5,789 research outputs found
Nonparametric Sparsity and Regularization
In this work we are interested in the problems of supervised learning and variable selection when the input-output dependence is described by a nonlinear function depending on a few variables. Our goal is to consider a sparse nonparametric model, hence avoiding linear or additive models. The key idea is to measure the importance of each variable in the model by making use of partial derivatives. Based on this intuition we propose and study a new regularizer and a corresponding least squares regularization scheme. Using concepts and results from the theory of reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces and proximal methods, we show that the proposed learning algorithm corresponds to a minimization problem which can be provably solved by an iterative procedure. The consistency properties of the obtained estimator are studied both in terms of prediction and selection performance. An extensive empirical analysis shows that the proposed method performs favorably with respect to the state-of-the-art
Functional Regression
Functional data analysis (FDA) involves the analysis of data whose ideal
units of observation are functions defined on some continuous domain, and the
observed data consist of a sample of functions taken from some population,
sampled on a discrete grid. Ramsay and Silverman's 1997 textbook sparked the
development of this field, which has accelerated in the past 10 years to become
one of the fastest growing areas of statistics, fueled by the growing number of
applications yielding this type of data. One unique characteristic of FDA is
the need to combine information both across and within functions, which Ramsay
and Silverman called replication and regularization, respectively. This article
will focus on functional regression, the area of FDA that has received the most
attention in applications and methodological development. First will be an
introduction to basis functions, key building blocks for regularization in
functional regression methods, followed by an overview of functional regression
methods, split into three types: [1] functional predictor regression
(scalar-on-function), [2] functional response regression (function-on-scalar)
and [3] function-on-function regression. For each, the role of replication and
regularization will be discussed and the methodological development described
in a roughly chronological manner, at times deviating from the historical
timeline to group together similar methods. The primary focus is on modeling
and methodology, highlighting the modeling structures that have been developed
and the various regularization approaches employed. At the end is a brief
discussion describing potential areas of future development in this field
Sparse Additive Models
We present a new class of methods for high-dimensional nonparametric
regression and classification called sparse additive models (SpAM). Our methods
combine ideas from sparse linear modeling and additive nonparametric
regression. We derive an algorithm for fitting the models that is practical and
effective even when the number of covariates is larger than the sample size.
SpAM is closely related to the COSSO model of Lin and Zhang (2006), but
decouples smoothing and sparsity, enabling the use of arbitrary nonparametric
smoothers. An analysis of the theoretical properties of SpAM is given. We also
study a greedy estimator that is a nonparametric version of forward stepwise
regression. Empirical results on synthetic and real data are presented, showing
that SpAM can be effective in fitting sparse nonparametric models in high
dimensional data
Regression on manifolds: Estimation of the exterior derivative
Collinearity and near-collinearity of predictors cause difficulties when
doing regression. In these cases, variable selection becomes untenable because
of mathematical issues concerning the existence and numerical stability of the
regression coefficients, and interpretation of the coefficients is ambiguous
because gradients are not defined. Using a differential geometric
interpretation, in which the regression coefficients are interpreted as
estimates of the exterior derivative of a function, we develop a new method to
do regression in the presence of collinearities. Our regularization scheme can
improve estimation error, and it can be easily modified to include lasso-type
regularization. These estimators also have simple extensions to the "large ,
small " context.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/10-AOS823 the Annals of
Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical
Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
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