degrees of freedom (df)
Definition
Degrees of freedom refers to the number of values in a calculation that are free to vary without violating any constraints.
Analogy
Think of degrees of freedom as being similar to having multiple friends who want to choose their own outfits for an event. If there are 10 friends but only 9 outfits available, then only 9 friends have degrees of freedom because one friend's outfit choice will be determined by what others choose.
Related terms
Sample Size: The number of observations or individuals included in a sample.
Residuals: The differences between observed values and predicted values in regression analysis.
Chi-Square Test: A statistical test used to determine if there is an association between two categorical variables.
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