Table of contents:

Click on the hyperlinks below to see each section:

Background of This Paper

The Art of Curve Fitting

Linear and Non-linear Least Squares Procedures - How They Are Different

Linear vs. Non-Linear Equations

Linear Least Squares Procedure

Non-Linear Least Squares Procedure

Issues With Non-Linear Least Squares Procedures

Case Studies of Curve Fitting Pitfalls

Polynomial Equations, Noise & Extrapolation

Extrapolation

Fitting Noise

Unable to fit straight lines

Redundant Parameters and Overspecified Models

The Problem

A Real World Example

Simplifying A Model

Local Minimum Traps

What's A Local Minimum?

A Real World Example

"Linearizing" A Non-Linear Equation

Trusting Numbers Instead of Your Eyes

Easily Avoided

Why The Emphasis On The F-Statistic?

Four Simple Steps To Evaluating A Curve Fit

Bibliography