GLMM: Should Integers be Levels of Dr. Alexandre F. Souza Prof. Associado a Factor?
Hello all, Judging by some sources, it seems to me that before running a GLMM I should make all categorical variables into factors, including numerical ones that are integers like binary response variables, plot numbers, block levels, sampling year and the ID of individual measured plants, even if these variables are correctly identified as integers as in the example below. Is this understanding correct in your opinion? Thank you very much for any reply, Alexandre
str(dados)
'data.frame': 1428 obs. of 12 variables: $ numero : int 4006 4009 4010 4020 4022 4024 4025 4027 4035 4036 ... $ bloco : int 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ... $ transecto : int 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ... $ parcela : int 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ... $ Tree_Height_m_Fuste_Parc: num 8.32 8.32 8.32 8.32 8.32 ... $ Grupos_Finais : Factor w/ 3 levels "Disturbed Unflooded Forests",..: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ... $ ano_medida : int 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 ... $ Basal_Area_m2 : num 0.182 0.182 0.182 0.182 0.182 ... $ das_mm : num 185 161 167 114 164 ... $ reproducao : int 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ... $ reproducao_bin : int 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ... $ R_dens_total : int 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 ...
Dr. Alexandre F. Souza Professor Associado Chefe do Departamento de Ecologia Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte CB, Departamento de Ecologia Campus Universit?rio - Lagoa Nova 59072-970 - Natal, RN - Brasil lattes: lattes.cnpq.br/7844758818522706 http://www.esferacientifica.com.br https://www.youtube.com/user/alexfadigas http://www.docente.ufrn.br/alexsouza orcid.org/0000-0001-7468-3631 <http://www.docente.ufrn.br/alexsouza> [[alternative HTML version deleted]]