I'm in EPSY 643 (Applied Multivariate Methods) and am in way over my head. The biggest problem is that the prof has decided not to teach but rather give us the topics and let us teach the class. So next week is my turn and I get to teach the class about descriptive discriminant analysis. I have three textbooks and have read numerous things online, but I'm just not getting it. Below is what I have to present. Any suggestions on where I could get the info in very basic language would be appreciated.

*Goals of DDA- I get this
  • Characteristics of DV(s) and IV(s)- and this
  • Compare and contrast with MANOVA- I mostly get this
  • Discriminant functions (or canonical functions): and now I'm lost
  • -What are they?
    -What do they represent?
    -How are they determined conceptually?
    -Statistical significance test of discriminant functions.
    -What is the null hypothesis? How to interpret the significance test results?
    . -What are standardized discriminant function coefficients? How to interpret them?
    -What are discriminant structure coefficients (aka. Discriminant or canonical loadings)? How to interpret them?
    *Differences between standardized discriminant coefficients and discriminant loadings.
    *Discriminant function scores- What are they? How are they determined?