brms VS stan

[2] https://paul-buerkner.github.io/brms/

Maybe something like the Logistic Normal ? (e.g. see this issue from brms). If that fits what you are looking for, you can use brms to generate the Stan code for you (brms::make_stan_code()) and work from that.

Okay so first off, I recommend that you read [this](https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-016-1221-4) article about "The Bayesian New Statistics", which highlights estimation rather than hypothesis testing from a Bayesian perspective (see Fig. 1, second row, second column). Instead of a t-test, then, we can *estimate the difference* between two groups/variables. If you want to go deeper than JASP etc, I recommend that you use [brms](https://paul-buerkner.github.io/brms/), or, if you want to go even deeper, [Stan](https://mc-stan.org/) (brms is a front-end to Stan).

I think the brms package (https://github.com/paul-buerkner/brms) or the blavaan package (http://ecmerkle.github.io/blavaan/) have support for SEM. I've never done it myself, so I unfortunately can't give you any direction for that in particular. However, I have used stan in multi-level meta-analysis regression (combining multiple CRISPRa experiments to find determinants of CRISPRa activity, see https://github.com/timydaley/CRISPRa-sgRNA-determinants/blob/master/metaAnalysis/NeuronAndSelfRenewalMetaMixtureRegression.Rmd) and had some success.

brms baby

Could also be done using brms and the gr term. See this for the motivation behind this syntax.

Anyway, I found I can include weights into the brm function by using gr(RE, by = var) to deal with the heterogeneous variance and it should automatically assume that each observation within a group is correlated according to the brms reference manual.

This is what actually should work- I must be declaring my variables incorrectly. The issue I'm having is that what you refer to as lin , I tried calling a few things, from b to LinPred (which worked in the link here: brms issue 47). When I've tried doing this, I receive errors that say "The following variables are missing from the dataset....[insert variable used to symbolize linear part of the model)". But I believe you're code is on the right path for what needs to be done- I'll try altering my syntax to be sure it resembles yours let you know if it works.

Alternatives: stan and edward

remove.packages(c("StanHeaders", "rstan")) install.packages("rstan", repos = c("https://mc-stan.org/r-packages/", getOption("repos")))

My approach to problems like this is to write down the proposed model mathematically first, in extreme detail. I find hierarchical form to be the easiest way to break it down piece by piece. Once I have the maths then I turn it into a Stan model. Last step is to use the Stan output to answer the research questions.

Here is a good breakdown of recommendations from Andrew Gelman.

For instance my first choice in these cases is always a Bayesian inference tool like Stan. In my experience as someone who’s more of a programmer than mathematician/statistician, Bayesian tools like this make it much easier to not accidentally fool yourself with assumptions, and they can be pretty good at catching statistical mistakes.

I tend to be most impressed by tools and libraries. The stuff that has most impressed me in my time in ML is stuff like pytorch and Stan, tools that allow expression of a wide variety of statistical (and ML, DL models, if you believe there's a distinction) models and inference from those models. These are the things that have had the largest effect in my own work, not in the sense of just using these tools, but learning from their design and emulating what makes them successful.

oh its certainly used in practice. you should look into frameworks like Stan[1] and pyro[2]. i think bayesian models are seen as more explainable so they will be used in industries that value that sort of thing

[1] https://mc-stan.org/