Now in its second edition, this textbook provides an applied and unified introduction to parametric, nonparametric and semiparametric regression that closes the gap between theory and application. The most important models and methods in regression are presented on a solid formal basis, and their appropriate application is shown through numerous examples and case studies. The most important definitions and statements are concisely summarized in boxes, and the underlying data sets and code are available online on the book's dedicated website. Availability of (user-friendly) software has been a major criterion for the methods selected and presented. The chapters address the classical linear model and its extensions, generalized linear models, categorical regression models, mixed models, nonparametric regression, structured additive regression, quantile regression and distributional regression models. Two appendices describe the required matrix algebra, as well as elements of probability calculus and statistical inference. In this substantially revised and updated new edition the overview on regression models has been extended, and now includes the relation between regression models and machine learning, additional details on statistical inference in structured additive regression models have been added and a completely reworked chapter augments the presentation of quantile regression with a comprehensive introduction to distributional regression models. Regularization approaches are now more extensively discussed in most chapters of the book. The book primarily targets an audience that includes students, teachers and practitioners in social, economic, and life sciences, as well as students and teachers in statistics programs, and mathematicians and computer scientists with interests in statistical modeling and data analysis. It is written at an intermediate mathematical level and assumes only knowledge of basic probability, calculus, matrix algebra and statistics.

The aim of this book is an applied and unified introduction into parametric, non- and semiparametric regression that closes the gap between theory and application. The most important models and methods in regression are presented on a solid formal basis, and their appropriate application is shown through many real data examples and case studies. Availability of (user-friendly) software has been a major criterion for the methods selected and presented. Thus, the book primarily targets an audience that includes students, teachers and practitioners in social, economic, and life sciences, as well as students and teachers in statistics programs, and mathematicians and computer scientists with interests in statistical modeling and data analysis. It is written on an intermediate mathematical level and assumes only knowledge of basic probability, calculus, and statistics. The most important definitions and statements are concisely summarized in boxes. Two appendices describe required matrix algebra, as well as elements of probability calculus and statistical inference.

Several recent advances in smoothing and semiparametric regression are presented in this book from a unifying, Bayesian perspective. Simulation-based full Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) inference, as well as empirical Bayes procedures closely related to penalized likelihood estimation and mixed models, are considered here. Throughout, the focus is on semiparametric regression and smoothing based on basis expansions of unknown functions and effects in combination with smoothness priors for the basis coefficients. Beginning with a review of basic methods for smoothing and mixed models, longitudinal data, spatial data and event history data are treated in separate chapters. Worked examples from various fields such as forestry, development economics, medicine and marketing are used to illustrate the statistical methods covered in this book. Most of these examples have been analysed using implementations in the Bayesian software, BayesX, and some with R Codes. These, as well as some of the data sets, are made publicly available on the website accompanying this book.

Diese Einfuhrung beschreibt erstmals klassische Regressionsansatze und moderne nicht- und semiparametrische Methoden in einer integrierten, einheitlichen und anwendungsorientierten Form. Die Darstellung wendet sich an Studierende der Statistik in Wahl- und Hauptfach sowie an empirisch-statistisch und interdisziplinar arbeitende Wissenschaftler und Praktiker, zum Beispiel in Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Bioinformatik, Biostatistik, OEkonometrie und Epidemiologie. Die praktische Anwendung der vorgestellten Konzepte und Methoden wird anhand ausfuhrlich vorgestellter Fallstudien demonstriert, um Lesern die Analyse eigener Fragestellungen zu ermoeglichen.