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Compute individual conditional expectations for an oblique random forest. Unlike partial dependence, which shows the expected prediction as a function of one or multiple predictors, individual conditional expectations (ICE) show the prediction for an individual observation as a function of a predictor. You can compute individual conditional expectations three ways using a random forest:

  • using in-bag predictions for the training data

  • using out-of-bag predictions for the training data

  • using predictions for a new set of data

See examples for more details

Usage

orsf_ice_oob(
  object,
  pred_spec,
  pred_horizon = NULL,
  pred_type = NULL,
  expand_grid = TRUE,
  boundary_checks = TRUE,
  n_thread = NULL,
  verbose_progress = NULL,
  ...
)

orsf_ice_inb(
  object,
  pred_spec,
  pred_horizon = NULL,
  pred_type = NULL,
  expand_grid = TRUE,
  boundary_checks = TRUE,
  n_thread = NULL,
  verbose_progress = NULL,
  ...
)

orsf_ice_new(
  object,
  pred_spec,
  new_data,
  pred_horizon = NULL,
  pred_type = NULL,
  na_action = "fail",
  expand_grid = TRUE,
  boundary_checks = TRUE,
  n_thread = NULL,
  verbose_progress = NULL,
  ...
)

Arguments

object

(ObliqueForest) a trained oblique random forest object (see orsf).

pred_spec

(named list, pspec_auto, or data.frame).

  • If pred_spec is a named list, Each item in the list should be a vector of values that will be used as points in the partial dependence function. The name of each item in the list should indicate which variable will be modified to take the corresponding values.

  • If pred_spec is created using pred_spec_auto(), all that is needed is the names of variables to use (see pred_spec_auto).

  • If pred_spec is a data.frame, columns will indicate variable names, values will indicate variable values, and partial dependence will be computed using the inputs on each row.

pred_horizon

(double) Only relevent for survival forests. A value or vector indicating the time(s) that predictions will be calibrated to. E.g., if you were predicting risk of incident heart failure within the next 10 years, then pred_horizon = 10. pred_horizon can be NULL if pred_type is 'mort', since mortality predictions are aggregated over all event times

pred_type

(character) the type of predictions to compute. Valid Valid options for survival are:

  • 'risk' : probability of having an event at or before pred_horizon.

  • 'surv' : 1 - risk.

  • 'chf': cumulative hazard function

  • 'mort': mortality prediction

  • 'time': survival time prediction

For classification:

  • 'prob': probability for each class

For regression:

  • 'mean': predicted mean, i.e., the expected value

expand_grid

(logical) if TRUE, partial dependence will be computed at all possible combinations of inputs in pred_spec. If FALSE, partial dependence will be computed for each variable in pred_spec, separately.

boundary_checks

(logical) if TRUE, pred_spec will be checked to make sure the requested values are between the 10th and 90th percentile in the object's training data. If FALSE, these checks are skipped.

n_thread

(integer) number of threads to use while computing predictions. Default is 0, which allows a suitable number of threads to be used based on availability.

verbose_progress

(logical) if TRUE, progress will be printed to console. If FALSE (the default), nothing will be printed.

...

Further arguments passed to or from other methods (not currently used).

new_data

a data.frame, tibble, or data.table to compute predictions in.

na_action

(character) what should happen when new_data contains missing values (i.e., NA values). Valid options are:

  • 'fail' : an error is thrown if new_data contains NA values

  • 'omit' : rows in new_data with incomplete data will be dropped

Value

a data.table containing individual conditional expectations for the specified variable(s) and, if relevant, at the specified prediction horizon(s).

Examples

You can compute individual conditional expectation and individual conditional expectations in three ways:

  • using in-bag predictions for the training data. In-bag individual conditional expectation indicates relationships that the model has learned during training. This is helpful if your goal is to interpret the model.

  • using out-of-bag predictions for the training data. Out-of-bag individual conditional expectation indicates relationships that the model has learned during training but using the out-of-bag data simulates application of the model to new data. This is helpful if you want to test your model’s reliability or fairness in new data but you don’t have access to a large testing set.

  • using predictions for a new set of data. New data individual conditional expectation shows how the model predicts outcomes for observations it has not seen. This is helpful if you want to test your model’s reliability or fairness.

Classification

Begin by fitting an oblique classification random forest:


set.seed(329)

index_train <- sample(nrow(penguins_orsf), 150) 

penguins_orsf_train <- penguins_orsf[index_train, ]
penguins_orsf_test <- penguins_orsf[-index_train, ]

fit_clsf <- orsf(data = penguins_orsf_train, 
                 formula = species ~ .)

Compute individual conditional expectation using out-of-bag data for flipper_length_mm = c(190, 210).


pred_spec <- list(flipper_length_mm = c(190, 210))

ice_oob <- orsf_ice_oob(fit_clsf, pred_spec = pred_spec)

ice_oob
#> Key: <class>
#>      id_variable id_row  class flipper_length_mm       pred
#>            <int> <char> <fctr>             <num>      <num>
#>   1:           1      1 Adelie               190 0.92169247
#>   2:           1      2 Adelie               190 0.80944657
#>   3:           1      3 Adelie               190 0.85172955
#>   4:           1      4 Adelie               190 0.93559327
#>   5:           1      5 Adelie               190 0.97708693
#>  ---                                                       
#> 896:           2    146 Gentoo               210 0.26092984
#> 897:           2    147 Gentoo               210 0.04798334
#> 898:           2    148 Gentoo               210 0.07927359
#> 899:           2    149 Gentoo               210 0.84779971
#> 900:           2    150 Gentoo               210 0.11105143

There are two identifiers in the output:

  • id_variable is an identifier for the current value of the variable(s) that are in the data. It is redundant if you only have one variable, but helpful if there are multiple variables.

  • id_row is an identifier for the observation in the original data.

Note that predicted probabilities are returned for each class and each observation in the data. Predicted probabilities for a given observation and given variable value sum to 1. For example,


ice_oob %>%
 .[flipper_length_mm == 190] %>% 
 .[id_row == 1] %>% 
 .[['pred']] %>% 
 sum()
#> [1] 1

Regression

Begin by fitting an oblique regression random forest:


set.seed(329)

index_train <- sample(nrow(penguins_orsf), 150) 

penguins_orsf_train <- penguins_orsf[index_train, ]
penguins_orsf_test <- penguins_orsf[-index_train, ]

fit_regr <- orsf(data = penguins_orsf_train, 
                 formula = bill_length_mm ~ .)

Compute individual conditional expectation using new data for flipper_length_mm = c(190, 210).


pred_spec <- list(flipper_length_mm = c(190, 210))

ice_new <- orsf_ice_new(fit_regr, 
                        pred_spec = pred_spec,
                        new_data = penguins_orsf_test)

ice_new
#>      id_variable id_row flipper_length_mm     pred
#>            <int> <char>             <num>    <num>
#>   1:           1      1               190 37.94483
#>   2:           1      2               190 37.61595
#>   3:           1      3               190 37.53681
#>   4:           1      4               190 39.49476
#>   5:           1      5               190 38.95635
#>  ---                                              
#> 362:           2    179               210 51.80471
#> 363:           2    180               210 47.27183
#> 364:           2    181               210 47.05031
#> 365:           2    182               210 50.39028
#> 366:           2    183               210 48.44774

You can also let pred_spec_auto pick reasonable values like so:


pred_spec = pred_spec_auto(species, island, body_mass_g)

ice_new <- orsf_ice_new(fit_regr, 
                        pred_spec = pred_spec,
                        new_data = penguins_orsf_test)

ice_new
#>       id_variable id_row species    island body_mass_g     pred
#>             <int> <char>  <fctr>    <fctr>       <num>    <num>
#>    1:           1      1  Adelie    Biscoe        3200 37.78339
#>    2:           1      2  Adelie    Biscoe        3200 37.73273
#>    3:           1      3  Adelie    Biscoe        3200 37.71248
#>    4:           1      4  Adelie    Biscoe        3200 40.25782
#>    5:           1      5  Adelie    Biscoe        3200 40.04074
#>   ---                                                          
#> 8231:          45    179  Gentoo Torgersen        5300 46.14559
#> 8232:          45    180  Gentoo Torgersen        5300 43.98050
#> 8233:          45    181  Gentoo Torgersen        5300 44.59837
#> 8234:          45    182  Gentoo Torgersen        5300 44.85146
#> 8235:          45    183  Gentoo Torgersen        5300 44.23710

By default, all combinations of all variables are used. However, you can also look at the variables one by one, separately, like so:


ice_new <- orsf_ice_new(fit_regr, 
                        expand_grid = FALSE,
                        pred_spec = pred_spec,
                        new_data = penguins_orsf_test)

ice_new
#>       id_variable id_row    variable value  level     pred
#>             <int> <char>      <char> <num> <char>    <num>
#>    1:           1      1     species    NA Adelie 37.74136
#>    2:           1      2     species    NA Adelie 37.42367
#>    3:           1      3     species    NA Adelie 37.04598
#>    4:           1      4     species    NA Adelie 39.89602
#>    5:           1      5     species    NA Adelie 39.14848
#>   ---                                                     
#> 2009:           5    179 body_mass_g  5300   <NA> 51.50196
#> 2010:           5    180 body_mass_g  5300   <NA> 47.27055
#> 2011:           5    181 body_mass_g  5300   <NA> 48.34064
#> 2012:           5    182 body_mass_g  5300   <NA> 48.75828
#> 2013:           5    183 body_mass_g  5300   <NA> 48.11020

And you can also bypass all the bells and whistles by using your own data.frame for a pred_spec. (Just make sure you request values that exist in the training data.)


custom_pred_spec <- data.frame(species = 'Adelie', 
                               island = 'Biscoe')

ice_new <- orsf_ice_new(fit_regr, 
                        pred_spec = custom_pred_spec,
                        new_data = penguins_orsf_test)

ice_new
#>      id_variable id_row species island     pred
#>            <int> <char>  <fctr> <fctr>    <num>
#>   1:           1      1  Adelie Biscoe 38.52327
#>   2:           1      2  Adelie Biscoe 38.32073
#>   3:           1      3  Adelie Biscoe 37.71248
#>   4:           1      4  Adelie Biscoe 41.68380
#>   5:           1      5  Adelie Biscoe 40.91140
#>  ---                                           
#> 179:           1    179  Adelie Biscoe 43.09493
#> 180:           1    180  Adelie Biscoe 38.79455
#> 181:           1    181  Adelie Biscoe 39.37734
#> 182:           1    182  Adelie Biscoe 40.71952
#> 183:           1    183  Adelie Biscoe 39.34501

Survival

Begin by fitting an oblique survival random forest:


set.seed(329)

index_train <- sample(nrow(pbc_orsf), 150) 

pbc_orsf_train <- pbc_orsf[index_train, ]
pbc_orsf_test <- pbc_orsf[-index_train, ]

fit_surv <- orsf(data = pbc_orsf_train, 
                 formula = Surv(time, status) ~ . - id,
                 oobag_pred_horizon = 365.25 * 5)

Compute individual conditional expectation using in-bag data for bili = c(1,2,3,4,5):

ice_train <- orsf_ice_inb(fit_surv, pred_spec = list(bili = 1:5))
ice_train
#>      id_variable id_row pred_horizon  bili      pred
#>            <int> <char>        <num> <num>     <num>
#>   1:           1      1      1826.25     1 0.1290317
#>   2:           1      2      1826.25     1 0.1242352
#>   3:           1      3      1826.25     1 0.0963452
#>   4:           1      4      1826.25     1 0.1172367
#>   5:           1      5      1826.25     1 0.2030256
#>  ---                                                
#> 746:           5    146      1826.25     5 0.7868537
#> 747:           5    147      1826.25     5 0.2012954
#> 748:           5    148      1826.25     5 0.4893605
#> 749:           5    149      1826.25     5 0.4698220
#> 750:           5    150      1826.25     5 0.9557285

If you don’t have specific values of a variable in mind, let pred_spec_auto pick for you:

ice_train <- orsf_ice_inb(fit_surv, pred_spec_auto(bili))
ice_train
#>      id_variable id_row pred_horizon  bili       pred
#>            <int> <char>        <num> <num>      <num>
#>   1:           1      1      1826.25  0.55 0.11728559
#>   2:           1      2      1826.25  0.55 0.11728839
#>   3:           1      3      1826.25  0.55 0.08950739
#>   4:           1      4      1826.25  0.55 0.10064959
#>   5:           1      5      1826.25  0.55 0.18736417
#>  ---                                                 
#> 746:           5    146      1826.25  7.25 0.82600898
#> 747:           5    147      1826.25  7.25 0.29156437
#> 748:           5    148      1826.25  7.25 0.58395919
#> 749:           5    149      1826.25  7.25 0.54202021
#> 750:           5    150      1826.25  7.25 0.96391985

Specify pred_horizon to get individual conditional expectation at each value:


ice_train <- orsf_ice_inb(fit_surv, pred_spec_auto(bili),
                          pred_horizon = seq(500, 3000, by = 500))
ice_train
#>       id_variable id_row pred_horizon  bili        pred
#>             <int> <char>        <num> <num>       <num>
#>    1:           1      1          500  0.55 0.008276627
#>    2:           1      1         1000  0.55 0.055724516
#>    3:           1      1         1500  0.55 0.085091120
#>    4:           1      1         2000  0.55 0.123423352
#>    5:           1      1         2500  0.55 0.166380739
#>   ---                                                  
#> 4496:           5    150         1000  7.25 0.837774757
#> 4497:           5    150         1500  7.25 0.934536379
#> 4498:           5    150         2000  7.25 0.967823286
#> 4499:           5    150         2500  7.25 0.972059574
#> 4500:           5    150         3000  7.25 0.980785643

Multi-prediction horizon ice comes with minimal extra computational cost. Use a fine grid of time values and assess whether predictors have time-varying effects.