This easy-to-follow applied book on semiparametric regression methods using R is intended to close the gap between the available methodology and its use in practice. Semiparametric regression has a large literature but much of it is geared towards data analysts who have advanced knowledge of statistical methods. While R now has a great deal of semiparametric regression functionality, many of these developments have not trickled down to rank-and-file statistical analysts. The authors assemble a broad range of semiparametric regression R analyses and put them in a form that is useful for applied researchers. There are chapters devoted to penalized spines, generalized additive models, grouped data, bivariate extensions of penalized spines, and spatial semi-parametric regression models. Where feasible, the R code is provided in the text, however the book is also accompanied by an external website complete with datasets and R code. Because of its flexibility, semiparametric regression has proven to be of great value with many applications in fields as diverse as astronomy, biology, medicine, economics, and finance. This book is intended for applied statistical analysts who have some familiarity with R.

Semiparametric regression is concerned with the flexible incorporation of non-linear functional relationships in regression analyses. Any application area that benefits from regression analysis can also benefit from semiparametric regression. Assuming only a basic familiarity with ordinary parametric regression, this user-friendly book explains the techniques and benefits of semiparametric regression in a concise and modular fashion. The authors make liberal use of graphics and examples plus case studies taken from environmental, financial, and other applications. They include practical advice on implementation and pointers to relevant software. The 2003 book is suitable as a textbook for students with little background in regression as well as a reference book for statistically oriented scientists such as biostatisticians, econometricians, quantitative social scientists, epidemiologists, with a good working knowledge of regression and the desire to begin using more flexible semiparametric models. Even experts on semiparametric regression should find something new here.

An introductory guide to smoothing techniques, semiparametric estimators, and their related methods, this book describes the methodology via a selection of carefully explained examples and data sets. It also demonstrates the potential of these techniques using detailed empirical examples drawn from the social and political sciences. Each chapter includes exercises and examples and there is a supplementary website containing all the datasets used, as well as computer code, allowing readers to replicate every analysis reported in the book. Includes software for implementing the methods in S-Plus and R.

The statistical and mathematical principles of smoothing with a focus on applicable techniques are presented in this book. It naturally splits into two parts: The first part is intended for undergraduate students majoring in mathematics, statistics, econometrics or biometrics whereas the second part is intended to be used by master and PhD students or researchers. The material is easy to accomplish since the e-book character of the text gives a maximum of flexibility in learning (and teaching) intensity.

This book is about learning from data using the Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS). GAMLSS extends the Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) and Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) to accommodate large complex datasets, which are increasingly prevalent. In particular, the GAMLSS statistical framework enables flexible regression and smoothing models to be fitted to the data. The GAMLSS model assumes that the response variable has any parametric (continuous, discrete or mixed) distribution which might be heavy- or light-tailed, and positively or negatively skewed. In addition, all the parameters of the distribution (location, scale, shape) can be modelled as linear or smooth functions of explanatory variables. Key Features: Provides a broad overview of flexible regression and smoothing techniques to learn from data whilst also focusing on the practical application of methodology using GAMLSS software in R. Includes a comprehensive collection of real data examples, which reflect the range of problems addressed by GAMLSS models and provide a practical illustration of the process of using flexible GAMLSS models for statistical learning. R code integrated into the text for ease of understanding and replication. Supplemented by a website with code, data and extra materials. This book aims to help readers understand how to learn from data encountered in many fields. It will be useful for practitioners and researchers who wish to understand and use the GAMLSS models to learn from data and also for students who wish to learn GAMLSS through practical examples.

Statistics is the language of modern empirical social and behavioural science and the varieties of regression form the basis of this language. Statistical and computing advances have led to new and exciting regressions that have become the necessary tools for any researcher in these fields. In a way that is refreshingly engaging and readable, Wright and London describe the most useful of these techniques and provide step-by-step instructions, using the freeware R, to analyze datasets that can be located on the books′ webpage: www.sagepub.co.uk/wrightandlondon. Techniques covered in this book include multilevel modeling, ANOVA and ANCOVA, path analysis, mediation and moderation, logistic regression (generalized linear models), generalized additive models, and robust methods. These are all tested out using a range of real research examples conducted by the authors in every chapter. Given the wide coverage of techniques, this book will be essential reading for any advanced undergraduate and graduate student (particularly in psychology) and for more experienced researchers wanting to learn how to apply some of the more recent statistical techniques to their datasets. The Authors are donating all royalties from the book to the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders.

A modern approach to statistical learning and its applications through visualization methods With a unique and innovative presentation, Multivariate Nonparametric Regression and Visualization provides readers with the core statistical concepts to obtain complete and accurate predictions when given a set of data. Focusing on nonparametric methods to adapt to the multiple types of data generating mechanisms, the book begins with an overview of classification and regression. The book then introduces and examines various tested and proven visualization techniques for learning samples and functions. Multivariate Nonparametric Regression and Visualization identifies risk management, portfolio selection, and option pricing as the main areas in which statistical methods may be implemented in quantitative finance. The book provides coverage of key statistical areas including linear methods, kernel methods, additive models and trees, boosting, support vector machines, and nearest neighbor methods. Exploring the additional applications of nonparametric and semiparametric methods, Multivariate Nonparametric Regression and Visualization features: An extensive appendix with R-package training material to encourage duplication and modification of the presented computations and research Multiple examples to demonstrate the applications in the field of finance Sections with formal definitions of the various applied methods for readers to utilize throughout the book Multivariate Nonparametric Regression and Visualization is an ideal textbook for upper-undergraduate and graduate-level courses on nonparametric function estimation, advanced topics in statistics, and quantitative finance. The book is also an excellent reference for practitioners who apply statistical methods in quantitative finance.