Regression analysis
Regression analysis is useful for determining trends in data. It indicates the relationship between dependent and independent variables. The independent variables determine the value of a dependent variable. Each independent variable can have either a strong or a weak effect on the value of the dependent variable. Linear regression uses a line in a scatterplot to show the trend. Non-linear regression uses some sort of curve to depict the relationships.
For example, there is a relationship between blood pressure and various factors such as age, salt intake, and Body Mass Index (BMI). The blood pressure can be treated as the dependent variable and the other factors as independent variables. Given a dataset containing these factors for a group of individuals we can perform regression analysis to see trends.
There are several types of regression analysis supported by Java. We will be examining simple linear regression and multiple linear regression. Both approaches take a dataset...