Multiple linear regression is the extension of simple linear regression and is equally as common in statistics. To understand how multiple linear regression analysis works, try to solve the following problem by reviewing what you already know and reading through this guide. This guide is meant for those unsure how to approach the problem or for those encountering this concept for the first time.

 

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Problem 5

You’re curious about which factors play into the salary people earn. In order to find out you’d like to conduct a multiple linear regression analysis on data that has the salary, education level in years, and work experience for 10 individuals. Conduct a multiple regression analysis by finding the regression model on the following data set.

 

Education Experience Salary
11 10 30000
11 6 27000
12 10 20000
12 5 25000
13 5 29000
14 6 35000
14 5 38000
16 8 40000
16 7 45000
16 2 28000
18 6 30000
18 2 55000
22 5 65000
23 2 25000
24 1 75000

 

What is MLR?

Multiple linear regression is the extension of simple linear regression. Meaning, the basic concepts behind multiple linear regression, or MLR, are the same. The main difference, however, is that multiple linear regression has one response variable with two or more explanatory variables.

 

The motivation behind MLR is that in many cases, the predictions from regression models get better with more explanatory variables. Intuitively, this makes sense as the majority of the phenomena around us - the demand for goods, the growth of plants, etc. - typically have more than just one variable related to them. Mathematically, this also makes sense: the more variables you add to the model, the higher the explained variance, or R squared value, of the model.

 

However, introducing more variables means you should practice extra precaution during your analysis. Having a high r-squared value doesn’t always mean you’ve found the best regression model. Often, too high of an r-squared value can signal towards underlying problems with your model. Take a look at some of the common problems you can encounter when building your MLR model.

 

Concept Definition Resulting Problems
Overfitting Adding too many predictors The model is too closely related, or “fit”, to the sample data set to the point that it introduces a lot of variability
Underfitting Adding too few predictors The model does not “fit” the data well enough because it is not complex enough to the point that it introduces bias
Multicollinearity Pairs of explanatory variables are too highly correlated Reduces the reliability of the model because it affects the variance

 

The first two concepts are often referred to as the bias-variance trade-off. The more complex your model, the higher the risk of overfitting the data and therefore having higher variance. The less complex the model, the higher the risk of underfitting the data and therefore the having higher bias. The best models find the sweet spot between the overfitted and underfitted model, which can be visualized in the graph below.

 

model_complexity

 

MLR Explained

In order to explain multiple linear regression, let’s start with the multiple regression model.

 

[

y = beta_{0} + beta_{1}x_{1} + beta_{2}x_{2} + beta_{3}x_{3} + … + beta_{n}x_{n} + u_{i}

]

 

As you may notice, this is simply an extension of the SLR model, which can be written in any of the following ways.

 

 

In order to understand this equation, let's break it down by first looking at the linear parameters.

 

linear_parameters

 

Find a summary of these linear parameters below

Linear Parameter Description
The intercept
The regression coefficient of the first independent variable
The regression coefficient of the second independent variable
The regression coefficient of the th independent variable

 

Next, take a look at the error term.

 

error_term

 

Recall that this error term is based off of the real population parameters. In the MLR equation, this error term is actually assumed to be zero. Because we do not know the true population parameters, we arrive at the estimated multiple regression equation.

 

[

hat{y} = b_{0} + b_{1}x_{1} + b_{2}x_{2} + b_{3}x_{3} … + b_{n}x_{n}

]

 

Take a look at the table below to understand what this estimated MLR equation means.

 

Estimated Parameter Description
The estimates of the population parameters
The estimate of the parameter

 

Remember that the population parameters are measured from the actual population, whereas the estimates of these parameters are based off of a sample from the population and they are called statistics.

 

MLR Estimators

To calculate the estimators, let’s start with the easiest first, which is the intercept. The equation for the intercept is simply a rearranged version of the MLR equation. To illustrate this, take an MLR equation with only two independent variables.

 

[

y = b_{0} + b_{1}x_{1 + b_{2}x_{2}}

]

 

Solving for , we get:

[

b_{0} = bar{y} - b_{1}bar{x_{1}} - b_{2}x_{2}}

]

 

The formulas for the and estimators are a bit more complicated. Take a look at the table below to see the formulas you’ll need to calculate these estimators.

 

Element Formula
 

Two Variable MLR Step by Step

The first step in solving for the multiple regression model is to calculate the variables we’ll be plugging into our formulas.

Observation Salary Education Experience
1 30000 11 10 121 100 330000 300000 110
2 27000 11 6 121 36 297000 162000 66
3 20000 12 10 144 100 240000 200000 120
4 25000 12 5 144 25 300000 125000 60
5 29000 13 5 169 25 377000 145000 65
6 35000 14 6 196 36 490000 210000 84
7 38000 14 5 196 25 532000 190000 70
8 40000 16 8 256 64 640000 320000 128
9 45000 16 7 256 49 720000 315000 112
10 28000 16 2 256 4 448000 56000 32
11 30000 18 6 324 36 540000 180000 108
12 55000 18 2 324 4 990000 110000 36
13 65000 22 5 484 25 1430000 325000 110
14 25000 23 2 529 4 575000 50000 46
15 75000 24 1 576 1 1800000 75000 24
Total 567000 240 80 4096 534 9709000 2763000 1171
Mean 37800 16 5

Next, we go ahead and plug them in.

[

sum x_{1}^2 = 4096 - frac{(240)^2}{15} = 256

]

[

sum x_{2}^2 = 534 - frac{(80)^2}{15} = 107

]

[

sum x_{1}y = 9709000 - frac{567000*240}{15} = 637000

]

[

sum x_{2}y = 2763000 - frac{567000*80}{15} = -261000

]

[

sum x_{1}x_{2} = 1171 - frac{240*80}{15} = -109

]

[

b_{1} = frac{(107*637000) - (-109* -261000)}{(256*107) - (-109)^2} = 2560

]

[

b_{2} = frac{(256*-261000) - (-109*637000)}{(256*107) - (-109)^2} = 168

]

[

b_{0} = 37800 - (2560*16) - (168*5) = -4051

]

Putting these numbers all together, we get a multiple regression model of:

[

y = -4051 + 2560x_{1} + 168x_{2}

]

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Emma

Emma

I am passionate about travelling and currently live and work in Paris. I like to spend my time reading, gardening, running, learning languages and exploring new places.