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MCMCglmm: Fixing the priors in multivariate response models without random effects

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     De: Jarrod Hadfield <j.hadfield at ed.ac.uk>
 Para: Iker Vaquero Alba <karraspito at yahoo.es> 
CC: "r-sig-mixed-models at r-project.org" <r-sig-mixed-models at r-project.org> 
 Enviado: Lunes 21 de septiembre de 2015 11:48
 Asunto: Re: [R-sig-ME] MCMCglmm: Fixing the priors in multivariate response models without random effects
   
Hi,

The issue is that both outcomes are binary and you are trying to? 
estimate an unstructured residual covariance matrix. The diagonal? 
elements (the variances) are not identifiable and so need to be? 
constrained. The simplest method is to constrain the matrix to a? 
correlation matrix using corg(trait):units.
Dear Jarrod, 

?? Thank you so much for your invaluable help. I'm not sure I understand why "both outcomes are binary". My two dependent variables, as well as some of the explanatory ones, are multinomial, at least as far as I can understand: they are valuations from 1 to 5 given to different attributes by a group of volunteers. 


Its hard to say without knowing what the data are, but I would think? 
you need to fit trait in the fixed effect part of the model together? 
with an interaction between trait and other predictors.
The data are as follows: 
Response variables: 
natapshort and nataplong: both are categorical and multinomial variables, consisting on values from 1 to 5, depending on the importance several volunteers give to natural appearance on their potential partners, either for a short term relationship or for a longer commitment.Explanatory variables:
gender: factor with 3 levels (male, female, other). Gender of the participants.age: factor with 6 levels. Age of the participants, classified by age ranges.religion: factor with 2 levels (yes or no).sexor: factor with 3 levels. Sexual orientation of the participants.selfattr: factor with 5 levels. Value (from 1 to 5) that each participants gives to their own attractiveness.partnerattr: factor with 5 levels. Value (from 1 to 5) that each participant considers as the minimum attractiveness for a person to be considered as a potential partner.

When you say I need to "fit trait in the fixed effect part of the model together with an interaction between trait and other predictors.", you mean physically include the term "trait" in the model, as I have seen in many places, or you mean just including 2-way interactions between explanatory variables (that has been done already)??
Also, I would recommend using family="threshold" rather than? 
family="categorical" for bivariate problems. I've given the reasons? 
for this in older posts. For example, the probit section of:

https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-sig-mixed-models/2014q1/021875.html
Ok, thank you very much for that, I'll have a look to understand the reasons.

 Regarding the correct dimension of the prior for the fixed effects, B? should be equal to the number of fixed effects fitted. I can't see how? 
many you have, but definitely more than 2: it looks closer to 20.
Cheers,

Jarrod
Quoting Iker Vaquero Alba <karraspito at yahoo.es> on Fri, 18 Sep 2015? 
22:26:20 +0000 (UTC):

Just another question: should it be equal to the number of single fixed effects fitted (six in this case), or each two-way interaction (for example, gender:selfattr) qualifies as a new fixed effect (in which case I would have 21)?
Also, I have just read in a very useful document I've found from Tufts University, that when writing the priors, you need to fit an R structure for each fixed effect and a G structure for each random effect. According to that, I would have to fit 21 (6?) R structures and no G structures at all. But you say I have to fit 21 B structures as well. So, if R is the structure of fixed effects and G the structure of random effects, what is B?
Thank you very much again for your patience and huge help, and sorry for the endless questions.
Best wishes,Iker

__________________________________________________________________

?? Iker Vaquero-Alba
?? Visiting Postdoctoral Research Associate
?? Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecology of Adaptations 
?? Joseph Banks Laboratories
?? School of Life Sciences
?? University of Lincoln?? Brayford Campus, Lincoln
?? LN6 7DL
?? United Kingdom

?? Animal sexual signals: Do they maximise or optimise information content?