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Mixtures of factor analyzers with scale mixtures of fundamental skew normal distributions

Author

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  • Sharon X. Lee

    (University of Adelaide)

  • Tsung-I Lin

    (National Chung Hsing University
    China Medical University)

  • Geoffrey J. McLachlan

    (University of Queensland)

Abstract

Mixtures of factor analyzers (MFA) provide a powerful tool for modelling high-dimensional datasets. In recent years, several generalizations of MFA have been developed where the normality assumption of the factors and/or of the errors were relaxed to allow for skewness in the data. However, due to the form of the adopted component densities, the distribution of the factors/errors in most of these models is typically limited to modelling skewness concentrated in a single direction. Here, we introduce a more flexible finite mixture of factor analyzers based on the class of scale mixtures of canonical fundamental skew normal (SMCFUSN) distributions. This very general class of skew distributions can capture various types of skewness and asymmetry in the data. In particular, the proposed mixtures of SMCFUSN factor analyzers (SMCFUSNFA) can simultaneously accommodate multiple directions of skewness. As such, it encapsulates many commonly used models as special and/or limiting cases, such as models of some versions of skew normal and skew t-factor analyzers, and skew hyperbolic factor analyzers. For illustration, we focus on the t-distribution member of the class of SMCFUSN distributions, leading to mixtures of canonical fundamental skew t-factor analyzers (CFUSTFA). Parameter estimation can be carried out by maximum likelihood via an EM-type algorithm. The usefulness and potential of the proposed model are demonstrated using four real datasets.

Suggested Citation

  • Sharon X. Lee & Tsung-I Lin & Geoffrey J. McLachlan, 2021. "Mixtures of factor analyzers with scale mixtures of fundamental skew normal distributions," Advances in Data Analysis and Classification, Springer;German Classification Society - Gesellschaft für Klassifikation (GfKl);Japanese Classification Society (JCS);Classification and Data Analysis Group of the Italian Statistical Society (CLADAG);International Federation of Classification Societies (IFCS), vol. 15(2), pages 481-512, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:advdac:v:15:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s11634-020-00420-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11634-020-00420-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. McLachlan, Geoffrey J. & Lee, Sharon X., 2016. "Comment on “On nomenclature, and the relative merits of two formulations of skew distributions” by A. Azzalini, R. Browne, M. Genton, and P. McNicholas," Statistics & Probability Letters, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 1-5.
    2. Kim, Hyoung-Moon & Maadooliat, Mehdi & Arellano-Valle, Reinaldo B. & Genton, Marc G., 2016. "Skewed factor models using selection mechanisms," Journal of Multivariate Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 162-177.
    3. Lin, Tsung-I & McLachlan, Geoffrey J. & Lee, Sharon X., 2016. "Extending mixtures of factor models using the restricted multivariate skew-normal distribution," Journal of Multivariate Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 398-413.
    4. Cristina Tortora & Paul D. McNicholas & Ryan P. Browne, 2016. "A mixture of generalized hyperbolic factor analyzers," Advances in Data Analysis and Classification, Springer;German Classification Society - Gesellschaft für Klassifikation (GfKl);Japanese Classification Society (JCS);Classification and Data Analysis Group of the Italian Statistical Society (CLADAG);International Federation of Classification Societies (IFCS), vol. 10(4), pages 423-440, December.
    5. Lawrence Hubert & Phipps Arabie, 1985. "Comparing partitions," Journal of Classification, Springer;The Classification Society, vol. 2(1), pages 193-218, December.
    6. McLachlan, G. J. & Peel, D. & Bean, R. W., 2003. "Modelling high-dimensional data by mixtures of factor analyzers," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 41(3-4), pages 379-388, January.
    7. Angela Montanari & Cinzia Viroli, 2010. "A skew-normal factor model for the analysis of student satisfaction towards university courses," Journal of Applied Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 473-487.
    8. Cabral, Celso Rômulo Barbosa & Lachos, Víctor Hugo & Prates, Marcos O., 2012. "Multivariate mixture modeling using skew-normal independent distributions," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 126-142, January.
    9. Tsung-I Lin & Pal Wu & Geoffrey McLachlan & Sharon Lee, 2015. "A robust factor analysis model using the restricted skew- $$t$$ t distribution," TEST: An Official Journal of the Spanish Society of Statistics and Operations Research, Springer;Sociedad de Estadística e Investigación Operativa, vol. 24(3), pages 510-531, September.
    10. Arellano-Valle, Reinaldo B. & Genton, Marc G., 2005. "On fundamental skew distributions," Journal of Multivariate Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 93-116, September.
    11. McLachlan, G.J. & Bean, R.W. & Ben-Tovim Jones, L., 2007. "Extension of the mixture of factor analyzers model to incorporate the multivariate t-distribution," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 51(11), pages 5327-5338, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lee, Sharon X. & McLachlan, Geoffrey J., 2022. "An overview of skew distributions in model-based clustering," Journal of Multivariate Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    2. Tsung-I Lin & I-An Chen & Wan-Lun Wang, 2023. "A robust factor analysis model based on the canonical fundamental skew-t distribution," Statistical Papers, Springer, vol. 64(2), pages 367-393, April.
    3. Wan-Lun Wang & Tsung-I Lin, 2022. "Robust clustering via mixtures of t factor analyzers with incomplete data," Advances in Data Analysis and Classification, Springer;German Classification Society - Gesellschaft für Klassifikation (GfKl);Japanese Classification Society (JCS);Classification and Data Analysis Group of the Italian Statistical Society (CLADAG);International Federation of Classification Societies (IFCS), vol. 16(3), pages 659-690, September.

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