Abstract
Sample behavior of the discriminant analysis coeficients. In applied research, the relevance of the variables introduced in a Discriminant Analysis is assigned through a heuristic evaluation based on the standardized coefficients and structure coefficients of the discriminant functions. In this context, it is a basic matter knowing which of both coefficients presents a better relative efficiency and, consequently, which one is safer when making decisions about the contribution of the empirical variables. We analyzed the bias and the stability of those coefficients. The relative efficiency of the coefficients results from joining these two indexes, demonstrating that the structure coefficients show a better sampling behavior than the standardized ones.
