# Creating relationships between dependent variables

I have data on a $M$ systems (say different material alloys). Each system (material) has $N$ variables (properties). I would like to correlate one variable(say material strength) of the system with a small sub-set of the variables $N_S$ (such as composition, crystal-structure etc.).

I'm not sure which analysis is more appropriate for this scenario. Do I need to use

• factor analysis -- which I believe treats all variables as dependent variables or
• multiple regression -- which treats one variable as dependent and others as independent variable.

Just to clarify, the variable values are not continuous i.e., for given value/range of variables, a system/systems may or may not exist.

• why not just do a correlation matrix? – mandata Aug 13 '15 at 16:08
• I have no background in statistics. I read a little bit online and I just posted a question based on what I learnt – WanderingMind Aug 13 '15 at 16:18
• In that case, start with a correlation matrix, and do a graphic, too, not just numbers. It is available in most stat packages. That is good, standard exploratory practice. – mandata Aug 13 '15 at 16:20