The implementation of random survival forests in conflict management data: An examination of power sharing and third party mediation in post-conflict countries.
Time-to-event analysis is a common occurrence in political science. In recent years, there has been an increased usage of machine learning methods in quantitative political science research. This article advocates for the implementation of machine learning duration models to assist in a sound model...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0250963&type=printable |
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| author | Andrew B Whetten John R Stevens Damon Cann |
| author_facet | Andrew B Whetten John R Stevens Damon Cann |
| author_sort | Andrew B Whetten |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Time-to-event analysis is a common occurrence in political science. In recent years, there has been an increased usage of machine learning methods in quantitative political science research. This article advocates for the implementation of machine learning duration models to assist in a sound model selection process. We provide a brief tutorial introduction to the random survival forest (RSF) algorithm and contrast it to a popular predecessor, the Cox proportional hazards model, with emphasis on methodological utility for political science researchers. We implement both methods for simulated time-to-event data and the Power-Sharing Event Dataset (PSED) to assist researchers in evaluating the merits of machine learning duration models. We provide evidence of significantly higher survival probabilities for peace agreements with 3rd party mediated design and implementation. We also detect increased survival probabilities for peace agreements that incorporate territorial power-sharing and avoid multiple rebel party signatories. Further, the RSF, a previously under-used method for analyzing political science time-to event data, provides a novel approach for ranking of peace agreement criteria importance in predicting peace agreement duration. Our findings demonstrate a scenario exhibiting the interpretability and performance of RSF for political science time-to-event data. These findings justify the robust interpretability and competitive performance of the random survival forest algorithm in numerous circumstances, in addition to promoting a diverse, holistic model-selection process for time-to-event political science data. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-751e0b4c80db4d42b594e0b6947efbfd |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-751e0b4c80db4d42b594e0b6947efbfd2025-08-20T02:54:29ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01165e025096310.1371/journal.pone.0250963The implementation of random survival forests in conflict management data: An examination of power sharing and third party mediation in post-conflict countries.Andrew B WhettenJohn R StevensDamon CannTime-to-event analysis is a common occurrence in political science. In recent years, there has been an increased usage of machine learning methods in quantitative political science research. This article advocates for the implementation of machine learning duration models to assist in a sound model selection process. We provide a brief tutorial introduction to the random survival forest (RSF) algorithm and contrast it to a popular predecessor, the Cox proportional hazards model, with emphasis on methodological utility for political science researchers. We implement both methods for simulated time-to-event data and the Power-Sharing Event Dataset (PSED) to assist researchers in evaluating the merits of machine learning duration models. We provide evidence of significantly higher survival probabilities for peace agreements with 3rd party mediated design and implementation. We also detect increased survival probabilities for peace agreements that incorporate territorial power-sharing and avoid multiple rebel party signatories. Further, the RSF, a previously under-used method for analyzing political science time-to event data, provides a novel approach for ranking of peace agreement criteria importance in predicting peace agreement duration. Our findings demonstrate a scenario exhibiting the interpretability and performance of RSF for political science time-to-event data. These findings justify the robust interpretability and competitive performance of the random survival forest algorithm in numerous circumstances, in addition to promoting a diverse, holistic model-selection process for time-to-event political science data.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0250963&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Andrew B Whetten John R Stevens Damon Cann The implementation of random survival forests in conflict management data: An examination of power sharing and third party mediation in post-conflict countries. PLoS ONE |
| title | The implementation of random survival forests in conflict management data: An examination of power sharing and third party mediation in post-conflict countries. |
| title_full | The implementation of random survival forests in conflict management data: An examination of power sharing and third party mediation in post-conflict countries. |
| title_fullStr | The implementation of random survival forests in conflict management data: An examination of power sharing and third party mediation in post-conflict countries. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The implementation of random survival forests in conflict management data: An examination of power sharing and third party mediation in post-conflict countries. |
| title_short | The implementation of random survival forests in conflict management data: An examination of power sharing and third party mediation in post-conflict countries. |
| title_sort | implementation of random survival forests in conflict management data an examination of power sharing and third party mediation in post conflict countries |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0250963&type=printable |
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