Transforming variables with the reciprocal function

The reciprocal function is defined as 1/x. It is often useful when we have ratios – that is, values resulting from the division of two variables. Examples of this are population density – that is, people per area – and, as we will see in this recipe, house occupancy – that is, the number of occupants per house.

The reciprocal transformation is not defined for the 0 value, and although it is defined for negative values, it is mainly useful for transforming positive variables.

In this recipe, we will implement the reciprocal transformation using NumPy, scikit-learn, and Feature-engine, and compare its effect on variable distribution using histograms and a Q-Q plot.

How to do it...

Let’s begin by importing the libraries and getting the dataset ready:

1. Import the required Python libraries and data:

   import numpy as np
   import pandas as pd
   import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
   import scipy.stats...