You are a vintner concerned about the cost of lab work done to measure sugar content in your grapes. A field test that can be done quickly at a lower cost seems promising. You hope a regression analysis will provide an equation to predict the precise reading, so you plot the readings against one another, using a scale transformation on the response variable to find an appropriate model.
1 Open the worksheet SUGAR.MTW
2 Choose Graph > Scatterplot > choose With Regression > OK.
3 In Y, enter Field. In X, enter Lab. Click OK.
Graph window output
1 Double-click the x-scale.
2 Click the Transform tab.
3 Under Transformation, choose Logarithm.
4 Under Base, choose 10. Click OK.
Graph window output
In the initial graph, it is clear that a regression fit is not appropriate with the original data. This pattern indicates that a transformation might be useful. A regression plot utilizing a log transformation of the response variable and a linear regression model would be most appropriate to find an equation for predicting lab results from in-field refractometer readings.