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Closed‐Form Approximations to the REML Estimator of a Variance Ratio (or Heritability) in a Mixed Linear Model
Author(s) -
Burch Brent D.,
Harris Ian R.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
biometrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.298
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1541-0420
pISSN - 0006-341X
DOI - 10.1111/j.0006-341x.2001.01148.x
Subject(s) - restricted maximum likelihood , estimator , mathematics , statistics , covariate , heritability , variance (accounting) , maximum likelihood , biology , genetics , accounting , business
Summary. In this article, we estimate heritability or intraclass correlation in a mixed linear model having two sources of variation. In most applications, the commonly used restricted maximum likelihood (REML) estimator can only be obtained via an iterative approach. In some cases, the algorithm used to compute REML estimates may be slow or may even fail to converge. We develop a set of closed‐form approximations to the REML estimator, and the performance of these estimators is compared with that of the REML estimator. We provide guidelines regarding how to choose the estimator that best approximates the REML estimator. Examples presented in the article suggest that the closed‐form estimators compete with and, in some cases, outperform the REML estimator.