Script Review: r_dynamic_bma2

Script: analysis.R (521 lines) Language: R Executed: 2026-04-01 Status: All code runs successfully

Verdict: ACCEPT (after fixes applied)

Well-structured R script with comprehensive BMA analysis, dark-theme visualizations, and thorough CSV exports. The 3-step demeaning pipeline is a genuine improvement over v1. Four MEDIUM issues were identified and fixed in the same session.

Execution Results

  • Exit code: 0
  • Figures generated: 7 PNG files (all at 300 DPI)
  • CSV files exported: 10
  • Warnings: 3 non-fatal (package version mismatch, tidyverse masking, scales masking)
  • Rplots.pdf: auto-cleaned

Issues Found and Resolved

# Dimension Severity Location Issue Resolution
1 Structure MEDIUM root Rplots.pdf artifact not cleaned up FIXED: Added unlink("Rplots.pdf") at end of script
2 Structure MEDIUM root No plan.md generated FIXED: plan.md created separately
3 Statistical MEDIUM line 155 full_model_space precomputed on year-demeaned data but used with entity+time-demeaned data DOCUMENTED: Added comment block explaining the limitation and noting how to re-estimate for full consistency
4 Code quality MEDIUM lines 235-253 bdsm built-in plots at res = 100 instead of 300 DPI FIXED: Updated all png() calls to res = 300 with proportional width/height
5 Code quality LOW line 268 best8[[5]] returns knitr-formatted markdown table in console NOT FIXED: Expected bdsm behavior; CSV export captures the data correctly
6 Reproducibility LOW line 360 as.matrix(j_hcghm) coercion may lose data NOT FIXED: Verified working correctly – both triangles present in CSV
7 Figure conventions LOW filenames Mixed naming: r_bdsm_* vs r_dynamic_bma2_* NOT FIXED: Accepted – distinguishes built-in from custom plots

Positive Highlights

  • 3-step demeaning pipeline (lines 111-152): well-documented with intermediate prints after each step
  • Comprehensive CSV exports (10 files): inline after each section, exactly per skill convention
  • Dark theme ggplot2: clean theme_site() function, consistent bg = DARK_BG on all ggsave calls
  • VAR_LABELS mapping: human-readable axis labels throughout all custom figures
  • Prior sensitivity table (lines 317-338): unified comparison across 6 prior specifications
  • Section structure: numbered dividers and cat() headers for clear execution log

Priority Action Items

All HIGH and MEDIUM items resolved. Remaining LOW items are acceptable.

Carlos Mendez
Carlos Mendez
Associate Professor of Development Economics

My research interests focus on the integration of development economics, spatial data science, and econometrics to better understand and inform the process of sustainable development across regions.

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