Linear regression#

A simple machine learning model that can uncover relationships in data.

Linear regression is a robust machine learning algorithm that is commonly used for modelling and analyzing data.

It is a simple and effective technique for discovering relationships between variables and predicting future outcomes. The basic premise of linear regression is to find the best linear relationship between the independent and dependent variables in a dataset. Doing so can help identify patterns, trends, and correlations in the data, enabling us to make informed decisions and accurate predictions.

Linear regression is a versatile tool with applications in various fields, from finance and economics to healthcare and engineering.

How To#

import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_csv("data/housing.csv")
df.head()
longitude latitude housing_median_age total_rooms total_bedrooms population households median_income median_house_value ocean_proximity
0 -122.23 37.88 41.0 880.0 129.0 322.0 126.0 8.3252 452600.0 NEAR BAY
1 -122.22 37.86 21.0 7099.0 1106.0 2401.0 1138.0 8.3014 358500.0 NEAR BAY
2 -122.24 37.85 52.0 1467.0 190.0 496.0 177.0 7.2574 352100.0 NEAR BAY
3 -122.25 37.85 52.0 1274.0 235.0 558.0 219.0 5.6431 341300.0 NEAR BAY
4 -122.25 37.85 52.0 1627.0 280.0 565.0 259.0 3.8462 342200.0 NEAR BAY

Preparing training data#

from sklearn.linear_model import LinearRegression
from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
x_train, x_test, y_train, y_test = train_test_split(df[["housing_median_age", "total_rooms", "median_income"]], 
                                                    df.median_house_value, test_size=.5,
                                                    stratify=df.ocean_proximity)
df.shape
(20640, 10)
x_train.shape
(10320, 3)
x_test.shape
(10320, 3)

Building the model#

model = LinearRegression()
model.fit(x_train, y_train)
LinearRegression()
model.score(x_test, y_test)
0.5216731917619295

Improving the model#

from sklearn import preprocessing
x_val, x_test, y_val, y_test = train_test_split(x_test, y_test)
x_test.shape
(2580, 3)
scaler = preprocessing.StandardScaler()
model = LinearRegression()
scaler.fit(x_train)
StandardScaler()
x_scaled = scaler.transform(x_train)
x_scaled
array([[ 0.43061665, -0.02302084,  0.29384573],
       [ 0.19201884,  0.29239232, -0.20693597],
       [ 0.27155144, -0.40272796,  0.00145671],
       ...,
       [-0.92143763, -0.04631575,  0.64424097],
       [-0.12611158, -0.49357813,  0.9849423 ],
       [ 0.98734489, -0.19307372, -0.83195681]])
model.fit(x_scaled, y_train)
LinearRegression()
model.score(scaler.transform(x_val), y_val)
0.5216152602665426
scaler = preprocessing.MinMaxScaler().fit(x_train)
model = LinearRegression().fit(scaler.transform(x_train), y_train)
model.score(scaler.transform(x_val), y_val)
0.5216152602665426

Predicting with the Model#

model.predict(scaler.transform(x_test))
array([181000.00001305, 232931.86956911, 122120.58875964, ...,
       148425.64797643, 158802.69973773, 248682.67338617])
y_test
19658    127100.0
7992     195400.0
2033      45500.0
11348    190400.0
9865     142100.0
           ...   
6858     341100.0
9230      95300.0
4896      99200.0
18239    181300.0
18289    500001.0
Name: median_house_value, Length: 2580, dtype: float64

Inspecting the model#

model.coef_
array([100342.80625166, 154700.44979323, 604979.56346357])
model.intercept_
1950.5338472489384

Exercise#

Experiment how preprocessing can affect your data.

Additional Resources#