simulab
Simulates a Wide Variety of Data Shapes, Sizes and Distributions
Generates a wide variety of data, in different shapes, sample sizes, distributions and parameters. The parameters are either drawn at random or set in advance, and in both cases they are stored with the data, so they are known and their recovery can be tested. Generators cover declared variables with treatment assignment and missing values, correlated and clustered data, latent profile, latent class, factor and item response models, longitudinal and multilevel processes, survival times with competing risks, sequences of states, and static, bipartite, multiplex, temporal and transition networks. Every generator returns batches of reproducible data sets for the evaluation of statistical methods, the testing of models and software, and teaching; simulated transition networks are native 'tna' models.
simulab
simulab generates a wide variety of data, in different shapes, sample sizes, distributions and parameters. The parameters are either drawn at random or set in advance, and in both cases they are stored with the data, so they are known, recoverable and testable. The package is designed for simulation, for the evaluation of statistical methods, for training and testing models and software, and for learning and teaching. Data generated from specified parameters describe no real persons, so they can be shared, published and given to a class without the consent, review and access agreements that real data about people require.
The generators cover declared variables with treatment assignment, missing values and copula dependence; group comparisons, regression and Gaussian clusters; latent profile, latent class, factor and item response models; multilevel, growth and vector autoregressive longitudinal data; survival times with censoring and competing risks; sequences of states from Markov chains, hidden Markov models and mixtures; behavioral event data; transition networks; and random, bipartite, multiplex and temporal networks. The package is written in base R and requires R 4.1.0 or later.
The documentation, with a methodological guide and the reference of every function, is at https://pak.dynasite.org/simulab/.
Installation
install.packages("simulab")
The development version is installed from r-universe or GitHub:
install.packages("simulab", repos = c("https://mohsaqr.r-universe.dev",
"https://cloud.r-project.org"))
remotes::install_github("mohsaqr/simulab")
No suggested package is needed at run time. tna (1.2.3 or later) fits
the transition networks of simulate_tna(), simulate_group_tna() and
fit_tna(); igraph (2.0.0 or later) supplies the
preferential-attachment and small-world generators and as_igraph();
survival fits the Cox model in the vignette; simstudy is an
equivalence oracle in the tests.
Data with and without parameters
Called with no arguments, a generator draws its parameters and prints them under the data as the truth. Here the intercept of a linear regression is drawn from the standard normal distribution and two slopes from the uniform distribution on [−1, 1].
library(simulab)
simulate_regression(seed = 1)
#> <simulab_sim:regression> 100 rows x 4 columns
#> id x1 x2 outcome
#> 1 1 -0.8356286 -0.9109216 0.08428839
#> 2 2 1.5952808 0.1580288 -0.59203209
#> 3 3 0.3295078 -0.6545846 -3.40256878
#> 4 4 -0.8204684 1.7672873 3.19376689
#> 5 5 0.4874291 0.7167075 0.69788065
#> 6 6 0.7383247 0.9101742 0.76841891
#> 7 7 0.5757814 0.3841854 -0.24200033
#> 8 8 -0.3053884 1.6821761 1.21368455
#> 9 9 1.5117812 -0.6357365 -1.08891255
#> 10 10 0.3898432 -0.4616447 -0.52937755
#> ... 90 more rows
#>
#> Truth (coefficients):
#> term coefficient
#> 1 (Intercept) -0.63
#> 2 x1 0.15
#> 3 x2 0.82
#>
#> Other tables: effects, predictor_correlation. Read one with as.data.frame(x, what = "effects").
Given parameters are printed in the same way.
known <- simulate_regression(
n = 100,
coefficients = c("(Intercept)" = 1, x1 = 0.5, x2 = -0.3),
seed = 1
)
known
#> <simulab_sim:regression> 100 rows x 4 columns
#> id x1 x2 outcome
#> 1 1 -0.6264538 -0.62036668 1.2822849
#> 2 2 0.1836433 0.04211587 2.7680602
#> 3 3 -0.8356286 -0.91092165 2.4420506
#> 4 4 1.5952808 0.15802877 1.4193240
#> 5 5 0.3295078 -0.65458464 -0.9241063
#> 6 6 -0.8204684 1.76728727 2.5572412
#> 7 7 0.4874291 0.71670748 1.6957685
#> 8 8 0.7383247 0.91017423 1.6374374
#> 9 9 0.5757814 0.38418536 1.1592355
#> 10 10 -0.3053884 1.68217608 0.8527614
#> ... 90 more rows
#>
#> Truth (coefficients):
#> term coefficient
#> 1 (Intercept) 1.0
#> 2 x1 0.5
#> 3 x2 -0.3
#>
#> Other tables: effects, predictor_correlation. Read one with as.data.frame(x, what = "effects").
Recovery
A model fitted to the data estimates the parameters, and
validate_recovery() sets each estimate against the value that
generated it.
validate_recovery(lm(outcome ~ x1 + x2, data = known), known)
#> term estimate truth bias absolute_error relative_error
#> 1 (Intercept) 1.0253534 1.0 0.02535343 0.02535343 0.02535343
#> 2 x1 0.5211102 0.5 0.02111017 0.02111017 0.04222033
#> 3 x2 -0.3534668 -0.3 -0.05346682 0.05346682 0.17822272
#> recovered
#> 1 TRUE
#> 2 TRUE
#> 3 TRUE
Batches
Every single-dataset generator takes batch. With batch = 500, a call
returns 500 data sets from the same model, each reproducible from its
own seed. In apply_batch(), a model is fitted to each data set, and
validate_recovery() compares every estimate with the truth of its own
data set.
datasets <- simulate_regression(
n = 100,
coefficients = c("(Intercept)" = 1, x1 = 0.5, x2 = -0.3),
seed = 1,
batch = 500
)
estimates <- apply_batch(datasets, lm, formula = outcome ~ x1 + x2)
recovery <- validate_recovery(estimates, datasets)
summarize_simulations(recovery, by = "term", variables = "bias")
#> term variable observations mean sd minimum maximum
#> 1 (Intercept) bias 500 0.004524666 0.1003488 -0.3130872 0.3106459
#> 2 x1 bias 500 0.001262413 0.1018302 -0.2850844 0.3985527
#> 3 x2 bias 500 -0.001266961 0.1003781 -0.2668912 0.3682355
The mean bias of each coefficient over the 500 data sets estimates the bias of the estimator, and the standard deviation of the bias is its empirical standard error.
Transition networks
simulate_tna() draws a transition matrix over learning states,
generates sequences from it, and fits one transition network with the
tna package. The result is a native tna model, so every tna
function applies to it. Its print shows the fitted network, then the
matrix that generated the sequences.
network <- simulate_tna(seed = 1)
network
#> State Labels :
#>
#> Analyze, Elaborate, Learn, Plan, Reflect
#>
#> Transition Probability Matrix :
#>
#> Analyze Elaborate Learn Plan Reflect
#> Analyze 0.56750572 0.12356979 0.02288330 0.2013730 0.08466819
#> Elaborate 0.05590062 0.10869565 0.13664596 0.3881988 0.31055901
#> Learn 0.04237288 0.44067797 0.04237288 0.2627119 0.21186441
#> Plan 0.22473868 0.04181185 0.07665505 0.3745645 0.28222997
#> Reflect 0.13363029 0.32962138 0.01781737 0.3006682 0.21826281
#>
#> Initial Probabilities :
#>
#> Analyze Elaborate Learn Plan Reflect
#> 0.02 0.31 0.09 0.12 0.46
#>
#> Generating Transition Probability Matrix (truth) :
#>
#> Analyze Elaborate Learn Plan Reflect
#> Analyze 0.553 0.122 0.024 0.194 0.108
#> Elaborate 0.078 0.070 0.150 0.386 0.317
#> Learn 0.036 0.381 0.038 0.246 0.298
#> Plan 0.221 0.034 0.082 0.358 0.305
#> Reflect 0.113 0.316 0.025 0.327 0.219
#>
#> Generating Initial Probabilities (truth) :
#>
#> Analyze Elaborate Learn Plan Reflect
#> 0.045 0.334 0.134 0.079 0.407
#>
#> Other tables: edges, sequences, wide, model_info. Read one with as.data.frame(x, what = "edges").
Generators
| Family | Generators |
|---|---|
| General | simulate_study(), simulate_correlation(), simulate_correlated(), simulate_copula(), simulate_ordinal() |
| Statistical | simulate_ttest(), simulate_anova(), simulate_regression(), simulate_prediction(), simulate_clusters() |
| Latent and measurement | simulate_lpa(), simulate_ml_lpa(), simulate_lca(), simulate_factors(), simulate_irt() |
| Longitudinal | simulate_multilevel(), simulate_growth(), simulate_longitudinal() |
| Survival | simulate_survival(), simulate_proportional_survival() |
| Sequences | simulate_markov(), generate_transition_system(), simulate_sequences(), simulate_sequence_clusters(), simulate_hmm(), simulate_group_sequences(), simulate_event_log(), simulate_until_event() |
| Transition networks | simulate_tna(), simulate_group_tna(), simulate_tna_network() |
| Networks | simulate_network(), simulate_edge_list(), simulate_network_matrix(), simulate_temporal_network(), simulate_bipartite_network(), simulate_multiplex_network() |
| Empirical and functional | simulate_synthetic(), simulate_density(), simulate_spline() |
| Replication | simulate_sequence_batches(), simulate_tna_batches(), simulate_network_batches(), simulate_scenarios(), simulate_data() |
The vignette describes the data each generator produces, and
list_simulators() lists them with the shape of their results.
Citation
Saqr M, López-Pernas S (2026). _simulab: Simulates a Wide Variety of
Data Shapes, Sizes and Distributions_. R package version 0.4.10,
<https://pak.dynasite.org/simulab/>.
License
MIT © Mohammed Saqr, Sonsoles López-Pernas