Regression Analysis And Relevance To Research In Social Sciences
Ajibade, Ayodele Temitope
Department of Accounting, School of Management Sciences
Ademola, Ajayi
Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria
Otitolaiye, Emmanuel Dare
Department of Accounting, School of Management Sciences
Keywords: Bivariate regression, Multiple regression, Investment projections, Predictive ability, Polynomial regression, Regression analysis
Abstract
The study seeks to review regression analysis and its relevance to research in social sciences, the study relied on a review of various regression analyses being used in social sciences and the significance of regression analysis as a tool in the analysis of data sets. The study adopted a systematic exploratory research design, reviewing related articles, journals, and other prior studies in relation to regression analysis and its relevance in social sciences. After a careful systematic and contextual review, the study revealed that regression analysis is significant in providing a measure of coefficients of the determination which explains the effect of the independent variable (explanatory variable) on the explained variable otherwise known as regressed variables that give the idea of the prediction values of the regression analysis. Regression analysis provides a practical and strong tool for statistical analysis that can enhance investment decisions, business projections in manufacturing, production, stock price movement, sales, and revenue estimations, and generally in making future predictions. This review provides originality in a clear understanding of a comprehensive review of the relevance of regression analysis in social sciences, contributing to knowledge in this regard. The study recommends that researchers should adopt the required pragmatic and methodological steps when using regression analysis, unethical torturing of data should be avoided as this could lead to false results and wrong statistical predictions