Here's where you can apply the information in one of this chapter's tips and get a chance to predict a Super Bowl winner! Joe Coach was curious to know if the average number of games won in a year predicts Super Bowl performance (win or lose). The X variable was the average number of games won during the past 10 seasons. The Y variable was whether the team ever won the Super Bowl during the past 10 season. Here are the data:
Team Average Number of Bowl? (1 = yes and 0 =
Wins Over 10 Years no)
Savannah Sharks 12 1
Pittsburgh Pelicans 11 0
Williamstown Warriors 15 0
Bennington Bruisers 12 1
Atlanta Angels 13 1
Trenton Terrors 16 0
Virginia Vipers 15 1
Charleston Crooners 9 0
Harrisburg Heathens 8 0
Eaton Energizers 12 1
a. How would you assess the usefulness of the average number of wins as a predictor of whether a team ever won a Super Bowl?
b. What's the advantage of being able to use a categorical variable (such as 1 or 0) as a dependent variable?
c. What other variables might you use to predict the dependent variable, and why would you choose them?