serp (Q56135)

Implements a regularization method for cumulative link models using the Smooth-Effect-on-Response Penalty (SERP). This method allows flexible modeling of ordinal data by enabling a smooth transition from a general cumulative link model to a simplified version of the same model. As the tuning parameter increases from zero to infinity, the subject-specific effects for each variable converge to a single global effect. The approach addresses common issues in cumulative link models, such as parameter unidentifiability and numerical instability, by maximizing a penalized log-likelihood instead of the standard non-penalized version. Fitting is performed using a modified Newton's method. Additionally, the package includes various model performance metrics and descriptive tools. For details on the implemented penalty method, see Ugba (2021) <doi:10.21105/joss.03705> and Ugba et al. (2021) <doi:10.3390/stats4030037>.