8.6 Supervised machine learning (SML)

• “SML involves searching for functions,f(X), that predict an output (the dependent variable,Y)given an input (the explanatory or independent variable,X). In SML, the prediction task is calledclassification when the output is discrete, and regression when it is continuous. One can considerdifferent classes of functions, such as linear models, decision trees, or neural networks. Let ustake the linear model as a tool for prediction. We have an input vector,X, and want to make aprediction on the output, $Y$, denoted as $\hat{Y}$, with the model” (Molina and Garip 2019, 28)

• $Y=f(X)=X^{T}\beta$,

References

Molina, Mario, and Filiz Garip. 2019. “Machine Learning for Sociology.” Annu. Rev. Sociol., July.