Visualizing Loglinear Models

Abstract

We consider visual methods based on mosaic plots for interpreting and modeling categorical data. Categorical data are most often modeled using loglinear models. For certain loglinear models, mosaic plots have unique shapes that do not depend on the actual data being modeled. These shapes reflect the structure of a model, defined by the presence and absence of particular model coefficients. Displaying the expected values of a loglinear model allows one to incorporate the residuals of the model graphically and to visually judge the adequacy of the loglinear fit. This procedure leads to stepwise interactive graphical modeling of loglinear models. We show that it often results in a deeper understanding of the structure of the data. Linking mosaic plots to other interactive displays offers additional power that allows the investigation of more complex dependence models than provided by static displays.

Key Words:

• Interactive stepwise graphical modeling
• Loglinear models
• Mosaic plots
• Response models