Boston Housing Dataset Instructions

Dataset Overview

This dataset contains housing data from Boston, Massachusetts, including prices and various neighborhood characteristics. Designed for analyzing relationships between house prices and features, perfect for regression analysis.

Dataset Files

  • boston.xlsx: Main dataset file containing housing data

Variables Description

The dataset includes:

  • Price: Median value of owner-occupied homes (target variable)
  • Crime: Crime rate per capita
  • Zoning: Proportion of residential land zoned for lots
  • Industry: Proportion of non-retail business acres
  • River: Bounds river (1=yes, 0=no)
  • NOX: Nitric oxide concentration
  • Rooms: Average number of rooms per dwelling
  • Age: Proportion of owner-occupied units built before 1940
  • Distance: Weighted distances to employment centers
  • Highways: Index of accessibility to radial highways
  • Tax: Full-value property tax rate
  • Pupil-Teacher: Pupil-teacher ratio by town
  • Black: Proportion of blacks by town
  • Lower Status: Lower status of the population

Use Cases

This dataset is suitable for:

  • Regression analysis
  • Identifying factors affecting housing prices
  • Correlation analysis
  • Statistical hypothesis testing
  • Building predictive models

Excel Analysis Tips

  • Use correlation analysis to identify relationships
  • Build regression models using Excel’s Data Analysis ToolPak
  • Create scatter plots to visualize relationships
  • Use statistical functions (CORREL, SLOPE, INTERCEPT)
  • Perform hypothesis testing
  • Interpret regression coefficients and R-squared values