Bayesian joint modeling of binomial and rank response with non-ignorable missing data for primate cognition

A random effects model for analyzing mixed rank and binomial data with considering the missing values is presented. Occurring of missing data is an important problem in all research fields. The most common approach to dealing with missing data is to delete cases containing missing observations. However, this approach reduces statistical power and mislead us to biased statistical results. This paper aims to prepare guidance for researchers facing missing data problems and to provide techniques for jointly modeling of binomial and rank responses. We compare the cognitive abilities of different primates based on their performance on 17 cognitive assessments obtained on either a rank or binomial scale using Bayesian latent variable with random effects models. Random effects are used to take into account the correlation between responses of the same individual.