Adaptive sequential Monte Carlo for structured cross validation in Bayesian hierarchical models

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Han, Geonhee, Gelman, Andrew
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Han, Geonhee
Gelman, Andrew
author_facet Han, Geonhee
Gelman, Andrew
contents Importance sampling (IS) is commonly used for cross validation (CV) in Bayesian models, because it only involves reweighting existing posterior draws without needing to re-estimate the model by re-running Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). For hierarchical models, standard IS can be unreliable; the out-of-sample generalization hypothesis may involve structured case-deletion schemes which significantly alter the posterior geometry. This can force costly MCMC re-runs and make CV impractical. As a principled alternative, we tailor adaptive sequential Monte Carlo to sample along a path of posteriors that leads to the case-deleted posterior. The sampler is designed to support various hypotheses by accommodating diverse CV designs, and to streamline the workflow by automating path construction and systematically minimizing MCMC intervention. We demonstrate its utility with three types of predictive model assessment: longitudinal leave-group-out CV, group $K$-fold CV, and sequential one-step-ahead validation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_07685
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Adaptive sequential Monte Carlo for structured cross validation in Bayesian hierarchical models
Han, Geonhee
Gelman, Andrew
Computation
Applications
Importance sampling (IS) is commonly used for cross validation (CV) in Bayesian models, because it only involves reweighting existing posterior draws without needing to re-estimate the model by re-running Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). For hierarchical models, standard IS can be unreliable; the out-of-sample generalization hypothesis may involve structured case-deletion schemes which significantly alter the posterior geometry. This can force costly MCMC re-runs and make CV impractical. As a principled alternative, we tailor adaptive sequential Monte Carlo to sample along a path of posteriors that leads to the case-deleted posterior. The sampler is designed to support various hypotheses by accommodating diverse CV designs, and to streamline the workflow by automating path construction and systematically minimizing MCMC intervention. We demonstrate its utility with three types of predictive model assessment: longitudinal leave-group-out CV, group $K$-fold CV, and sequential one-step-ahead validation.
title Adaptive sequential Monte Carlo for structured cross validation in Bayesian hierarchical models
topic Computation
Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.07685