Visualisation for Exploratory Modelling Analysis of Bayesian Hierarchical Models

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Autori principali: Akinfenwa, Oluwayomi, Cahill, Niamh, Hurley, Catherine
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Akinfenwa, Oluwayomi
Cahill, Niamh
Hurley, Catherine
author_facet Akinfenwa, Oluwayomi
Cahill, Niamh
Hurley, Catherine
contents When developing Bayesian hierarchical models, selecting the most appropriate hierarchical structure can be a challenging task, and visualisation remains an underutilised tool in this context. In this paper, we consider visualisations for the display of hierarchical models in data space and compare a collection of multiple models via their parameters and hyper-parameter estimates. Specifically, with the aim of aiding model choice, we propose new visualisations to explore how the choice of Bayesian hierarchical modelling structure impacts parameter distributions. The visualisations are designed using a robust set of principles to provide richer comparisons that extend beyond the conventional plots and numerical summaries typically used. As a case study, we investigate five Bayesian hierarchical models fit using the brms R package, a high-level interface to Stan for Bayesian modelling, to model country mathematics trends from the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) database. Our case study demonstrates that by adhering to these principles, researchers can create visualisations that not only help them make more informed choices between Bayesian hierarchical model structures but also enable them to effectively communicate the rationale for those choices.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_03484
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Visualisation for Exploratory Modelling Analysis of Bayesian Hierarchical Models
Akinfenwa, Oluwayomi
Cahill, Niamh
Hurley, Catherine
Methodology
Applications
When developing Bayesian hierarchical models, selecting the most appropriate hierarchical structure can be a challenging task, and visualisation remains an underutilised tool in this context. In this paper, we consider visualisations for the display of hierarchical models in data space and compare a collection of multiple models via their parameters and hyper-parameter estimates. Specifically, with the aim of aiding model choice, we propose new visualisations to explore how the choice of Bayesian hierarchical modelling structure impacts parameter distributions. The visualisations are designed using a robust set of principles to provide richer comparisons that extend beyond the conventional plots and numerical summaries typically used. As a case study, we investigate five Bayesian hierarchical models fit using the brms R package, a high-level interface to Stan for Bayesian modelling, to model country mathematics trends from the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) database. Our case study demonstrates that by adhering to these principles, researchers can create visualisations that not only help them make more informed choices between Bayesian hierarchical model structures but also enable them to effectively communicate the rationale for those choices.
title Visualisation for Exploratory Modelling Analysis of Bayesian Hierarchical Models
topic Methodology
Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.03484