A measure of the joint variation of two random variables,
analogous to variance (see measures of variation). If the variables
are x and y then the covariance of x and y is
∑ (xi -
x)(yi -
y)
The analysis of covariance is an extension of the
analysis of variance in which the
variables to be tested are adjusted to take account of assumed
linear relationships with other variables.
See
also correlation.