The use of Bayesian methods for the analysis of data has grown substantially in areas as diverse as applied statistics, psychology, economics and medical science. Bayesian Methods for Categorical Data sets out to demystify modern Bayesian methods, making them accessible to students and researchers alike. Emphasizing the use of statistical computing and applied data analysis, this book provides a comprehensive introduction to Bayesian methods of categorical outcomes. * Reviews recent Bayesian methodology for categorical outcomes (binary, count and multinomial data). * Considers missing data models techniques and non-standard models (ZIP and negative binomial). * Evaluates time series and spatio-temporal models for discrete data. * Features discussion of univariate and multivariate techniques. * Provides a set of downloadable worked examples with documented WinBUGS code, available from an ftp site. The author's previous 2 bestselling titles provided a comprehensive introduction to the theory and application of Bayesian models. Bayesian Models for Categorical Data continues to build upon this foundation by developing their application to categorical, or discrete data - one of the most common types of data available. The author's clear and logical approach makes the book accessible to a wide range of students and practitioners, including those dealing with categorical data in medicine, sociology, psychology and epidemiology.

This book provides a selection of modern and sophisticated methodologies for the analysis of large and complex univariate and multivariate categorical data. It gives an overview of a substantive and broad collection of topics in the analysis of categorical data, including association, marginal and graphical models, time series and fixed effects models, as well as modern methods of estimation such as regularization, Bayesian estimation and bias reduction methods, along with new simple measures for model interpretability. Methodological innovations and developments are illustrated and explained through real-world applications, together with useful R packages, allowing readers to replicate most of the analyses using the provided code. The applications span a variety of disciplines, including education, psychology, health, economics, and social sciences.

A valuable new edition of a standard reference The use of statistical methods for categorical data has increased dramatically, particularly for applications in the biomedical and social sciences. An Introduction to Categorical Data Analysis, Third Edition summarizes these methods and shows readers how to use them using software. Readers will find a unified generalized linear models approach that connects logistic regression and loglinear models for discrete data with normal regression for continuous data. Adding to the value in the new edition is: • Illustrations of the use of R software to perform all the analyses in the book • A new chapter on alternative methods for categorical data, including smoothing and regularization methods (such as the lasso), classification methods such as linear discriminant analysis and classification trees, and cluster analysis • New sections in many chapters introducing the Bayesian approach for the methods of that chapter • More than 70 analyses of data sets to illustrate application of the methods, and about 200 exercises, many containing other data sets • An appendix showing how to use SAS, Stata, and SPSS, and an appendix with short solutions to most odd-numbered exercises Written in an applied, nontechnical style, this book illustrates the methods using a wide variety of real data, including medical clinical trials, environmental questions, drug use by teenagers, horseshoe crab mating, basketball shooting, correlates of happiness, and much more. An Introduction to Categorical Data Analysis, Third Edition is an invaluable tool for statisticians and biostatisticians as well as methodologists in the social and behavioral sciences, medicine and public health, marketing, education, and the biological and agricultural sciences.

Research in Bayesian analysis and statistical decision theory is rapidly expanding and diversifying, making it increasingly more difficult for any single researcher to stay up to date on all current research frontiers. This book provides a review of current research challenges and opportunities. While the book can not exhaustively cover all current research areas, it does include some exemplary discussion of most research frontiers. Topics include objective Bayesian inference, shrinkage estimation and other decision based estimation, model selection and testing, nonparametric Bayes, the interface of Bayesian and frequentist inference, data mining and machine learning, methods for categorical and spatio-temporal data analysis and posterior simulation methods. Several major application areas are covered: computer models, Bayesian clinical trial design, epidemiology, phylogenetics, bioinformatics, climate modeling and applications in political science, finance and marketing. As a review of current research in Bayesian analysis the book presents a balance between theory and applications. The lack of a clear demarcation between theoretical and applied research is a reflection of the highly interdisciplinary and often applied nature of research in Bayesian statistics. The book is intended as an update for researchers in Bayesian statistics, including non-statisticians who make use of Bayesian inference to address substantive research questions in other fields. It would also be useful for graduate students and research scholars in statistics or biostatistics who wish to acquaint themselves with current research frontiers.

This dissertation focuses on model selection in logistic regression with incompletely observed data. In particular, methods are presented for using Markov Chain Monte Carlo imputation and Bayesian variable selection to model a binary outcome. We consider multivariate missing covariates, with different types of predictors, such as continuous, counts, and categorical variables. Such type of data is considered in the analysis of Project Talent recorded from a longitudinal study. Roughly 400,000 were selected for the study from United States high school students in grades 9 through 12 during the year 1960; follow-up surveys were conducted 1, 5, and 11 years after graduation. We extend a methodology developed by Yang, Belin, and Boscardin (2005), to this Project Talent for a logistic regression model with incomplete covariates. The idea is to use data information as much as possible to fill in the missing values and study associations between a binary response variable and covariates. According to Yang, Belin, and Boscardin, one approach under a multivariate normal assumption for data, is to conduct Bayesian variable selection and missing data imputation simultaneously within one Gibbs Sampling process, called "Simultaneously Impute And Select" (SIAS). A modified strategy of SIAS is extended to a mixed data structure that allows for categorical, counts, and continuous variables. The first chapter consists of an introduction to some approaches to variable selection for missing data. The fact that missing data arise commonly in statistical analyses, leads to a variety of methods to handle missing data. The missing data mechanism needs to be considered in imputations. The multiple imputation methods and Markov Chain Mote Carlo (MCMC) algorithms are presented as general statistical approaches to missing data analysis. In the MCMC computational toolbox, various implementation methods for imputation are discussed: Metropolis-Hasting, Gibbs Sampler, and Data Augmentation. Compared to model selection methods in frequentist and likelihood inference, Bayesian inference takes an entirely different approach. The frequentist approach only looks at the current data to make inference. The Bayesian approach requires the specification of the prior distribution, which can come from historical data or expert opinion. Stochastic Search Variable Selection (SSVS) and Gibbs Variable Selection (GVS) are reviewed for model selection. Two alternative strategies, Impute Then Select (ITS) and Simultaneously Impute And Select (SIAS), are studied. In the second chapter, imputation and Bayesian variable selection methods for linear regression are extended to a binary response variable that is completely observed, but some covariates have missing values. We focus on extending SIAS strategy to logistic regression models via two alternative imputations, decomposition and Fully Conditional Specification (FCS). The decomposition method breaks a multivariate distribution into a series of univariate ones by decomposing the joint density function p(Y, X1, ..., X[p]) into the product of conditional distributions, using the factorization p(A, B) = p(A[vertical line]B)p(B). The FCS aims to involve iteratively sampling from the conditional distributions for one random variable, given all the others. These two methods are implemented in the imputation step of the SIAS procedure then applied to the Project Talent data. Simulations are also performed to validate these results and demonstrate the superiority of FCS over the decomposition method under certain circumstances. The third chapter presents a new approach for incorporating the sampling weight into imputation and Bayesian variable selection in logistic regression models. We develop the approach that extends SIAS by a Bayesian version of iterative weighted least squares algorithm to include a sampling step based on Gibbs sampler. This approach is illustrated using both simulation studies and Project Talent data.

Emphasizing the use of WinBUGS and R to analyze real data, Bayesian Ideas and Data Analysis: An Introduction for Scientists and Statisticians presents statistical tools to address scientific questions. It highlights foundational issues in statistics, the importance of making accurate predictions, and the need for scientists and statisticians to collaborate in analyzing data. The WinBUGS code provided offers a convenient platform to model and analyze a wide range of data. The first five chapters of the book contain core material that spans basic Bayesian ideas, calculations, and inference, including modeling one and two sample data from traditional sampling models. The text then covers Monte Carlo methods, such as Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation. After discussing linear structures in regression, it presents binomial regression, normal regression, analysis of variance, and Poisson regression, before extending these methods to handle correlated data. The authors also examine survival analysis and binary diagnostic testing. A complementary chapter on diagnostic testing for continuous outcomes is available on the book’s website. The last chapter on nonparametric inference explores density estimation and flexible regression modeling of mean functions. The appropriate statistical analysis of data involves a collaborative effort between scientists and statisticians. Exemplifying this approach, Bayesian Ideas and Data Analysis focuses on the necessary tools and concepts for modeling and analyzing scientific data. Data sets and codes are provided on a supplemental website.