Statistical model

A statistical model is a mathematical model that embodies a set of statistical assumptions concerning the generation of sample data (and similar data from a larger population). A statistical model represents, often in considerably idealized form, the data-generating process. When referring specifically to probabilities, the corresponding term is probabilistic model. A statistical model is usually specified as a mathematical relationship between one or more random variables and other non-random variables. As such, a statistical model is "a formal representation of a theory" (Herman Adèr quoting Kenneth Bollen). All statistical hypothesis tests and all statistical estimators are derived via statistical models. More generally, statistical models are part of the foundation of statistical inference. Introduction Informally, a statistical model can be thought of as a statistical assumption (or set of statistical assumptions) with a certain property: that the assumption allows u

Automatic L2 Regularization for Multiple Generalized Additive Models

Yousra El Bachir

Multiple generalized additive models are a class of statistical regression models wherein parameters of probability distributions incorporate information through additive smooth functions of predictors. The functions are represented by basis function expansions, whose coefficients are the regression parameters. The smoothness is induced by a quadratic roughness penalty on the functionsâ curvature, which is equivalent to a weighted

L_2

regularization controlled by smoothing parameters. Regression fitting relies on maximum penalized likelihood estimation for the regression coefficients, and smoothness selection relies on maximum marginal likelihood estimation for the smoothing parameters. Owing to their nonlinearity, flexibility and interpretability, generalized additive models are widely used in statistical modeling, but despite recent advances, reliable and fast methods for automatic smoothing in massive datasets are unavailable. Existing approaches are either reliable, complex and slow, or unreliable, simpler and fast, so a compromise must be made. A bridge between these categories is needed to extend use of multiple generalized additive models to settings beyond those possible in existing software. This thesis is one step in this direction. We adopt the marginal likelihood approach to develop approximate expectation-maximization methods for automatic smoothing, which avoid evaluation of expensive and unstable terms. This results in simpler algorithms that do not sacrifice reliability and achieve state-of-the-art accuracy and computational efficiency. We extend the proposed approach to big-data settings and produce the first reliable, high-performance and distributed-memory algorithm for fitting massive multiple generalized additive models. Furthermore, we develop the underlying generic software libraries and make them accessible to the open-source community.

EPFL2019

Contributions to Likelihood-Based Modelling of Extreme Values

Léo Raymond-Belzile

xtreme value analysis is concerned with the modelling of extreme events such as floods and heatwaves, which can have large impacts. Statistical modelling can be useful to better assess risks even if, due to scarcity of measurements, there is inherently very large residual uncertainty in any analysis. Driven by the increase in environmental databases, spatial modelling of extremes has expanded rapidly in the last decade. This thesis presents contributions to such analysis. The first chapter is about likelihood-based inference in the univariate setting and investigates the use of bias-correction and higher-order asymptotic methods for extremes, highlighting through examples and illustrations the unique challenge posed by data scarcity. We focus on parametric modelling of extreme values, which relies on limiting distributional results and for which, as a result, uncertainty quantification is complicated. We find that, in certain cases, small-sample asymptotic methods can give improved inference by reducing the error rate of confidence intervals. Two data illustrations, linked to assessment of the frequency of extreme rainfall episodes in Venezuela and the analysis of survival of supercentenarians, illustrate the methods developed. In the second chapter, we review the major methods for the analysis of spatial extremes models. We highlight the similarities and provide a thorough literature review along with novel simulation algorithms. The methods described therein are made available through a statistical software package. The last chapter focuses on estimation for a Bayesian hierarchical model derived from a multivariate generalized Pareto process. We review approaches for the estimation of censored components in models derived from (log)-elliptical distributions, paying particular attention to the estimation of a high-dimensional Gaussian distribution function via Monte Carlo methods. The impacts of model misspecification and of censoring are explored through extensive simulations and we conclude with a case study of rainfall extremes in Eastern Switzerland.

EPFL2019

Automatic L2 Regularization for Multiple Generalized Additive Models

Yousra El Bachir

L_2

EPFL2019

Contributions to Likelihood-Based Modelling of Extreme Values

Léo Raymond-Belzile

EPFL2019

Automatic L2 Regularization for Multiple Generalized Additive Models

Contributions to Likelihood-Based Modelling of Extreme Values

Statistical Models in Automatic Speech Recognition

Automatic L2 Regularization for Multiple Generalized Additive Models

Contributions to Likelihood-Based Modelling of Extreme Values

Statistical Models in Automatic Speech Recognition