Overview

What is MARS? Why does it work? How can it be used? How can it help you develop more accurate regression models for problems such as predicting credit card holder balances, insurance claim losses, customer catalog orders, and cell phone use? You will learn:

• How to plan and execute a MARS analysis.
• How to refine models using key control parameters.
• How to use MARS to improve existing models.

Content and instructional methods

Attendees will see examples of analysis of real world data. PowerPoint slides and live modeling runs will facilitate the learning process.

Course Outline:

1. Introduction to the core concepts of MARS
   1. Adaptive modeling
   2. Smooths, splines, and knots
   3. Basis functions
   4. MARS handling of categorical variables, missing values, and interactions
2. Guide to reading the classic MARS output
   1. MARS model
   2. Variable importance
   3. MARS plots
   4. MARS diagnostics
3. Hands-on introduction to MARS software