Abstract
In this article, we describe the Naturalistic University of Alberta Nonlinear Correlation Explorer (NUANCE), a computer program for data exploration and analysis. NUANCE is specialized for finding nonlinear relations between any number of predictors and a dependent value to be predicted. It searches the space of possible relations between the predictors and the dependent value by using natural selection to evolve equations that maximize the correlation between their output and the dependent value. In this article, we introduce the program, describe how to use it, and provide illustrative examples. NUANCE is written in Java, which runs on most computer platforms. We have contributed NUANCE to the archival Web site of the Psychonomic Society (www.psychonomic.org/archive), from which it may be freely downloaded.
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This work was made possible by a National Engineering and Science Research Council grant from the Government of Canada to C. Westbury. The authors gratefully acknowledge the many useful suggestions received in response to an earlier version of this article and the software from Jonathan Vaughan, Greg Francis, Ian Walker, an anonymous reviewer, and Gail Moroschan.
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Hollis, G., Westbury, C. NUANCE: Naturalistic University of Alberta Nonlinear Correlation Explorer. Behavior Research Methods 38, 8–23 (2006). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03192745
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03192745