Regression Diagnostics: An Introduction

Regression diagnostics are methods for determining whether a regression model that has been fit to data adequately represents the structure of the data. For example, if the model assumes a linear (straight-line) relationship between the response and an explanatory variable, is the assumption of linearity warranted? Regression diagnostics not only reveal deficiencies in a regression model that has been fit to data but in many instances may suggest how the model can be improved. The Second Edition of this bestselling volume by John Fox considers two important classes of regression models: the normal linear regression model (LM), in which the response variable is quantitative and assumed to have a normal distribution conditional on the values of the explanatory variables; and generalized linear models (GLMs) in which the conditional distribution of the response variable is a member of an exponential family. R code and data sets for examples within the text can be found on an accompanying website.

John Fox received a BA from the City College of New York and a PhD from the University of Michigan, both in Sociology. He is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where he was previously the Senator William McMaster Professor of Social Statistics. Prior to coming to McMaster, he was Professor of Sociology, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, and Coordinator of the Statistical Consulting Service at York University in Toronto. Professor Fox is the author of many articles and books on applied statistics, including \emph{Applied Regression Analysis and Generalized Linear Models, Third Edition} (Sage, 2016). He is an elected member of the R Foundation, an associate editor of the Journal of Statistical Software, a prior editor of R News and its successor the R Journal, and a prior editor of the Sage Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences monograph series.