Slope: what it means and how to read it

In the report: Slope — The least-squares coefficient B of the last predictor of the step, the other predictors of the model held fixed — computed on the data as they are.

How to read it

The same number as B of STATS_LINEAR for this predictor; the bootstrap adds an interval that does not rely on normal errors.

In plain words

A teacher wanted to know how many more marks go with one more hour of study. She asked 40 students, and the slope came out 5: students who studied one hour more got, on average, 5 points more. It is worked out on her 40 students just as they are, and it is the same number as B from STATS_LINEAR. When sleep is listed before hours, the 5 compares students who slept the same amount. The bootstrap then adds a range around it, here 3.2 to 6.8. Now she can say that 5 is her best number, and that another group of students could easily give something between 3.2 and 6.8.

How it is computed

B from ordinary least squares, as STATS_LINEAR

Example

The cell with Slope is selected in each report; point at a label to see its note.

— the sample data (50 rows) the examples use
— =STATS_BOOTSTRAP(Data!A1:T51, "y", "x1,x2", 2000, "pairs", 0.95)

Where you see it

STATS_BOOTSTRAP — Bootstrap confidence intervals for regression via resampling.

Ridge penalty — The ridge penalty: 0 — ordinary logistic regression; above 0 the slopes are shrunk toward 0.
−2 Log Likelihood (deviance) — How far the predicted probabilities are from the observed 0s and 1s: −2 times the log-likelihood. Lower is better.
Akaike information criterion — −2 Log Likelihood plus a penalty of 2 for every coefficient.
Bayesian information criterion — −2 Log Likelihood plus a penalty of ln(n) for every coefficient.
Omnibus test of the model — Whether the model as a whole predicts better than the intercept alone — the likelihood-ratio test. It is the Model row of the SPSS table of the same name: at a later step it tests the whole model, not only the predictors that step adds (SPSS's Step and Block rows are not reported).

Get it in your sheet

One formula in a cell gives the whole report, Slope included. ALS Stats is a free add-on for Google Sheets™.

Install ALS Stats from Google Workspace Marketplace (opens in a new tab)