in Searle (1971, Chapter 5), be careful to correctly use the results of the fitted non-full rank regression model for estimation and hypothesis testing. In the non-full rank case, not all linear combinations of the regression coefficients can be estimated. Those linear combinations that can be estimated are called “estimable functions.” If the functions are used to attempt to estimate linear combinations that cannot be estimated, error messages are issued. A good general discussion of estimable functions is given by Searle (1971, pp. 180–188).

The check used by functions in this chapter for linear dependence is sequential. The j‑th regressor is declared linearly dependent on the preceding j - 1 regressors if

is less than or equal to tolerance. Here,

is the multiple correlation coefficient of the j‑th regressor with the first j − 1 regressors. When a function declares the j-th regressor to be linearly dependent on the first j − 1, the j‑th regression coefficient is set to 0. Essentially, this removes the j‑th regressor from the model.

The reason a sequential check is used is that practitioners frequently include the preferred variables to remain in the model first. Also, the sequential check is based on many of the computations already performed as this does not degrade the overall efficiency of the functions. There is no perfect test for linear dependence when finite precision arithmetic is used. The optional argument IMSLS_TOLERANCE allows the user some control over the check for linear dependence. If a model is full rank, input tolerance = 0.0. However, tolerance should be input as approximately 100 times the machine epsilon. The machine epsilon is imsls_f_machine(4) in single precision and imsls_d_machine(4) in double precision. (See functions imsls_f_machine and imsls_d_machine in Chapter 15,Utilities.)

Functions performing least squares are based on QR decomposition of X or on a Cholesky factorization RTR of XTX. Maindonald (1984, Chapters 1−5) discusses these methods extensively. The R matrix used by the regression function is a p × p upper-triangular matrix, i.e., all elements below the diagonal are 0. The signs of the diagonal elements of R are used as indicators of linearly dependent regressors and as indicators of parameter restrictions imposed by fitting a restricted model. The rows of R can be partitioned into three classes by the sign of the corresponding diagonal element:

The nonlinear regression model is

where the observed values of the yi’s constitute the responses or values of the dependent variable, the xi’s are the known vectors of values of the independent (explanatory) variables, f is a known function of an unknown regression parameter vector θ, and the ɛi’s are independently distributed normal errors each with mean 0 and variance σ2.

Function imsls_f_nonlinear_regression performs the least-squares fit to the data for this model.

Functions throughout the chapter generally allow weights to be assigned to the observations. The vector weights is used throughout to specify the weighting for each row of X.

Computations that relate to statistical inference—e.g., t tests, F tests, and confidence intervals—are based on the multiple regression model except that the variance of ɛiis assumed to equal σ2 times the reciprocal of the corresponding weight.

If a single row of the data matrix corresponds to ni observations, the vector frequencies can be used to specify the frequency for each row of X. Degrees of freedom for error are affected by frequencies but are unaffected by weights.

Function imsls_f_regression_summary can be used to compute and print statistics related to a regression for each of the q dependent variables fitted by imsls_f_regression. The summary statistics include the model analysis of variance table, sequential sums of squares and F-statistics, coefficient estimates, estimated standard errors, t-statistics, variance inflation factors, and estimated variance-covariance matrix of the estimated regression coefficients. Function imsls_f_poly_regression includes most of the same functionality for polynomial regressions.

The summary statistics are computed under the model y = Xβ + ɛ, where y is the n × 1 vector of responses, X is the n × p matrix of regressors with rank (X) = r, β is the p × 1 vector of regression coefficients, and ɛ is the n × 1 vector of errors whose elements are independently normally distributed with mean 0 and variance σ2∕wi.

Given the results of a weighted least-squares fit of this model (with the wi’s as the weights), most of the computed summary statistics are output in the following variables:

Tests for lack-of-fit are computed for the polynomial regression by the function imsls_f_poly_regression. The output array ssq_lof contains the lack-of-fit F tests for each degree polynomial 1, 2, ..., k, that is fit to the data. These tests are used to indicate the degree of the polynomial required to fit the data well.

Diagnostics for individual cases (observations) are computed by two functions: imsls_f_regression_prediction for linear and nonlinear regressions and imsls_f_poly_prediction for polynomial regressions.

Statistics computed include predicted values, confidence intervals, and diagnostics for detecting outliers and cases that greatly influence the fitted regression.

The diagnostics are computed under the model y = Xβ + ɛ, where y is the n × 1 vector of responses, X is the n × p matrix of regressors with rank (X) = r, β is the p × 1 vector of regression coefficients, and ɛ is the n × 1 vector of errors whose elements are independently normally distributed with mean 0 and variance σ2∕wi.

Given the results of a weighted least-squares fit of this model (with the wi’s as the weights), the following five diagnostics are computed:

The definition of these terms is given in the discussion that follows:

Let xi be a column vector containing the elements of the i‑th row of X. A case can be unusual either because of xi or because of the response yi. The leverage hi is a measure of uniqueness of the xi. The leverage is defined by

where W = diag(w1, w2, …, wn) and (XTWX)- denotes a generalized inverse of XTWX. The average value of the hi’s is r∕n. Regression functions declare xi unusual if hi > 2r∕n. Hoaglin and Welsch (1978) call a data point highly influential (i.e., a leverage point) when this occurs.

Let ei denote the residual

for the i‑th case. The estimated variance of ei is (1 – hi)s2∕wi, where s2 is the residual mean square from the fitted regression. The i‑th standardized residual (also called the internally studentized residual) is by definition

and ri follows an approximate standard normal distribution in large samples.

The i‑th jackknife residual or deleted residual involves the difference between yi and its predicted value, based on the data set in which the i‑th case is deleted. This difference equals ei∕(1 − hi). The jackknife residual is obtained by standardizing this difference. The residual mean square for the regression in which the i‑th case is deleted is as follows:

The jackknife residual is defined as

and ti follows a t distribution with n – r − 1 degrees of freedom.

Cook’s distance for the i‑th case is a measure of how much an individual case affects the estimated regression coefficients. It is given as follows:

Weisberg (1985) states that if Di exceeds the 50-th percentile of the F(r, n − r ) distribution, it should be considered large. (This value is about 1. This statistic does not have an F distribution.)

DFFITS, like Cook’s distance, is also a measure of influence. For the i‑th case, DFFITS is computed by the formula below.

Hoaglin and Welsch (1978) suggest that DFFITS greater than

is large.

Transformations of the independent variables are sometimes useful in order to satisfy the regression model. The inclusion of squares and crossproducts of the variables

is often needed. Logarithms of the independent variables are used also. (See Draper and Smith 1981, pp. 218−222; Box and Tidwell 1962; Atkinson 1985, pp. 177−180; Cook and Weisberg 1982, pp. 78−86.)

When the responses are described by a nonlinear function of the parameters, a transformation of the model equation often can be selected so that the transformed model is linear in the regression parameters. For example, by taking natural logarithms on both sides of the equation, the exponential model

can be transformed to a model that satisfies the linear regression model provided the ɛi’s have a log-normal distribution (Draper and Smith, pp. 222−225).

When the responses are nonnormal and their distribution is known, a transformation of the responses can often be selected so that the transformed responses closely satisfy the regression model, assumptions. The square-root transformation for counts with a Poisson distribution and the arc-sine transformation for binomial proportions are common examples (Snedecor and Cochran 1967, pp. 325−330; Draper and Smith, pp. 237−239).

The method of least squares has desirable characteristics when the errors are normally distributed, e.g., a least-squares solution produces maximum likelihood estimates of the regression parameters. However, when errors are not normally distributed, least squares may yield poor estimators. Function imsls_f_Lnorm_regression offers three alternatives to least squares methodology, Least Absolute Value, LpNorm, and Least Maximum Value.

The least absolute value (LAV, L1) criterion yields the maximum likelihood estimate when the errors follow a Laplace distribution. Option IMSLS_METHOD_LAV is often used when the errors have a heavy tailed distribution or when a fit is needed that is resistant to outliers.

A more general approach, minimizing the Lp norm (p ≤ 1), is given by option IMSLS_METHOD_LLP. Although the routine requires about 30 times the CPU time for the case p = 1 than would the use of IMSLS_METHOD_LAV, the generality of IMSLS_METHOD_LLP allows the user to try several choices for p ≥1 by simply changing the input value of p in the calling program. The CPU time decreases as p gets larger. Generally, choices of p between 1 and 2 are of interest. However, the Lp norm solution for values of p larger than 2 can also be computed.

The minimax (LMV, L∞, Chebyshev) criterion is used by IMSLS_METHOD_LMV. Its estimates are very sensitive to outliers, however, the minimax estimators are quite efficient if the errors are uniformly distributed.

Function imsls_f_pls_regression provides an alternative method which is useful when there are many inter-related regression variables and relatively few observations.  imsls_f_pls_regression finds linear combinations of the predictor variables that have highest covariance with Y.

NaN (Not a Number) is the missing value code used by the regression functions. Use function imsls_f_machine(6), Chapter 15,Utilities (or functionimsls_d_machine(6) with double-precision regression functions) to retrieve NaN. Any element of the data matrix that is missing must be set to imsls_f_machine(6) (or imsls_d_machine(6) for double precision). In fitting regression models, any observation containing NaN for the independent, dependent, weight, or frequency variables is omitted from the computation of the regression parameters.