The steps parameter
What it does
Predictors: comma-separated column names; blocks separated by "|" are hierarchical steps, each step adds its block to the previous ones.
A step is read as a column filter over the columns without Y: names, a regex ("/^x/"), index rules ("#2-#4"); an interaction is written as a*b (the product of two columns). "|" inside /.../ does not split steps: "/^(x1|x2)$/" is one step. A step that selects no column is an error.
"*" in a step is every column but Y, in its place among the items: "age,sex|*" enters the controls first, then every other predictor.
Steps only add predictors: an exclusion ("-x1", "/^x/,-x3") is an error Step "-x1": exclusions are not supported in regression steps - list the predictors to add. A minus inside /.../ is a part of the pattern.
Predictors enter in the written order. A constant predictor, or one that repeats the others (a copy, their sum), does not enter, as in SPSS (tolerance < 0.0001): its coefficient cells stay empty and the line "Excluded: sum (constant or linearly dependent on other predictors, tolerance < 0.0001)" names it. The written order decides which one is left out: "x1,x2,sum" leaves out sum, "sum,x1,x2" leaves out x2.
When no predictor of a step enters, the formula shows "No predictors entered. Excluded: …".
Values
Required.
In plain words
A teacher wanted to see what goes with test scores. She first wrote age: older students scored 3 points higher for each extra year. Then she wrote age, a bar, and hours. The bar starts a new step, and each step adds its columns to the earlier ones. Now hours came in second: students who studied one hour more scored 5 points higher, and the number for age dropped to 1 point. So she could see what hours adds once age is already counted. A column that only repeats others is left out, and a line in the report names it.
Where you use it
STATS_LINEAR— Multiple linear regression (OLS) with hierarchical steps separated by | and interactions a*b.STATS_LOGISTIC— Binary logistic regression with optional ridge regularization (lambda >= 0).STATS_BOOTSTRAP— Bootstrap confidence intervals for regression via resampling.
Examples
"x1,x2"— multiple regression"x1,x2|x3|x4*x3"— hierarchical regression with an interaction term (x4*x3)
Get it in your sheet
ALS Stats is a free add-on for Google Sheets™.
Install ALS Stats from Google Workspace Marketplace (opens in a new tab)