rTisanePy

Authoring generalized linear mixed effects models from conceptual models. Based on rTisane.

rTisanePy lets you:

• Declare variables and specify causal and relational assumptions
• Query for a statistical model from a conceptual model
• Automatically identify confounders (following Cinelli, Forney & Pearl, 2022)
• Infer random effects from nesting and repeated measures
• Select candidate family/link functions based on DV type

Installation

pip install rtisanepy

For development:

pip install -e ".[dev]"

Requires Python 3.10+ and networkx.

Quick Start

from rtisanepy import (
    Unit, continuous, categories,
    causes, equals, increases,
    ConceptualModel,
)

# Declare variables
student = Unit("student", cardinality=100)
classroom = Unit("classroom", cardinality=10)
student = Unit("student", cardinality=100, nests_within=classroom)

tutoring = categories(unit=student, name="Tutoring", cardinality=2)
ses = categories(unit=student, name="SES", order=["lower", "middle", "upper"])
test_score = continuous(unit=student, name="TestScore")

# Build a conceptual model
cm = (
    ConceptualModel()
    .assume(causes(ses, test_score))
    .assume(causes(ses, tutoring))
    .hypothesize(causes(tutoring, test_score,
                        when=equals(tutoring, "in-person"),
                        then=increases(test_score)))
)

# Query for a statistical model
model = cm.query(iv=tutoring, dv=test_score)

print(model.formula())       # TestScore ~ Tutoring + SES + (1 | classroom)
print(model.family)           # Inverse Gaussian
print(model.main_effects)     # ['Tutoring', 'SES']
print(model.random_effects)   # [RandomIntercept(group=classroom)]

# Override family/link
model2 = model.with_family("Gaussian", link="identity")

API Overview

Variables

Constructor	Description
Unit(name, cardinality, nests_within=None)	Entity (participant, subject)
Participant(name, cardinality, nests_within=None)	Alias for Unit
Time(name, order=None, cardinality=0)	Time variable
continuous(unit, name, number_of_instances=1)	Continuous measure
counts(unit, name, number_of_instances=1)	Count measure
categories(unit, name, *, cardinality=None, order=None)	Categorical measure (ordered if order given)

Relationships

Function	Description
causes(cause, effect, *, when=None, then=None)	Directed causal relationship
relates(lhs, rhs, *, when=None, then=None)	Undirected (ambiguous) relationship
nests(base, group)	Nesting relationship between units

Comparisons (for when/then annotations)

Function	Description
equals(variable, value)	Variable equals a value
not_equals(variable, value)	Variable does not equal a value
increases(variable)	Variable increases
decreases(variable)	Variable decreases

ConceptualModel

cm = ConceptualModel()
cm.assume(relationship)        # Add assumed relationship (returns self)
cm.hypothesize(relationship)   # Add hypothesized relationship (returns self)
cm.interacts(*vars, dv=dv)     # Add interaction annotation (returns self)
cm.query(iv=iv, dv=dv)         # Infer a StatisticalModel

At least one hypothesized relationship connecting iv and dv is required to query.

StatisticalModel

Attribute / Method	Description
.formula()	R-style formula string
.main_effects	List of main effect variable names
.interaction_effects	List of interaction terms
.random_effects	List of RandomIntercept / RandomSlope
.family	Selected family function
.link	Selected link function
.family_candidates	All candidate family/link pairs
.summary()	Machine-readable dict
.with_family(family, link=None)	Copy with overridden family/link

Running Tests

python -m pytest tests/ -v

Citation

If you use rTisanePy in your research, please cite:

@software{rtisanepy,
  author = {Eunice Jun},
  title = {rTisanePy: A Python Tool for Authoring Statistical Models from Conceptual Models},
  url = {https://github.com/emjun/rTisanePy},
  year = {2026}
}

References

• Eunice Jun, Edward Misback, Jeffrey Heer, and René Just. 2024. rTisane: Externalizing Conceptual Models for Data Analysis Prompts Reconsideration of Domain Assumptions and Facilitates Statistical Modeling. CHI 2024.
• Eunice Jun, Audrey Seo, Jeffrey Heer, and René Just. 2022. Tisane: Authoring Statistical Models via Formal Reasoning from Conceptual and Data Relationships. CHI 2022.
• Carlos Cinelli, Andrew Forney, and Judea Pearl. 2022. A Crash Course in Good and Bad Controls. Sociological Methods & Research.