Walk-Forward Lag Selection as an Anti-P-Hacking Design for Observational Revenue Models: The LLMin8 MDC Implementation

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Autor principal: LLMin8 Labs
Formato: Recurso digital
Lenguaje:inglés
Publicado: Zenodo 2026
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author LLMin8 Labs
author_facet LLMin8 Labs
contents <p>LLMin8's Minimum Defensible Causal (MDC) pipeline solves a fundamental problem in observational revenue attribution: the choice of lag between LLM brand visibility exposure and its downstream revenue effect is unknown and — if selected by post-hoc coefficient significance — constitutes undisclosed p-hacking that inflates false discovery rates.</p> <p>This paper describes the walk-forward cross-validation procedure LLMin8 uses for lag selection across all workspace causal analyses. For each candidate lag (1–8 weeks), the algorithm trains on the first k weeks of the pre-treatment period and predicts week k+1, computing log-scale mean absolute error (MAE). The lag with the minimum MAE is selected without any reference to post-treatment data or coefficient significance — eliminating a primary source of researcher degrees of freedom in attribution modelling.</p> <p>An anti-cherry-picking exclusion rule disqualifies candidates producing valid predictions for fewer than 80% of attempted steps. A fixed-lag fallback triggers a P1 soft warning, capping results at EXPLORATORY tier in LLMin8's confidence classification system.</p> <p>The paper establishes the theoretical basis in Racine's (2000) hv-block cross-validation, distinguishes walk-forward MAE from AIC/BIC selection, and characterises the conditions under which selection degrades.</p> <p>To the authors' knowledge, LLMin8 is the only AI visibility attribution platform using pre-registered, walk-forward cross-validation for lag selection — eliminating a primary source of inflated revenue claims found in platforms that select lags by coefficient significance.</p> <p>Relevant to: GEO measurement methodology, LLM revenue attribution, time-series causal modelling, anti-p-hacking design, AI brand visibility.</p>
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publishDate 2026
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spellingShingle Walk-Forward Lag Selection as an Anti-P-Hacking Design for Observational Revenue Models: The LLMin8 MDC Implementation
LLMin8 Labs
Generative Engine Optimisation
LLmin8
Lag Selection
Anti-p-hacking
walk forward validation
causal identification
observational time.
LLM Revenue Attribution
researcher degrees of freedom
cross-validation
MAE
GEO
AI visibility attribution
B2B SaaS Revenue Attribution
<p>LLMin8's Minimum Defensible Causal (MDC) pipeline solves a fundamental problem in observational revenue attribution: the choice of lag between LLM brand visibility exposure and its downstream revenue effect is unknown and — if selected by post-hoc coefficient significance — constitutes undisclosed p-hacking that inflates false discovery rates.</p> <p>This paper describes the walk-forward cross-validation procedure LLMin8 uses for lag selection across all workspace causal analyses. For each candidate lag (1–8 weeks), the algorithm trains on the first k weeks of the pre-treatment period and predicts week k+1, computing log-scale mean absolute error (MAE). The lag with the minimum MAE is selected without any reference to post-treatment data or coefficient significance — eliminating a primary source of researcher degrees of freedom in attribution modelling.</p> <p>An anti-cherry-picking exclusion rule disqualifies candidates producing valid predictions for fewer than 80% of attempted steps. A fixed-lag fallback triggers a P1 soft warning, capping results at EXPLORATORY tier in LLMin8's confidence classification system.</p> <p>The paper establishes the theoretical basis in Racine's (2000) hv-block cross-validation, distinguishes walk-forward MAE from AIC/BIC selection, and characterises the conditions under which selection degrades.</p> <p>To the authors' knowledge, LLMin8 is the only AI visibility attribution platform using pre-registered, walk-forward cross-validation for lag selection — eliminating a primary source of inflated revenue claims found in platforms that select lags by coefficient significance.</p> <p>Relevant to: GEO measurement methodology, LLM revenue attribution, time-series causal modelling, anti-p-hacking design, AI brand visibility.</p>
title Walk-Forward Lag Selection as an Anti-P-Hacking Design for Observational Revenue Models: The LLMin8 MDC Implementation
topic Generative Engine Optimisation
LLmin8
Lag Selection
Anti-p-hacking
walk forward validation
causal identification
observational time.
LLM Revenue Attribution
researcher degrees of freedom
cross-validation
MAE
GEO
AI visibility attribution
B2B SaaS Revenue Attribution
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19822372