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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: May, Paul B, Simpson, Andrew, Michael, Semhar
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.23277
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author May, Paul B
Simpson, Andrew
Michael, Semhar
author_facet May, Paul B
Simpson, Andrew
Michael, Semhar
contents We develop an identifiable reduced-rank spatial multinomial model for categorical data with many classes. The model represents class-specific spatial effects through a low-dimensional set of shared latent factors, substantially reducing parameter dimension while preserving joint dependence across classes. Because standard conjugate and Pólya-Gamma methods fail under this factorization, we propose a Gibbs sampler using Laplace-approximation proposals within Metropolis-Hastings updates. Simulation studies examine dimension selection and the accuracy of the Laplace proposals. An application to dominant tree species mapping in the Blue Ridge Mountains demonstrates scalable inference and flexible joint predictions for individual classes, class unions, and area-level summaries.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_23277
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A reduced rank model for spatial categorical data with many classes
May, Paul B
Simpson, Andrew
Michael, Semhar
Methodology
We develop an identifiable reduced-rank spatial multinomial model for categorical data with many classes. The model represents class-specific spatial effects through a low-dimensional set of shared latent factors, substantially reducing parameter dimension while preserving joint dependence across classes. Because standard conjugate and Pólya-Gamma methods fail under this factorization, we propose a Gibbs sampler using Laplace-approximation proposals within Metropolis-Hastings updates. Simulation studies examine dimension selection and the accuracy of the Laplace proposals. An application to dominant tree species mapping in the Blue Ridge Mountains demonstrates scalable inference and flexible joint predictions for individual classes, class unions, and area-level summaries.
title A reduced rank model for spatial categorical data with many classes
topic Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.23277