this data hold valuable information such as trends and patterns, which can be used to improve decision making and optimize chances of success [28]. Data mining (DM) techniques [33] aim at extracting high-level knowledge from raw data. There are several DM algorithms, each one with its own advantages. When modeling continuous data, the linear/multiple regression (MR) is the classic approach. The backpropagation algorithm was first introduced in 1974 [32] and later popularized in 1986 [23]. Since then, neural networks (NNs) have become increasingly used. More recently, support vector machines (SVMs) have also been proposed [4,26]. Due to their higher flexibility and nonlinear learning capabilities, both NNs and SVMs are gaining an attention within the DM field, often attaining high predictive performances [16,17]. SVMs present theoretical advantages over NNs, such as the absence of local minima in the learning phase. In effect, the SVM was recently considered one of the most influential DM algorithms [34]. While the MR model is easier to interpret, it is still possible to extract knowledge from NNs and SVMs, given in terms of input variable importance [18,7].