Microsoft® Office Excel® 2007: Data Analysis and Business Modeling, Second Edition

Chapter 48. Incorporating Qualitative Factors into Multiple Regression

• How can I predict quarterly U.S. auto sales?

• How can I predict U.S. presidential elections?

• Is there an Excel function I can use to easily make forecasts from a multiple regression equation?

In our first example of multiple regression in Chapter 47, we forecasted the monthly cost of plant operations by using the number of units of each product manufactured at the plant. Because we can quantify exactly the amount of a product produced at the plant, we can refer to the units produced of Product A, Product B, and Product C as quantitative independent variables. In many situations, however, independent variables can’t be easily quantified. In this chapter, we’ll look at ways ...