Prediction of group membership is the goal of predictive discriminant analysis (PDA) and the accuracy of group classification is the focus of PDA. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of how PDA works and how it can be used to answer a variety of research questions. The paper explains what PDA is and why it is important, and it…

A linear regression function is developed for use in a classification procedure. The procedure is applied to faculty merit review data, resulting in an interpretable regression function and within-sample classifications as good as a four-funtion discriminant analysis. (Author/BW)

This paper discusses the principles underlying discriminant analysis and constructs a simulated data set to illustrate its methods. Discriminant analysis is a multivariate technique for identifying the best combination of variables to maximally discriminate between groups. Discriminant functions are established on existing groups and used to…