Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 4 13J a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
A generalized linear model assumes independent responses from one exponential dispersion family,where , , and a link function relates the mean to the linear predictor by . It follows from normalization of the density after shifting the natural parameter thatIndependence therefore gives the joint moment-generating functionwhenever every shifted natural parameter lies in its natural-parameter domain.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 218 1 a Solution 2026-09-28
Put and . The density can be writtenwhereThus this is an exponential dispersion family. Its derivative identities giveThe variance function is . In the usual Gamma-GLM convention the canonical inverse link isit differs by a minus sign from the natural parameter .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 218 1 a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Expanding the exponent of the Inverse Gaussian distribution givesThus the exponential dispersion family representationhasandThe standard cumulant identities yieldHence the variance function is , and the canonical link function is .
Residual deviance 2026-10-06
The unscaled residual deviance of an exponential dispersion family compares its fitted mean with the saturated statistical model at a common dispersion parameter. Its normalization removes the factor in the log-likelihood. In Poisson regression and binomial regression, , so it is twice the saturated-minus-fitted log-likelihood. Under suitable regularity, has approximately a chi-squared distribution with the residual degrees of freedom; this is not an automatic accurate approximation for sparse responses. Nested deviance reductions with estimated dispersion lead to approximate F-tests after scaling by the dispersion estimate.