Week 15 : Introduction to Regression and correlation
The word correlation is used in everyday life to denote some form of association. We might say that we have noticed a correlation between foggy days and attacks of wheeziness. However, in statistical terms we use correlation to denote association between two quantitative variables. We also assume that the association is linear, that one variable increases or decreases a fixed amount for a unit increase or decrease in the other. The other technique that is often used in these circumstances is regression, which involves estimating the best straight line to summarise the association.