Cohen’s f² Confidence Interval Calculator

Cohen’s f² Confidence Interval Calculator

For multiple regression with sample size \( n \), \( p \) predictors and observed \( R^2 \), Cohen’s \( f^2 \) is given by $$ f^2=\frac{R^2}{1-R^2}. $$

The noncentral F statistic is $$ F_{obs}=\frac{(R^2/p)}{((1-R^2)/(n-p-1))}, $$ with noncentrality parameter $$ \lambda=f^2\,(n-p-1). $$

* Enter sample size \( n \), number of predictors \( p \), observed \( R^2 \) (0–1) and desired confidence level (in %). Note: \( n>p+1 \) and \( R^2<1 \).

Step 1: Enter Parameters

e.g., 100

e.g., 5

e.g., 0.3

e.g., 95

Confidence interval for \( f^2 \) is obtained by inverting the noncentral F CDF: $$ \lambda=f^2\,(n-p-1), \quad f^2=\frac{\lambda}{n-p-1}. $$

Confidence Intervals for Cohen’s f²

Understanding and Calculating Confidence Intervals for Cohen’s f²

Cohen’s effect size measures the impact of predictors in a multiple regression model. It represents the proportion of variance explained by the predictors compared to the unexplained variance. Calculating confidence intervals for helps assess precision and compare different models.

Formula for Cohen’s f²

The effect size is calculated using:

f² = R² / (1 - R²)

Where:

  • : Proportion of variance explained by the predictors.
  • 1 - R²: Proportion of unexplained variance.

Steps to Calculate Confidence Intervals

  1. Calculate the F-statistic:
    F = (R² / k) / ((1 - R²) / (N - k - 1))
    • k: Number of predictors.
    • N: Total sample size.
  2. Find critical F-values: Use the degrees of freedom:
    • df₁ = k
    • df₂ = N - k - 1
    Lookup critical F-values from a table or statistical software.
  3. Convert F-values to f²:
    f²_lower = (F_lower * k) / (N - k - 1 - F_lower * k)
    f²_upper = (F_upper * k) / (N - k - 1 - F_upper * k)

Example

Calculate a 95% confidence interval for :

  • R² = 0.25
  • k = 3 predictors
  • N = 100 samples

Step 1: Compute F-statistic:

F = (0.25 / 3) / ((1 - 0.25) / (100 - 3 - 1)) = 10.42

Step 2: Find critical F-values (from table or software):

  • F_lower = 2.7
  • F_upper = 9.84

Step 3: Calculate confidence bounds:

f²_lower = (2.7 * 3) / (100 - 3 - 1 - 2.7 * 3) = 0.086
f²_upper = (9.84 * 3) / (100 - 3 - 1 - 9.84 * 3) = 0.473

Result: Confidence interval for : [0.086, 0.473]

Conclusion

Confidence intervals for Cohen’s provide insights into the precision of effect size estimates and help compare the performance of regression models.