outlier

(noun)

A value in a statistical sample which does not fit a pattern nor describes most other data points.

Related Terms

  • curve fitting
  • linear regression
  • least squares approximation

Examples of outlier in the following topics:

  • Fitting a Curve

    • Looking at the points and line in the new figure below, this new line does not fit the data well, due to the outlier (−1,6)(-1,6)(−1,6).  
    • Indeed, trying to fit linear models to data that is quadratic, cubic, or anything non-linear, or data with many outliers or errors can result in bad approximations.
    • Here is the approximated line given the new outlier point at (-1, 6).
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