'''Discriminant function analysis''' involves the predicting of a categorical dependent variable by one or more continuous or binary independent variables. It is statistically the opposite of [[MANOVA]]. It is useful in determining whether a set of variables is effective in predicting category membership. <br />
It is also a useful follow-up procedure to a MANOVA instead of doing a series of one-way [[Analysis of variance|ANOVA]]s, for ascertaining how the groups differ on the composite of dependent variables.