Monday, May 2, 2016

WEEK_13: Forecasting Methods

Hi there!
Today we will discuss different forecasting methods.

What is forecasting?
Forecasting is the process of making predictions of the future based on past and present data and analysis of trends. 
We have different methods to do that. Here are the two most used methods.
  • Moving average
  • Exponential smoothing
Moving average:
The moving average forecast is based on the assumption of a constant model.
We estimate the single parameter of the model at time T as average of the last m observations, where m is the moving average interval.
Since the model assumes a constant underlying mean, the forecast for any number of periods in the future is the same as the estimate of the parameter:
In practice the moving average will provide a good estimate of the mean of the time series if the mean is constant or slowly changing. In the case of a constant mean, the largest value of m will give the best estimates of the underlying mean. A longer observation period will average out the effects of variability.
For more Stat and Math of Moving average, please check this website. 

Exponential smoothing:

As for the moving average, this method assumes that the time series follows a constant model.
The value of b is estimated as the weighted average of the last observation and the last estimate. Here is a parameter in the interval [0, 1].
Rearranging, obtains an alternative form.
The new estimate is the old estimate plus a proportion of the observed error.
Because we are supposing a constant model, the forecast is the same as the estimate.
 
For more Stat and Math of Exponential smoothing, please check this website. 
 
References:
 
Note:
Find R code on forecasting here.
 
Thank you for visiting my blog.
 
 

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