[R] Correct interpretation of a regression coefficient

[Michael Dewey]

Dear Brian

You have not given us much to go on here but the problem is often 
related to the scale of the variables. So if the coefficient is per year 
tryin to re-express time in months or weeks or days.

Michael

On 08/03/2026 11:50, Brian Smith wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> My question is not directly related to R, but rather a basic question
> about statistics. I am hoping to receive valuable insights from the
> expert statisticians in this group.
> 
> In some cases, when fitting a simple OLS regression, I obtain an
> estimated beta coefficient that is very small—for example, 0.00034—yet
> it still appears statistically significant based on the p-value.
> 
> I am trying to understand how to interpret such a result in practical
> terms. From a magnitude perspective, such a small coefficient would
> not be expected to meaningfully affect the predicted response value,
> but statistically it is still considered significant.
> 
> I would greatly appreciate any insights or explanations regarding this
> phenomenon.
> 
> Thanks for your time.
> 
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-- 
Michael Dewey