12/07/2016

Chapter 7 application (7.2)

Today, I read Chapter 7 (7.2) and find something useful for my research.

Summary

MARS: Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines
GCV: generalized cross-validation
There are two tuning parameters associated with the MARS model: the degree of the features that are added to the model and the number of retained terms. The latter parameter can be automatically determined using the default pruning procedure (using GCV), set by the user or determined using an external resampling technique.

There are several advantages to using MARS. First, the model automatically conducts feature selection; the model equation is independent of predictor variables that are not involved with any of the final model features. This point cannot be underrated. Given a large number of predictors seen in many problem domains, MARS potentially thins the predictor set using the same algorithm that builds the model. In this way, the feature selection routine has a direct connection to functional performance. The second advantage is interpretability. Each hinge feature is responsible for modeling a specific region in the predictor space using a (piecewise) linear model. When the MARS model is additive, the contribution of each predictor can be isolated without the need to consider the others. This can be used to provide clear interpretations of how each predictor relates to the outcome. For nonadditive models, the interpretive power of the model is not reduced. Finally, the MARS model requires very little pre-processing of the data; data transformations and the filtering of predictors are not needed.


Another method to help understand the nature of how the predictors affect the model is to quantify their importance to the model. For MARS, one technique for doing this is to track the reduction in the root mean squared error (as measured using the GCV statistic) that occurs when adding a particular feature to the model.

The following figure compares the predictors and we can see the importance of predictors from the figure.

Tomorrow, I will continue to read the book.

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