Dichotomize or not? Logistic vs Linear

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SUMMARY

This discussion focuses on the comparison between linear regression and logistic regression when analyzing the relationship between continuous variables, specifically strength and height. The participants highlight that linear regression provides an estimate of mean height changes with unit increases in strength, while logistic regression offers insights into the odds of being classified as tall based on strength. The key takeaway is that the choice between these methods depends on whether the goal is to estimate height or the odds of being tall.

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  • Understanding of linear regression techniques
  • Familiarity with logistic regression concepts
  • Knowledge of continuous variable analysis
  • Basic statistics terminology, including odds and mean
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  • Explore the interpretation of odds ratios in logistic regression
  • Learn about the assumptions and limitations of linear regression
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Data analysts, statisticians, and researchers interested in understanding the implications of using linear versus logistic regression for analyzing relationships between continuous variables.

FallenApple
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Say I want to see if a continuous variable, say strength, is associated with another continuous variable, say height.

Clearly I can just use linear regression with height as the response variable and strength as the predictor variable.

But I can also split height into a tall category and a not tall category. And then do logistic regression with the log odds of height as the response. So what is the advantage of one way vs the other?
 
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Do you want an estimate of the odds of being tall or do you want an estimate of the height?
 
Dale said:
Do you want an estimate of the odds of being tall or do you want an estimate of the height?
I guess that's the confusing part. What should I do if I want to know if strength is in any way associated with weight generally?

If I do linear regression, I can interpret the change in mean height for unit increases in strength. But for the odds, I can do the change in odds of being tall for every unit increase in strength. But either way, wouldn't either give an association? If on average, height increases when strength increases, then I would be surprised if the odds didn't increase as well.
 

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