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
Understanding and Calculating Confidence Intervals for Cohen’s f²
Cohen’s f²
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 f²
helps assess precision and compare different models.
Formula for Cohen’s f²
The effect size f²
is calculated using:
f² = R² / (1 - R²)
Where:
R²
: Proportion of variance explained by the predictors.1 - R²
: Proportion of unexplained variance.
Steps to Calculate Confidence Intervals
-
Calculate the F-statistic:
F = (R² / k) / ((1 - R²) / (N - k - 1))
k
: Number of predictors.N
: Total sample size.
-
Find critical F-values:
Use the degrees of freedom:
df₁ = k
df₂ = N - k - 1
-
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 f²
:
R² = 0.25
k = 3
predictorsN = 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 f²
: [0.086, 0.473]
Conclusion
Confidence intervals for Cohen’s f²
provide insights into the precision of effect size estimates and help compare the performance of regression models.