A modified approach to fitting relative importance networks

Psychol Methods. 2024 Feb;29(1):1-20. doi: 10.1037/met0000496. Epub 2022 Jul 4.

Abstract

Most researchers have estimated the edge weights for relative importance networks using a well-established measure of general dominance for multiple regression. This approach has several desirable properties including edge weights that represent R² contributions, in-degree centralities that correspond to R² for each item when using other items as predictors, and strong replicability. We endorse the continued use of relative importance networks and believe they have a valuable role in network psychometrics. However, to improve their utility, we introduce a modified approach that uses best-subsets regression as a preceding step to select an appropriate subset of predictors for each item. The benefits of this modification include: (a) computation time savings that can enable larger relative importance networks to be estimated, (b) a principled approach to edge selection that can significantly improve specificity, (c) the provision of a signed network if desired, (d) the potential use of the best-subsets regression approach for estimating Gaussian graphical models, and (e) possible generalization to best-subsets logistic regression for Ising models. We describe, evaluate, and demonstrate the proposed approach and discuss its strengths and limitations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Models, Statistical*
  • Psychometrics