Constant Variance

Assumptions of Linear Models are about Errors, not the Response Variable

March 19th, 2024 by

Stage 2I recently received a great question in a comment about whether the assumptions of normality, constant variance, and independence in linear models are about the errors, εi, or the response variable, Yi.

The asker had a situation where Y, the response, was not normally distributed, but the residuals were.

Quick Answer:  It’s just the errors.

In fact, if you look at any (good) statistics textbook on linear models, you’ll see below the model, stating the assumptions: (more…)


6 Types of Dependent Variables that will Never Meet the Linear Model Normality Assumption

September 17th, 2009 by

The assumptions of normality and constant variance in a linear model (both OLS regression and ANOVA) are quite robust to departures.  That means that even if the assumptions aren’t met perfectly, the resulting p-values will still be reasonable estimates.

But you need to check the assumptions anyway, because some departures are so far off that the p-values become inaccurate.  And in many cases there are remedial measures you can take to turn non-normal residuals into normal ones.

But sometimes you can’t.

Sometimes it’s because the dependent variable just isn’t appropriate for a linear model.  The (more…)