Standard Deviation of the Residual (s)

Definition

The standard deviation of the residual, denoted as s, measures the average distance between each observed data point and the regression line. It tells us how much the actual data points deviate from the predicted values.

Analogy

Imagine you are shooting darts at a target. The standard deviation of the residuals is like measuring how spread out your dart throws are from the bullseye. A smaller standard deviation means your throws are closer to the center, while a larger standard deviation means they are more scattered.

Related terms

Residuals: These are the differences between observed data points and their corresponding predicted values on a regression line.

Regression Line: Also known as a best-fit line, it represents the relationship between two variables in a scatterplot.

Least Squares Method: This is a technique used to find the equation of a regression line that minimizes the sum of squared residuals.