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Question about variable selection

Dear Wensui and Andy,

When the explanatory variables are correlated it's perfectly possible for
the marginal relationship between and X and Y to be zero and a partial
relationship nonzero (even in the absence of interactions) -- this is simply
a reflection of the more general point that partial and marginal
relationships can differ.

Regards,
 John

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John Fox
Department of Sociology
McMaster University
Hamilton, Ontario
Canada L8S 4M4
905-525-9140x23604
http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/jfox 
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