The Thomas Bayes Institute is a non-profit, independent research institute for research into modern methods of data analysis, software development for data analysis and experimental design in the empirical sciences. The Thomas Bayes Institute also promotes the dissemination and use of modern empirical methods by participating in other empirical research in the area of analysis and experimental design, as well as by providing educational opportunities in this field, and by conducting contract research in consulting and supporting researchers and other non-profit organisations in the application and teaching of these methods.
The OpenMx Development Team offers a Masterclass for the OpenMx extended structural equation modeling R package. OpenMx has a wide array of highly flexible and highly modular features (e.g., mixtures, multiple groups, time series, regularization, ordered categorical variables, multilevel, item response theory, hidden Markov models, etc.), but has a difficult learning curve. A goal of this workshop is ease that learning curve and thereby allow attendees to leave with the ability to fit a wider variety of models than they thought possible.
Data analysis is an exciting field of mathematics that uses similar tools! This is where it gets really exciting! By proving the correctness of a procedure analytically under some set of assumptions, such as the asymptotic behavior of some distributions, we can be absolutely certain that our results are accurate. If we don't know whether these assumptions hold, we can use empirical methods to test whether the analysis works as expected — and that's an exciting opportunity! Verification is a great way to make sure that your methods are working as they should, even when you're dealing with smaller sample sizes or more complex models.
All models based on normal distributions can be represented as Structural Equation Models (SEMs). Ωnyx is a program to generate SEMs as graphical path diagrams. The path diagram can be fitted to data directly in Ωnyx, or quickly translated into a script to run in different systems like OpenMx, lavaan, or MPlusor as a java program using the Ωnyx package. Ωnyx uses a unique multi-agent optimization approach that, unlike most other SEM programs, continues to estimate even after it has converged on a solution. This increases both the chances of finding a global optimum and not getting stuck in a local optimum, and results in a fit that is largely independent of initial values. Both Bayesian and frequentist tests can be run in Ωnyx.
We encounter amazing artificial intelligence (AI) all around us! Sometimes AI is easy to recognize, as in chatbots, which are pretty cool. But sometimes AI is hidden in the classifiers that guess which movie we might want to see, which is pretty amazing too! Both variants of AI are great for making data analysis more efficient in the empirical sciences! At the Thomas Bayes Institute, we're thrilled to be researching how all kinds of AI can assist data analysis!
The best analysis is like a treasure hunt, searching through data to find the information hidden within. The exciting field of experimental design is all about finding ways to make the most of data before it's even collected. It's a fascinating area of research that unlocks the potential to optimize the insights from the data, even before it's gathered. This is great news for you because it means you can get more "bang for your buck" – more results (and more papers) at lower cost and with fewer resources spent in your study.
Do you want to setup cameras in your university clinic? It is important to choose the right cameras for your case, so you don't end up with unusable videos. We are experts in the field and can get for you exactly what you need. We also take care of keeping everything DSGVO conform and in line with your it protocols.
It is easy to get study design wrong and waste a lot of resources on a study design that does not provide reliable results. Modern statistical methods can help increase efficiency. In the early stages of a research project, a power analysis and an efficient search for a good design can help save effort and money later on. Often, funding for the project is not available at the planning stage of a study, but the Thomas Bayes Institute can help at this stage without large investments from your side. Call us to discuss the details!
A lot of enthusiasm and time is invested in an empirical project - be it the next article, the bachelor or master thesis, the data analysis for a dissertation, or any other research project. Of course, you don't want to waste all that effort with simple and outdated frequentist methods, but rather analyze the data with adapted methods, with a Bayesian framework, and, if applicable, with modern AI comparison methods. This is more than just a visit to the institute's methods group. Let's talk about how we can work together!
To provide training to young scientists in your institute, to teach methods specific to your field, to get everyone on the same page regarding the methods needed in your group, and maybe just to have a fun experience together, workshops can be ideal! The Thomas Bayes Institute offers a number of options, give us a call and let's discuss workshop options!
When a research team is working in the same substantive direction, but everyone is using different methods with conflicting scientific assumptions, collaboration can become tedious. Bayesian" is not just another model or method that is useful in one setting and less so in another; it is a fundamental framework that replaces outdated frequentist statistics. If you think your whole group could benefit from getting synchronized in top-notch statistics, give us a call and we will create a plan on how best to make your group "Bayesian"!