Computing powers of a numeric column

If you think a non-linear relationship might exist between two columns, it can be useful to raise a numeric column to some exponent. Exponentiation (raising x to the power of y) covers many types of transformations. For example, the following exponents correspond to familiar operations:

• -1 computes the reciprocal
• 0.5 computes the square root
• 2 computes the square
• 3 computes the cube

To raise a numeric column to an exponent of interest:

1. In the Summary view, select the column you wish to exponentiate
2. Choose Column > Raise to Power, and select the desired exponent (or Other…)
3. If you selected Other…, enter an exponent and press OK

By default, the name of the resulting column is reflects the underlying formula, but you can give the column a new name of your choosing. (Note that changing the name will not affect the formula used to compute the column.)

See also:

• Including higher-order terms of a numeric explanatory variable in a model
• Computing the logarithm of a numeric column

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