ABSTRACT
In Chapter 17, our concern was with the prediction or explanation of a dependent or criterion variable (Y) by a single independent or predictor variable (X). However, given the types of phenomena we typically deal with in education and the behavioral sciences, the use of a single predictor variable is quite restrictive. In other words, given the complexity of most human, organizational, and animal behaviors, one predictor is usually not sufcient in terms of understanding the criterion. In order to account for a sufcient proportion of variability in the criterion, more than one predictor is necessary. This leads us to analyze the data via multiple regression analysis where two or more predictors are used to predict or explain the criterion variable. Here we adopt the usual notation where the X’s are dened as the independent or predictor variables, and Y as the dependent or criterion variable.
