Researchers often make claims regarding the importance of predictor variables in multiple regression analysis by comparing standardized regression coefficients (standardized beta coefficients). This practice has been criticized as a misuse of multiple regression analysis. As a remedy, I highlight the use of dominance analysis and random forests, a…

Data from graduate student applications at a large Western university were used to determine which factors were the best predictors of success in graduate school, as defined by cumulative graduate grade point average. Two statistical models were employed and compared: artificial neural networking and simultaneous multiple regression. Both models…