vix.ing · top · new · best · stats · spec

The Gaussian Graphical Model in Cross-Sectional and Time-Series Data

2018/04/16 by Sacha Epskamp, Lourens Waldorp, Lourens J. Waldorp +2 · 31 citations
Psychology · Computer Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Mental Health Research Topics #Cognitive Science and Mapping #Sensory Analysis and Statistical Methods

paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/00273171.2018.1454823

Abstract

We discuss the Gaussian graphical model (GGM; an undirected network of partial correlation coefficients) and detail its utility as an exploratory data analysis tool. The GGM shows which variables predict one-another, allows for sparse modeling of covariance structures, and may highlight potential causal relationships between observed variables. We describe the utility in three kinds of psychological data sets: data sets in which consecutive cases are assumed independent (e.g., cross-sectional data), temporally ordered data sets (e.g., n = 1 time series), and a mixture of the 2 (e.g., n > 1 time series). In time-series analysis, the GGM can be used to model the residual structure of a vector-autoregression analysis (VAR), also termed graphical VAR. Two network models can then be obtained: a temporal network and a contemporaneous network. When analyzing data from multiple subjects, a GGM can also be formed on the covariance structure of stationary means-the between-subjects network. We discuss the interpretation of these models and propose estimation methods to obtain these networks, which we implement in the R packages graphicalVAR and mlVAR. The methods are showcased in two empirical examples, and simulation studies on these methods are included in the supplementary materials.

Citations

Cited by

Related