Succinctly stated, regression analysis is a technique for estimating variable relationships. There are various types of regression analyses, the most popular of which is linear regression. As demonstrated in the following screenshot, linear regression estimates a line that best fits the data:
Notice that this screenshot is from Tableau. It's a simple scatter plot with trend lines turned on. Trend lines, in Tableau, default to linear but also include logarithmic, exponential, and polynomial, which are all examples of regression analysis. By accessing Worksheet > Export > Data on a visualization utilizing a trend line, you can generate an Access database with predictions and residuals for marks on the view. But this is a tedious process and does not give a robust, dynamic solution for implementing more vigorous uses of linear regression...
