tensorBF: an R package for Bayesian tensor factorization

Abstract

With recent advancements in measurement technologies, many multi-way and tensor datasets have started to emerge. Exploiting the natural tensor structure in the data has been shown to be advantageous for both explorative and predictive studies in several application areas of bioinformatics and computational biology. Therefore, there has subsequently arisen a need for robust and flexible tools for effectively analyzing tensor data sets. We present the R package tensorBF, which is the first R package providing Bayesian factorization of a tensor. Our package implements a generative model that automatically identifies the number of factors needed to explain the tensor, overcoming a key limitation of traditional tensor factorizations. We also recommend best practices when using tensor factorizations for both, explorative and predictive analysis with an example application on drug response dataset. The package also implements tools related to the normalization of data, informative noise priors and visualization. Availability: The package is available at https://cran.r-project.org/package=tensorBF.