[R] Question concerning mle

[Rainer M Krug]

Hi

I hope this is the right forum - if not, point me please to a better one.

I am using R 2.3.0 on Linux, SuSE 10.


I have a question concerning mle (method="BFGS").

I have a few models which I am fitting to existing data points. I
realised, that the likelihood is quite sensitive to the start values for
one parameter.

I am wondering: what is the best approach to identify the right initial
values? Do I have to do it recursively, and if yes, how can I automate
it? Or do I have to play with the system?

I am quite confident that the resulting parameters are the optimal for
my problem - but can I verify it?

Thanks,

Rainer


-- 
Rainer M. Krug, Dipl. Phys. (Germany), MSc Conservation
Biology (UCT)

Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology
University of Stellenbosch
Matieland 7602
South Africa