๐ŸŽฒintro to statistics review

Coefficient of determination

Written by the Fiveable Content Team โ€ข Last updated September 2025
Written by the Fiveable Content Team โ€ข Last updated September 2025

Definition

The coefficient of determination, denoted as $R^2$, measures the proportion of the variance in the dependent variable that is predictable from the independent variable(s). It ranges from 0 to 1, where a higher value indicates a better fit of the model.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

  1. $R^2$ values close to 1 indicate that a large proportion of variance in the dependent variable is explained by the model.
  2. $R^2 = 0$ means that the independent variables do not explain any of the variability in the dependent variable.
  3. $R^2$ can never be negative since it represents a squared term.
  4. $R^2$ alone cannot indicate whether a regression model is appropriate; other diagnostics are also needed.
  5. Adjusted $R^2$ accounts for the number of predictors and adjusts for their impact on the overall fit.

Review Questions

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