In statistics, regression analysis includes any techniques for modeling and analyzing several variables, when the focus is on the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. More specifically, regression analysis helps one understand how the typical value of the dependent variable changes when any one of the independent variables is varied, while the other independent variables are held fixed.
Regression analysis is widely used for prediction and forecasting. Regression analysis is also used to understand which among the independent variables are related to the dependent variable, and to explore the forms of these relationships.