Which term describes variance that is specific to a single variable and is sometimes called random variance if not shared?

Which term describes variance that is specific to a single variable and is sometimes called random variance if not shared?

• A. Unstructured
• B. Unsystematic variation
• C. Unique variance
• D. Unstandardized residuals

Answer: (C)

In multivariate analysis, you think of each variable as carrying variance that can be shared with other variables (common variance) and variance that is specific to that variable (unique variance). The portion that is unique to a single variable is described as its unique variance, and when that shared explanation isn’t present, it’s often thought of as random variance. This is the best choice because it precisely names the part of a variable’s variance that isn’t explained by other variables or common factors—the variance that stands alone for that variable. Other terms don’t capture this idea as cleanly. Unstructured isn’t the standard label for the portion of variance tied to a single variable. Unsystematic variation can refer to random noise in general, not specifically the part that is unique to one variable. Unstandardized residuals are about the raw residuals from a model, not the concept of variance unique to a variable.

In multivariate analysis, you think of each variable as carrying variance that can be shared with other variables (common variance) and variance that is specific to that variable (unique variance). The portion that is unique to a single variable is described as its unique variance, and when that shared explanation isn’t present, it’s often thought of as random variance.

This is the best choice because it precisely names the part of a variable’s variance that isn’t explained by other variables or common factors—the variance that stands alone for that variable.

Other terms don’t capture this idea as cleanly. Unstructured isn’t the standard label for the portion of variance tied to a single variable. Unsystematic variation can refer to random noise in general, not specifically the part that is unique to one variable. Unstandardized residuals are about the raw residuals from a model, not the concept of variance unique to a variable.