Multivariate Analysis of Multiple Response Data

Abstract

Multiple response questions, also known as a pick any/J format, are frequently encountered in the analysis of survey data. The relationship among the responses is difficult to explore when the number of response options, J, is large. The authors propose a multivariate binomial probit model for analyzing multiple response data and use standard multivariate analysis techniques to conduct exploratory analysis on the latent multivariate normal distribution. A challenge of estimating the probit model is addressing identifying restrictions that lead to the covariance matrix specified with unit-diagonal elements (i.e., a correlation matrix). The authors propose a general approach to handling identifying restrictions and develop specific algorithms for the multivariate binomial probit model. The estimation algorithm is efficient and can easily accommodate many response options that are frequently encountered in the analysis of marketing data. The authors illustrate multivariate analysis of multiple response data in three applications.