Exploring the data set
# 1. Exploring the data set
data(mtcars)
head(mtcars)
## mpg cyl disp hp drat wt qsec vs am gear carb
## Mazda RX4 21.0 6 160 110 3.90 2.620 16.46 0 1 4 4
## Mazda RX4 Wag 21.0 6 160 110 3.90 2.875 17.02 0 1 4 4
## Datsun 710 22.8 4 108 93 3.85 2.320 18.61 1 1 4 1
## Hornet 4 Drive 21.4 6 258 110 3.08 3.215 19.44 1 0 3 1
## Hornet Sportabout 18.7 8 360 175 3.15 3.440 17.02 0 0 3 2
## Valiant 18.1 6 225 105 2.76 3.460 20.22 1 0 3 1
str(mtcars)
## 'data.frame': 32 obs. of 11 variables:
## $ mpg : num 21 21 22.8 21.4 18.7 18.1 14.3 24.4 22.8 19.2 ...
## $ cyl : num 6 6 4 6 8 6 8 4 4 6 ...
## $ disp: num 160 160 108 258 360 ...
## $ hp : num 110 110 93 110 175 105 245 62 95 123 ...
## $ drat: num 3.9 3.9 3.85 3.08 3.15 2.76 3.21 3.69 3.92 3.92 ...
## $ wt : num 2.62 2.88 2.32 3.21 3.44 ...
## $ qsec: num 16.5 17 18.6 19.4 17 ...
## $ vs : num 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 ...
## $ am : num 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ...
## $ gear: num 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 ...
## $ carb: num 4 4 1 1 2 1 4 2 2 4 ...
summary(mtcars)
## mpg cyl disp hp
## Min. :10.40 Min. :4.000 Min. : 71.1 Min. : 52.0
## 1st Qu.:15.43 1st Qu.:4.000 1st Qu.:120.8 1st Qu.: 96.5
## Median :19.20 Median :6.000 Median :196.3 Median :123.0
## Mean :20.09 Mean :6.188 Mean :230.7 Mean :146.7
## 3rd Qu.:22.80 3rd Qu.:8.000 3rd Qu.:326.0 3rd Qu.:180.0
## Max. :33.90 Max. :8.000 Max. :472.0 Max. :335.0
## drat wt qsec vs
## Min. :2.760 Min. :1.513 Min. :14.50 Min. :0.0000
## 1st Qu.:3.080 1st Qu.:2.581 1st Qu.:16.89 1st Qu.:0.0000
## Median :3.695 Median :3.325 Median :17.71 Median :0.0000
## Mean :3.597 Mean :3.217 Mean :17.85 Mean :0.4375
## 3rd Qu.:3.920 3rd Qu.:3.610 3rd Qu.:18.90 3rd Qu.:1.0000
## Max. :4.930 Max. :5.424 Max. :22.90 Max. :1.0000
## am gear carb
## Min. :0.0000 Min. :3.000 Min. :1.000
## 1st Qu.:0.0000 1st Qu.:3.000 1st Qu.:2.000
## Median :0.0000 Median :4.000 Median :2.000
## Mean :0.4062 Mean :3.688 Mean :2.812
## 3rd Qu.:1.0000 3rd Qu.:4.000 3rd Qu.:4.000
## Max. :1.0000 Max. :5.000 Max. :8.000
Correlation matrix
cor(mtcars)
## mpg cyl disp hp drat wt
## mpg 1.0000000 -0.8521620 -0.8475514 -0.7761684 0.68117191 -0.8676594
## cyl -0.8521620 1.0000000 0.9020329 0.8324475 -0.69993811 0.7824958
## disp -0.8475514 0.9020329 1.0000000 0.7909486 -0.71021393 0.8879799
## hp -0.7761684 0.8324475 0.7909486 1.0000000 -0.44875912 0.6587479
## drat 0.6811719 -0.6999381 -0.7102139 -0.4487591 1.00000000 -0.7124406
## wt -0.8676594 0.7824958 0.8879799 0.6587479 -0.71244065 1.0000000
## qsec 0.4186840 -0.5912421 -0.4336979 -0.7082234 0.09120476 -0.1747159
## vs 0.6640389 -0.8108118 -0.7104159 -0.7230967 0.44027846 -0.5549157
## am 0.5998324 -0.5226070 -0.5912270 -0.2432043 0.71271113 -0.6924953
## gear 0.4802848 -0.4926866 -0.5555692 -0.1257043 0.69961013 -0.5832870
## carb -0.5509251 0.5269883 0.3949769 0.7498125 -0.09078980 0.4276059
## qsec vs am gear carb
## mpg 0.41868403 0.6640389 0.59983243 0.4802848 -0.55092507
## cyl -0.59124207 -0.8108118 -0.52260705 -0.4926866 0.52698829
## disp -0.43369788 -0.7104159 -0.59122704 -0.5555692 0.39497686
## hp -0.70822339 -0.7230967 -0.24320426 -0.1257043 0.74981247
## drat 0.09120476 0.4402785 0.71271113 0.6996101 -0.09078980
## wt -0.17471588 -0.5549157 -0.69249526 -0.5832870 0.42760594
## qsec 1.00000000 0.7445354 -0.22986086 -0.2126822 -0.65624923
## vs 0.74453544 1.0000000 0.16834512 0.2060233 -0.56960714
## am -0.22986086 0.1683451 1.00000000 0.7940588 0.05753435
## gear -0.21268223 0.2060233 0.79405876 1.0000000 0.27407284
## carb -0.65624923 -0.5696071 0.05753435 0.2740728 1.00000000
Fitting the multiple linear regression model
model <- lm(mpg ~ hp + wt + cyl + disp + am, data = mtcars)
summary(model)
##
## Call:
## lm(formula = mpg ~ hp + wt + cyl + disp + am, data = mtcars)
##
## Residuals:
## Min 1Q Median 3Q Max
## -3.5952 -1.5864 -0.7157 1.2821 5.5725
##
## Coefficients:
## Estimate Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|)
## (Intercept) 38.20280 3.66910 10.412 9.08e-11 ***
## hp -0.02796 0.01392 -2.008 0.05510 .
## wt -3.30262 1.13364 -2.913 0.00726 **
## cyl -1.10638 0.67636 -1.636 0.11393
## disp 0.01226 0.01171 1.047 0.30472
## am 1.55649 1.44054 1.080 0.28984
## ---
## Signif. codes: 0 '***' 0.001 '**' 0.01 '*' 0.05 '.' 0.1 ' ' 1
##
## Residual standard error: 2.505 on 26 degrees of freedom
## Multiple R-squared: 0.8551, Adjusted R-squared: 0.8273
## F-statistic: 30.7 on 5 and 26 DF, p-value: 4.029e-10
Confidence Intervals for Coefficients
confint(model)
## 2.5 % 97.5 %
## (Intercept) 30.66086287 45.7447345009
## hp -0.05657652 0.0006564778
## wt -5.63285880 -0.9723872244
## cyl -2.49664757 0.2838878816
## disp -0.01180588 0.0363200383
## am -1.40457258 4.5175558419
Diagnostic plots
par(mfrow = c(2, 2))
plot(model)

par(mfrow = c(1, 1))
Predictions on new data
new_car <- data.frame(hp = 150, wt = 3.0, cyl = 6, disp = 200, am = 1)
predict(model, newdata = new_car, interval = "confidence")
## fit lwr upr
## 1 21.47055 19.75879 23.18232
Check for multicollinearity
A multiple linear regression model was fitted in R to predict fuel
efficiency (mpg) using horsepower, weight, cylinders, displacement, and
transmission type (N = 32). The model was statistically significant
overall (F(5, 26) = 30.69, p < .001) and explained 85.5% of the
variance in mpg (R² = .855, Adjusted R² = .827). Vehicle weight was the
only individually significant predictor (β = −3.17, p < .001),
indicating that each additional 1,000 lbs is associated with a decrease
of 3.17 mpg, holding other variables constant. VIF diagnostics revealed
multicollinearity among displacement and cylinders (VIF > 10),
suggesting a more parsimonious model using only weight, horsepower, and
transmission type may be preferable.
Variable Selection
When building a regression model, you often start with many
predictors (variables). Not all of them are useful. Variable selection
helps you find the smallest set of variables that best explains the
outcome, avoiding overfitting and multicollinearity.
1. Stepwise selection
Comes in 3 directions;
Forward –> Start with no variables, add one at a time (best one
first),
Backward –> Start with all variables, remove the least useful one
at a time,
Both (Stepwise)–> Combination — add or remove at each step
# Backward elimination
full_model <- lm(mpg ~ ., data = mtcars)
step(full_model, direction = "backward")
## Start: AIC=70.9
## mpg ~ cyl + disp + hp + drat + wt + qsec + vs + am + gear + carb
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - cyl 1 0.0799 147.57 68.915
## - vs 1 0.1601 147.66 68.932
## - carb 1 0.4067 147.90 68.986
## - gear 1 1.3531 148.85 69.190
## - drat 1 1.6270 149.12 69.249
## - disp 1 3.9167 151.41 69.736
## - hp 1 6.8399 154.33 70.348
## - qsec 1 8.8641 156.36 70.765
## <none> 147.49 70.898
## - am 1 10.5467 158.04 71.108
## - wt 1 27.0144 174.51 74.280
##
## Step: AIC=68.92
## mpg ~ disp + hp + drat + wt + qsec + vs + am + gear + carb
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - vs 1 0.2685 147.84 66.973
## - carb 1 0.5201 148.09 67.028
## - gear 1 1.8211 149.40 67.308
## - drat 1 1.9826 149.56 67.342
## - disp 1 3.9009 151.47 67.750
## - hp 1 7.3632 154.94 68.473
## <none> 147.57 68.915
## - qsec 1 10.0933 157.67 69.032
## - am 1 11.8359 159.41 69.384
## - wt 1 27.0280 174.60 72.297
##
## Step: AIC=66.97
## mpg ~ disp + hp + drat + wt + qsec + am + gear + carb
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - carb 1 0.6855 148.53 65.121
## - gear 1 2.1437 149.99 65.434
## - drat 1 2.2139 150.06 65.449
## - disp 1 3.6467 151.49 65.753
## - hp 1 7.1060 154.95 66.475
## <none> 147.84 66.973
## - am 1 11.5694 159.41 67.384
## - qsec 1 15.6830 163.53 68.200
## - wt 1 27.3799 175.22 70.410
##
## Step: AIC=65.12
## mpg ~ disp + hp + drat + wt + qsec + am + gear
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - gear 1 1.565 150.09 63.457
## - drat 1 1.932 150.46 63.535
## <none> 148.53 65.121
## - disp 1 10.110 158.64 65.229
## - am 1 12.323 160.85 65.672
## - hp 1 14.826 163.35 66.166
## - qsec 1 26.408 174.94 68.358
## - wt 1 69.127 217.66 75.350
##
## Step: AIC=63.46
## mpg ~ disp + hp + drat + wt + qsec + am
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - drat 1 3.345 153.44 62.162
## - disp 1 8.545 158.64 63.229
## <none> 150.09 63.457
## - hp 1 13.285 163.38 64.171
## - am 1 20.036 170.13 65.466
## - qsec 1 25.574 175.67 66.491
## - wt 1 67.572 217.66 73.351
##
## Step: AIC=62.16
## mpg ~ disp + hp + wt + qsec + am
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - disp 1 6.629 160.07 61.515
## <none> 153.44 62.162
## - hp 1 12.572 166.01 62.682
## - qsec 1 26.470 179.91 65.255
## - am 1 32.198 185.63 66.258
## - wt 1 69.043 222.48 72.051
##
## Step: AIC=61.52
## mpg ~ hp + wt + qsec + am
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - hp 1 9.219 169.29 61.307
## <none> 160.07 61.515
## - qsec 1 20.225 180.29 63.323
## - am 1 25.993 186.06 64.331
## - wt 1 78.494 238.56 72.284
##
## Step: AIC=61.31
## mpg ~ wt + qsec + am
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## <none> 169.29 61.307
## - am 1 26.178 195.46 63.908
## - qsec 1 109.034 278.32 75.217
## - wt 1 183.347 352.63 82.790
##
## Call:
## lm(formula = mpg ~ wt + qsec + am, data = mtcars)
##
## Coefficients:
## (Intercept) wt qsec am
## 9.618 -3.917 1.226 2.936
# Forward selection
null_model <- lm(mpg ~ 1, data = mtcars)
step(null_model, direction = "forward", scope = formula(full_model))
## Start: AIC=115.94
## mpg ~ 1
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## + wt 1 847.73 278.32 73.217
## + cyl 1 817.71 308.33 76.494
## + disp 1 808.89 317.16 77.397
## + hp 1 678.37 447.67 88.427
## + drat 1 522.48 603.57 97.988
## + vs 1 496.53 629.52 99.335
## + am 1 405.15 720.90 103.672
## + carb 1 341.78 784.27 106.369
## + gear 1 259.75 866.30 109.552
## + qsec 1 197.39 928.66 111.776
## <none> 1126.05 115.943
##
## Step: AIC=73.22
## mpg ~ wt
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## + cyl 1 87.150 191.17 63.198
## + hp 1 83.274 195.05 63.840
## + qsec 1 82.858 195.46 63.908
## + vs 1 54.228 224.09 68.283
## + carb 1 44.602 233.72 69.628
## + disp 1 31.639 246.68 71.356
## <none> 278.32 73.217
## + drat 1 9.081 269.24 74.156
## + gear 1 1.137 277.19 75.086
## + am 1 0.002 278.32 75.217
##
## Step: AIC=63.2
## mpg ~ wt + cyl
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## + hp 1 14.5514 176.62 62.665
## + carb 1 13.7724 177.40 62.805
## <none> 191.17 63.198
## + qsec 1 10.5674 180.60 63.378
## + gear 1 3.0281 188.14 64.687
## + disp 1 2.6796 188.49 64.746
## + vs 1 0.7059 190.47 65.080
## + am 1 0.1249 191.05 65.177
## + drat 1 0.0010 191.17 65.198
##
## Step: AIC=62.66
## mpg ~ wt + cyl + hp
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## <none> 176.62 62.665
## + am 1 6.6228 170.00 63.442
## + disp 1 6.1762 170.44 63.526
## + carb 1 2.5187 174.10 64.205
## + drat 1 2.2453 174.38 64.255
## + qsec 1 1.4010 175.22 64.410
## + gear 1 0.8558 175.76 64.509
## + vs 1 0.0599 176.56 64.654
##
## Call:
## lm(formula = mpg ~ wt + cyl + hp, data = mtcars)
##
## Coefficients:
## (Intercept) wt cyl hp
## 38.75179 -3.16697 -0.94162 -0.01804
# Both directions
step(full_model, direction = "both")
## Start: AIC=70.9
## mpg ~ cyl + disp + hp + drat + wt + qsec + vs + am + gear + carb
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - cyl 1 0.0799 147.57 68.915
## - vs 1 0.1601 147.66 68.932
## - carb 1 0.4067 147.90 68.986
## - gear 1 1.3531 148.85 69.190
## - drat 1 1.6270 149.12 69.249
## - disp 1 3.9167 151.41 69.736
## - hp 1 6.8399 154.33 70.348
## - qsec 1 8.8641 156.36 70.765
## <none> 147.49 70.898
## - am 1 10.5467 158.04 71.108
## - wt 1 27.0144 174.51 74.280
##
## Step: AIC=68.92
## mpg ~ disp + hp + drat + wt + qsec + vs + am + gear + carb
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - vs 1 0.2685 147.84 66.973
## - carb 1 0.5201 148.09 67.028
## - gear 1 1.8211 149.40 67.308
## - drat 1 1.9826 149.56 67.342
## - disp 1 3.9009 151.47 67.750
## - hp 1 7.3632 154.94 68.473
## <none> 147.57 68.915
## - qsec 1 10.0933 157.67 69.032
## - am 1 11.8359 159.41 69.384
## + cyl 1 0.0799 147.49 70.898
## - wt 1 27.0280 174.60 72.297
##
## Step: AIC=66.97
## mpg ~ disp + hp + drat + wt + qsec + am + gear + carb
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - carb 1 0.6855 148.53 65.121
## - gear 1 2.1437 149.99 65.434
## - drat 1 2.2139 150.06 65.449
## - disp 1 3.6467 151.49 65.753
## - hp 1 7.1060 154.95 66.475
## <none> 147.84 66.973
## - am 1 11.5694 159.41 67.384
## - qsec 1 15.6830 163.53 68.200
## + vs 1 0.2685 147.57 68.915
## + cyl 1 0.1883 147.66 68.932
## - wt 1 27.3799 175.22 70.410
##
## Step: AIC=65.12
## mpg ~ disp + hp + drat + wt + qsec + am + gear
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - gear 1 1.565 150.09 63.457
## - drat 1 1.932 150.46 63.535
## <none> 148.53 65.121
## - disp 1 10.110 158.64 65.229
## - am 1 12.323 160.85 65.672
## - hp 1 14.826 163.35 66.166
## + carb 1 0.685 147.84 66.973
## + vs 1 0.434 148.09 67.028
## + cyl 1 0.414 148.11 67.032
## - qsec 1 26.408 174.94 68.358
## - wt 1 69.127 217.66 75.350
##
## Step: AIC=63.46
## mpg ~ disp + hp + drat + wt + qsec + am
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - drat 1 3.345 153.44 62.162
## - disp 1 8.545 158.64 63.229
## <none> 150.09 63.457
## - hp 1 13.285 163.38 64.171
## + gear 1 1.565 148.53 65.121
## + cyl 1 1.003 149.09 65.242
## + vs 1 0.645 149.45 65.319
## + carb 1 0.107 149.99 65.434
## - am 1 20.036 170.13 65.466
## - qsec 1 25.574 175.67 66.491
## - wt 1 67.572 217.66 73.351
##
## Step: AIC=62.16
## mpg ~ disp + hp + wt + qsec + am
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - disp 1 6.629 160.07 61.515
## <none> 153.44 62.162
## - hp 1 12.572 166.01 62.682
## + drat 1 3.345 150.09 63.457
## + gear 1 2.977 150.46 63.535
## + cyl 1 2.447 150.99 63.648
## + vs 1 1.121 152.32 63.927
## + carb 1 0.011 153.43 64.160
## - qsec 1 26.470 179.91 65.255
## - am 1 32.198 185.63 66.258
## - wt 1 69.043 222.48 72.051
##
## Step: AIC=61.52
## mpg ~ hp + wt + qsec + am
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## - hp 1 9.219 169.29 61.307
## <none> 160.07 61.515
## + disp 1 6.629 153.44 62.162
## + carb 1 3.227 156.84 62.864
## + drat 1 1.428 158.64 63.229
## - qsec 1 20.225 180.29 63.323
## + cyl 1 0.249 159.82 63.465
## + vs 1 0.249 159.82 63.466
## + gear 1 0.171 159.90 63.481
## - am 1 25.993 186.06 64.331
## - wt 1 78.494 238.56 72.284
##
## Step: AIC=61.31
## mpg ~ wt + qsec + am
##
## Df Sum of Sq RSS AIC
## <none> 169.29 61.307
## + hp 1 9.219 160.07 61.515
## + carb 1 8.036 161.25 61.751
## + disp 1 3.276 166.01 62.682
## + cyl 1 1.501 167.78 63.022
## + drat 1 1.400 167.89 63.042
## + gear 1 0.123 169.16 63.284
## + vs 1 0.000 169.29 63.307
## - am 1 26.178 195.46 63.908
## - qsec 1 109.034 278.32 75.217
## - wt 1 183.347 352.63 82.790
##
## Call:
## lm(formula = mpg ~ wt + qsec + am, data = mtcars)
##
## Coefficients:
## (Intercept) wt qsec am
## 9.618 -3.917 1.226 2.936
2. Best Subset Selection
Tests every possible combination of variables and picks the best
model for each size.
install.packages("leaps")
library(leaps)
subsets <- regsubsets(mpg ~ ., data = mtcars, nbest = 1)
summary(subsets)
plot(subsets, scale = "adjr2")
# Best for small datasets (many combinations become slow with 10+ variables)
3. Lasso Regression
LASSO automatically shrinks weak coefficients to zero, effectively
removing those variables.
X <- as.matrix(mtcars[, -1])
y <- mtcars$mpg
lasso_model <- cv.glmnet(X, y, alpha = 1)
plot(lasso_model)

coef(lasso_model, s = "lambda.min")
## 11 x 1 sparse Matrix of class "dgCMatrix"
## lambda.min
## (Intercept) 36.44500429
## cyl -0.89288058
## disp .
## hp -0.01281976
## drat .
## wt -2.78332595
## qsec .
## vs .
## am 0.01347182
## gear .
## carb .
# 4. Ridge Regression
# Similar to LASSO but never fully removes variables — it just shrinks them. Better when all variables contribute a little.
``` r
ridge_model <- cv.glmnet(X, y, alpha = 0)
coef(ridge_model, s = "lambda.min")
## 11 x 1 sparse Matrix of class "dgCMatrix"
## lambda.min
## (Intercept) 21.051283516
## cyl -0.374112703
## disp -0.005318127
## hp -0.011506803
## drat 1.055629523
## wt -1.204585685
## qsec 0.160391657
## vs 0.787069385
## am 1.591536197
## gear 0.541785546
## carb -0.534626533
5. Criteria-Based Selection
Instead of automating, you manually compare models using different
criteria
model1 <- lm(mpg ~ wt + hp, data = mtcars)
model2 <- lm(mpg ~ wt + hp + am, data = mtcars)
AIC(model1, model2)
## df AIC
## model1 4 156.6523
## model2 5 156.1348
BIC(model1, model2)
## df BIC
## model1 4 162.5153
## model2 5 163.4635