AIC and BIC
Top Cited Papers
- 1 November 2004
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Sociological Methods & Research
- Vol. 33 (2) , 188-229
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124103262065
Abstract
The two most commonly used penalized model selection criteria, the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and Akaike’s information criterion (AIC), are examined and compared. Their motivations as approximations of two different target quantities are discussed, and their performance in estimating those quantities is assessed. Despite their different foundations, some similarities between the two statistics can be observed, for example, in analogous interpretations of their penalty terms. The behavior of the criteria in selecting good models for observed data is examined with simulated data and also illustrated with the analysis of two well-known data sets on social mobility. It is argued that useful information for model selection can be obtained from using AIC and BIC together, particularly from trying as far as possible to find models favored by both criteria.Keywords
This publication has 39 references indexed in Scilit:
- Bayesian Measures of Model Complexity and FitJournal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B: Statistical Methodology, 2002
- A Reference Bayesian Test for Nested Hypotheses and its Relationship to the Schwarz CriterionJournal of the American Statistical Association, 1995
- Bayes FactorsJournal of the American Statistical Association, 1995
- The Log-Multiplicative Layer Effect Model for Comparing Mobility TablesAmerican Sociological Review, 1992
- Accurate Approximations for Posterior Moments and Marginal DensitiesJournal of the American Statistical Association, 1986
- Comparative Social Mobility Revisited: Models of Convergence and Divergence in 16 CountriesAmerican Sociological Review, 1984
- Lindley's ParadoxJournal of the American Statistical Association, 1982
- Estimating the Dimension of a ModelThe Annals of Statistics, 1978
- Occupational Mobility in Industrial Societies: A Comparative Analysis of Differential Access to Occupational Ranks in Seventeen CountriesAmerican Sociological Review, 1976
- Assumptions of social mobility research in the U.S.: The case of occupational statusSocial Science Research, 1975