Identifying the Most Appropriate Order for Categorical Responses

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Wang, Tianmeng, Yang, Jie
Format: Preprint
Published: 2022
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author Wang, Tianmeng
Yang, Jie
author_facet Wang, Tianmeng
Yang, Jie
contents Categorical responses arise naturally within various scientific disciplines. In many circumstances, there is no predetermined order for the response categories, and the response has to be modeled as nominal. In this study, we regard the order of response categories as part of the statistical model, and show that the true order, when it exists, can be selected using likelihood-based model selection criteria. For predictive purposes, a statistical model with a chosen order may outperform models based on nominal responses, even if a true order does not exist. For multinomial logistic models, widely used for categorical responses, we show the existence of theoretically equivalent orders that cannot be differentiated based on likelihood criteria, and determine the connections between their maximum likelihood estimators. We use simulation studies and a real-data analysis to confirm the need and benefits of choosing the most appropriate order for categorical responses.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2206_08235
institution arXiv
publishDate 2022
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Identifying the Most Appropriate Order for Categorical Responses
Wang, Tianmeng
Yang, Jie
Statistics Theory
Methodology
Categorical responses arise naturally within various scientific disciplines. In many circumstances, there is no predetermined order for the response categories, and the response has to be modeled as nominal. In this study, we regard the order of response categories as part of the statistical model, and show that the true order, when it exists, can be selected using likelihood-based model selection criteria. For predictive purposes, a statistical model with a chosen order may outperform models based on nominal responses, even if a true order does not exist. For multinomial logistic models, widely used for categorical responses, we show the existence of theoretically equivalent orders that cannot be differentiated based on likelihood criteria, and determine the connections between their maximum likelihood estimators. We use simulation studies and a real-data analysis to confirm the need and benefits of choosing the most appropriate order for categorical responses.
title Identifying the Most Appropriate Order for Categorical Responses
topic Statistics Theory
Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.08235