ivar {mra}

Expand Individual-varying covariates in models

Description

Expands a vector of individual-varying values into a 2-d matrix of the appropriate size for use in MRA model formulas.

Usage

ivar(x, ns=attr(x,"ns"), drop.levels=attr(x,"drop.levels"))

Arguments

x

The vector of individual varying values to expand. This can be a factor (see as.factor). It is assumed that length(x) = number of individuals. If not, an error will occur in whatever routine called this function (e.g., F.3d.model.matrix).

ns

Number of sampling occasions. Default is to use the 'ns' attribute of x. If ns is not specified or is not an attribute of x, an error is thrown.

drop.levels

A vector of integers specifying which levels of a factor to drop. Only applicable if x is a factor. By default, the the 'drop.levels' attribute of x is used. If x does not have a 'drop.levels' attribute, the first level of the factor is dropped. drop.levels=length(levels(x)) does the SAS thing and drops the last level of a factor. Specifying multiple levels to drop is acceptable. E.g., drop.levels=c(1,2,7) drops the 1st, 2nd, and 7th levels of the factor, whatever they are. First level of a factor is first element of levels(x). Second level of a factor is second element of levels(x), and so on. Setting drop.levels to 0, a negative number, or a number greater than the number of levels will not drop any levels (this is so-called cell mean coding). Keep in mind presence of the intercept.

Value

A 2-d matrix of size length(x) x ns suitable for passing to the Fortran DLL of MRA for estimation. Values within rows are constant, values across rows vary according to x. If x is a factor, this matrix contains 0-1 indicator functions necessary to fit the factor.

If x is a factor, attributes of the returned matrix are "levels" = levels of the factor and "contr" = contrasts used in the coding (always contr.treatment). For other contrast coding of factors, make your own 2-d matrix with a call to the appropriate function (like contr.poly).

Author(s)

Trent McDonald, WEST-INC, [e-mail]

See Also

F.cjs.estim, tvar

Examples

nan <- 30
ns <- 5
age <- as.factor(sample( c("J","S1","S2","Adult"), size=nan, replace=TRUE ))
attr(age,"ns") <- ns

# Note that levels get reordered (by R default, alphabetically)
attr(age,"drop.levels") <- (1:length(levels(age)))[ levels(age) == "J" ]

age.mat <- ivar(age)  # level J is the reference
age.mat <- ivar(age, drop=4) # level S2 is the reference

# Look at 3-D matrix produced when called with a factor.
dim(age.mat) <- c(nan,ns,length(levels(age))-1)
print(age.mat)  # each page is the 2-d matrix used in the fit.
print(age.mat[1,,])

age.mat <- ivar(age, drop=c(3,4))  # level S1 and S2 are combined and are the reference

# compare above to 
ivar( c(1,1,2,2,3,3), 5 )