Dr. A. (Andreas) Alfons
Andreas Alfons is an Associate Professor at Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam. His research lies on the intersection of statistics, machine learning, and psychometrics, with an emphasis on data-driven regularization techniques as well as methods that are robust to outliers and deviations from model assumptions. He is an author and maintainer of several software packages for the open-source statistical computing environment R, and a proponent of open and responsible science. Currently, he is leading the NWO Vidi project "Robust Analysis of (Big) Rating-Scale Data in the Social Sciences", and he is involved in the interdisciplinary sectorplan project "The Influence of Digitalization on Work, Prosperity and Entrepreneurship" as a theme lead for the theme "Digital Decision Support". In addition, he is on the editorial team of the Journal of Statistical Software and the Journal of Data Science, Statistics, and Visualisation.
Publications
Article (19)
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Academic (19)
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Pfeiffer, P., Alfons, A., & Filzmoser, P. (2025). Efficient computation of sparse and robust maximum association estimators. Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 207, Article 108133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csda.2025.108133
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Alfons, A., & Welz, M. (2024). Open Science Perspectives on Machine Learning for the Identification of Careless Responding: A New Hope or Phantom Menace? Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 18(2), Article e12941. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12941
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Alfons, A., Archimbaud, A., Nordhausen, K., & Ruiz-Gazen, A. (2024). Tandem clustering with invariant coordinate selection. Econometrics and Statistics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecosta.2024.03.002
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Alfons, A., Ates, N. Y., & Groenen, P. J. F. (2022). A robust bootstrap test for mediation analysis. Organizational Research Methods, 25(3), 591-617. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428121999096
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Alfons, A., Ates, N. Y., & Groenen, P. J. F. (2022). Robust Mediation Analysis: The R Package robmed. Journal of Statistical Software, 103(13), 1-45. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v103.i13
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Alfons, A. (2021). robustHD: An R package for robust regression with high-dimensional data. Journal of Open Source Software, 6(67), Article 3786. https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.03786
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Stefelova, N., Alfons, A., Palarea-Albaladejo, J., Filzmoser, P., & Hron, K. (2021). Robust regression with compositional covariates including cellwise outliers. Advances in Data Analysis and Classification, 15(4), 869-909. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11634-021-00436-9
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Alfons, A., Croux, C., & Filzmoser, P. (2017). Robust maximum association measures. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 112(517), 436-445. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.2016.1148609
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Öllerer, V., Alfons, A., & Croux, C. (2016). The shooting S-estimator for robust regression. Computational Statistics, 31(3), 829-844. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00180-015-0593-7, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00180-015-0593-7
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Alfons, A., Croux, C., & Gelper, S. (2016). Robust groupwise least angle regression. Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 93, 421-435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csda.2015.02.007
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Alfons, A., Croux, C., & Filzmoser, P. (2016). Robust maximum association between data sets: The R package ccaPP. Austrian Journal of Statistics, 45(1), 71-79. https://doi.org/10.17713/ajs.v45i1.90
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Öllerer, V., Croux, C., & Alfons, A. (2015). The influence function of penalized regression estimators. Statistics, 49(4), 741-765. https://doi.org/10.1080/02331888.2014.922563
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Alfons, A., Croux, C., & Gelper, S. (2013). Sparse least trimmed squares regression for analyzing high-dimensional large data sets. Annals of Applied Statistics, 7(1), 226-248. https://doi.org/10.1214/12-AOAS575
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Alfons, A., & Templ, M. (2013). Estimation of social exclusion indicators from complex surveys: The R package laeken. Journal of Statistical Software, 54(15), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v054.i15
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Alfons, A., Templ, M., & Filzmoser, P. (2013). Robust estimation of economic indicators from survey samples based on Pareto tail modeling. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series C, Applied Statistics, 62(2), 271-286. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9876.2012.01063.x
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Templ, M., Alfons, A., & Filzmoser, P. (2012). Exploring incomplete data using visualization techniques. Advances in Data Analysis and Classification, 6(1), 29-47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11634-011-0102-y
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Alfons, A., Kraft, S., Templ, M., & Filzmoser, P. (2011). Simulation of close-to-reality population data for household surveys with application to EU-SILC. Statistical Methods and Applications, 20(3), 383-407. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10260-011-0163-2
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Alfons, A., Baaske, WE., Filzmoser, P., Mader, W., & Wieser, R. (2011). Robust variable selection with application to quality of life research. Statistical Methods and Applications, 20(1), 65-82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10260-010-0151-y
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Alfons, A., Templ, M., & Filzmoser, P. (2010). An object-oriented framework for statistical simulation: The R package simFrame. Journal of Statistical Software, 37(3), 1-36. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v037.i03
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Book (1)
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Academic (1)
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Alfons, A. (2011). Simulation and Robust Statistics: Application to Laeken Indicators and Quality of Life Research. Südwestdeutscher Verlag für Hochschulschriften.
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Chapter (2)
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Academic (2)
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Alfons, A., Templ, M., Filzmoser, P., & Holzer, J. (2010). A comparison of robust methods for Pareto tail modeling in the case of Laeken indicators. In C. Borgelt, G. González-Rodríguez, W. Trutschnig, M. A. Lubiano, M. A. Gil, P. Grzegorzewski, & O. Hryniewicz (Eds.), Combining Soft Computing and Statistical Methods in Data Analysis (pp. 17-24). Springer-Verlag.
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Templ, M., & Alfons, A. (2010). Disclosure risk of synthetic population data with application in the case of EU-SILC. In J. Domingo-Ferrer, & E. Magkos (Eds.), Privacy in Statistical Databases (pp. 174-186). Springer-Verlag.
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Conference proceeding (1)
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Academic (1)
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Alfons, A., Templ, M., & Filzmoser, P. (2010). Contamination models in the R package simFrame for statistical simulation. In S. Aivazian, P. Filzmoser, & Y. Kharin (Eds.), Computer Data Analysis and Modeling: Complex Stochastic Data and Systems, Volume 2 (pp. 178-181)
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Software (16)
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Academic (15)
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Alfons, A. (2024). robmed: (Robust) Mediation Analysis. Software https://cran.r-project.org/package=robmed
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Alfons, A., & Archimbaud, A. (2024). robmedExtra: Extra Functionality for (Robust) Mediation Analysis. Software https://cran.r-project.org/package=robmedExtra
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Alfons, A. (2024). ccaPP: (Robust) Canonical Correlation Analysis via Projection Pursuit. Software https://cran.r-project.org/package=ccaPP
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Alfons, A. (2024). robustHD: Robust Methods for High-Dimensional Data. Software https://cran.r-project.org/package=robustHD
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Alfons, A., Holzer, J., & Templ, M. (2024). laeken: Estimation of Indicators on Social Exclusion and Poverty. Software https://cran.r-project.org/package=laeken
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Templ, M., Kowarik, A., Meindl, B., & Alfons, A. (2024). simPop: Simulation of Complex Synthetic Data Information. Software https://cran.r-project.org/package=simPop
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Nordhausen, K., Alfons, A., Archimbaud, A., Oja, H., Ruiz-Gazen, A., & Tyler, D. E. (2023). ICS: Tools for Exploring Multivariate Data via ICS/ICA. Software https://cran.r-project.org/package=ICS
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Archimbaud, A., Alfons, A., Nordhausen, K., & Ruiz-Gazen, A. (2023). ICSClust: Tandem Clustering with Invariant Coordinate Selection. Software https://cran.r-project.org/package=ICSClust
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Alfons, A. (2023). ROBMED: SPSS R extension bundle for robust mediation analysis. Software https://doi.org/10.25397/eur.19354268.v2
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Templ, M., Kowarik, A., Alfons, A., de Cillia, G., & Rannetbauer, W. (2022). VIM: Visualization and Imputation of Missing Values. Software https://cran.r-project.org/package=VIM
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Welz, M., Alfons, A., Demirer, M., & Chernozhukov, V. (2022). GenericML: Generic Machine Learning Inference. Software https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=GenericML
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Alfons, A. (2022). r2spss: Format R Output to Look Like SPSS. Software https://doi.org/10.32614/CRAN.package.r2spss
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Alfons, A. (2021). perry: Resampling-Based Prediction Error Estimation for Regression Models. Software https://cran.r-project.org/package=perry
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Alfons, A. (2021). perryExamples: Examples for Integrating Prediction Error Estimation into Regression Models. Software https://cran.r-project.org/package=perryExamples
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Alfons, A. (2021). simFrame: Simulation Framework. Software https://cran.r-project.org/package=simFrame
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Professional (1)
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Alfons, A., & Archimbaud, A. (2024). rdmc: Robust Discrete Matrix Completion. Software
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Additional activities (54)
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Joint Meeting Classification and Data Analysis Group (CLADAG) and Dutch/Flemish Classification Society (VOC)
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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1st Annual SSH-Breed Sectorplan Conference 'The Influence of Digitalisation on Work, Prosperity and Entrepreneurship'
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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International Workshop on Psychometric Computing
Attending an event (Academic)
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Workshop on Robust Methods in Econometrics and Statistics
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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Robust correlation estimation with discrete rating-scale data
Invited talk (Academic)
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International Conference on Statistics and Data Science
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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Robust matrix completion for rating-scale data
Oral presentation (Academic)
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Robust correlation estimation with discrete rating-scale data
Invited talk (Academic)
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Dutch/Flemish Classification Society (VOC) Jubilee Conference
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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Clusterpath Gaussian graphical modeling and covariance matrix estimation
Invited talk (Academic)
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University of Zurich
Visiting an external academic institution (Academic)
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Aurore Archimbaud
Hosting an academic visitor (Academic)
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International Conference on Robust Statistics and Data Science, Statistics & Visualisation
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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A machine learning approach for identifying the onset of careless responding in (online) surveys
Invited talk (Academic)
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Toulouse Business School
Visiting an external academic institution (Academic)
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International Workshop on Psychometric Computing
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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Robust mediation analysis: From methodological advancements to easy and reproducible reporting
Oral presentation (Academic)
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Journal of Data Science, Statistics and Visualisation (Journal)
Editorial work (Academic)
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Open science: What it means for economists
Invited talk (Academic)
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TU Wien
Visiting an external academic institution (Academic)
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Identifying the onset of careless responding: A machine learning approach
Oral presentation (Academic)
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Data Science, Statistics & Visualisation and European Conference on Data Analysis
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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A graphical user interface and reporting tools for robust mediation analysis: The R package robmedExtra
Oral presentation (Academic)
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Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science Meeting
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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Dutch/Flemish Classification Society (VOC) Meeting
Attending an event (Academic)
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Netherlands Econometric Study Group
Attending an event (Academic)
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International Conference on Robust Statistics
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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Journal of Statistical Software (Journal)
Editorial work (Academic)
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International Conference of the ERCIM WG on Computational and Methodological Statistics
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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Dutch/Flemish Classification Society (VOC) Meeting
Attending an event (Academic)
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Extremes in Statistics and Econometrics
Examination (Academic)
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Identifying periods of careless responding in surveys: A deep learning approach
Oral presentation (Academic)
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Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science Meeting
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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useR! The R User Conference
Attending an event (Academic)
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Identifying periods of careless responding in rating-scale surveys
Invited talk (Academic)
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Node clustering in large-scale graphical models
Invited talk (Academic)
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International Conference of the ERCIM WG on Computational and Methodological Statistics
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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What does open science mean for econometricians?
Oral presentation (Academic)
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Sparse robust regression and model selection
Invited talk (Academic)
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International Conference on Robust Statistics
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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ISI World Statistics Congress
Attending an event (Academic)
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Data Science, Statistics & Visualisation and European Conference on Data Analysis
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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Robust mediation analysis
Oral presentation (Academic)
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Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science Meeting
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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Cellwise and rowwise robust regression with compositional covariates
Invited talk (Academic)
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Data Science, Statistics & Visualisation
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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A projection pursuit approach for robust maximum association measures with an extension for sparsity
Invited talk (Academic)
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Robust mediation analysis using the R package robmed
Oral presentation (Academic)
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useR! The R User Conference
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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Mediation analysis via the fast and robust bootstrap
Oral presentation (Academic)
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International Conference on Robust Statistics and Latin American Conference on Statistical Computing
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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Econometric Institute Workshop: Robust Statistics
Organising and contributing to an event (Academic)
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Austrian Journal of Statistics (Journal)
Editorial work (Academic)
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International Association for Statistical Computing - European Regional Section (External organisation)
Membership of board (Academic)
PhD Tracks (2)
- Role: Co-promotor
- PhD Candidate: Gertjan van den Burg
- Time frame: 2012 - 2018
- Role: Co-promotor
- PhD Candidate: Max Felix Orson Welz
- Time frame: 2020 -
Events (64)
Award (1)
- ERIM Open Science Award (2022)
Address
Office: ET-03
Burgemeester Oudlaan 50
3062 PA Rotterdam
Postbus 1738
3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands
