Frequently asked questions

What is data cloning?

A numerical optimization algorithm for frequentist statistical inference using Markov-chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. Read more here.

What software can I use?

See the installation and usage sections for more information.

Where can I get help?

See the issues section for more information.

Does data cloning make MCMC runs longer?

Yes it does. There are ways to cut down computing times, for example using high performance practices discussed here.

What is the benefit of using data cloning over the Bayesian approach?

  1. Results are invariant to the choice of the prior.
  2. Identifiability diagnostics come with the results.
  3. Full suite of frequentist approaches can be used, for example profile-, conditional-, pseudo-, composite-likelihood.