Conditions for Inference for Regression-I
Learn about residuals, linearity, and independence in inference for regression.
We'll cover the following
We stated that we can only use the standard-error-based method for constructing confidence intervals if the bootstrap distribution is bell-shaped. Similarly, there are certain conditions that need to be met in order for the results of our hypothesis tests and confidence intervals to have valid meaning. These conditions must be met for the assumed underlying mathematical and probability theory to hold true.
For inference for regression, there are four conditions that need to be met. Note the first four letters of these conditions—LINE—can serve as a nice reminder of what to check for whenever we perform linear regression.
Linearity of the relationship between variables
Independence of the residuals
Normality of the residuals
Equality of variance of the residuals
Conditions L, N, and E can be verified through what’s known as a residual analysis. Condition I can only be verified through an understanding of how the data was collected.
We’ll go over a refresher on residuals, verify whether each of the four LINE conditions holds true, and then discuss the implications.
Residuals refresher
Recall the definition of a residual: the observed value minus the fitted value denoted by
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