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Comparison · Analytics
RMVMR vs socialmixr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of RMVMR and socialmixr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
RMVMR vs socialmixr: at a glance
What is RMVMR?
RMVMR is being tidied in lockstep with MVMR, the package it wraps
RMVMR provides radial multivariable Mendelian randomization — radial IVW estimation and plots layered over the MVMR package's conditional instrument-strength machinery. It has no independent release schedule: versions arrive alongside MVMR's, pin a minimum MVMR version, and fix defects in the seam between the two. Its most recent release landed the same day as new versions of MVMR and OneSampleMR.
What is socialmixr?
socialmixr breaks its one-shot contact_matrix() call into a composable pipeline.
socialmixr builds age-structured social contact matrices from survey data for infectious-disease modelling. Version 0.6.0 replaces the monolithic contact_matrix() entry point with a chain of composable steps — filter, assign age groups, weigh, compute, then symmetrise, split or convert per capita — behind a new contact_matrix S3 class. Survey downloading is being handed off to a separate contactsurveys package.
RMVMR vs socialmixr: editorial side-by-side
RMVMR
0.0ANALYTICS
RMVMR is being tidied in lockstep with MVMR, the package it wraps
◆ Current state
RMVMR provides radial multivariable Mendelian randomization — radial IVW estimation and plots layered over the MVMR package's conditional instrument-strength machinery. It has no independent release schedule: versions arrive alongside MVMR's, pin a minimum MVMR version, and fix defects in the seam between the two. Its most recent release landed the same day as new versions of MVMR and OneSampleMR.
◆ Where it's heading
The work is code hygiene with results held fixed. ivw_rmvmr() now fits the radial IVW model explicitly rather than inheriting variables left over from the orientation loop, an undocumented data element carrying unused intermediate frames is gone, and plot_rmvmr() stops recomputing univariate radial analyses it already has — roughly halving the RadialMR calls with identical output. Each note is explicit that coefficients, standard errors and degrees of freedom are unchanged, which is a deliberate contrast with MVMR's own 2026 releases, where several fixes did change reported values.
◆ Prediction
Because the package pins MVMR versions rather than vendoring behaviour, the next release most likely follows MVMR's next correctness fix; nothing in the notes points to independent feature work.
socialmixr
0.0ANALYTICS
socialmixr breaks its one-shot contact_matrix() call into a composable pipeline.
◆ Current state
socialmixr builds age-structured social contact matrices from survey data for infectious-disease modelling. Version 0.6.0 replaces the monolithic contact_matrix() entry point with a chain of composable steps — filter, assign age groups, weigh, compute, then symmetrise, split or convert per capita — behind a new contact_matrix S3 class. Survey downloading is being handed off to a separate contactsurveys package.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc from 0.4.0 to 0.6.0 is decomposition: first extracting helpers like assign_age_groups(), then moving downloads out of the package, and now exposing every stage of matrix construction as its own verb. Breaking changes are accepted at each step — preserved empty age groups, arrays instead of xtabs, [N,Inf) labels — with the new class inheriting from list so existing $matrix access keeps working. The label change is explicitly aligned with the contactmatrix package.
◆ Prediction
Expect the deprecated dotted argument names and the remaining in-package download paths to be removed once the contactsurveys handoff completes, leaving contact_matrix() as a thin wrapper over the pipeline.
Alternatives to RMVMR and socialmixr
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either RMVMR or socialmixr.
fastplyr
A fast dplyr stand-in that keeps finding new places to skip work entirely.
trias
Belgium's invasive-species indicator toolkit is in steady refinement, one plotting edge case at a time.
icesSAG
The ICES stock assessment client took upload away in 2024 and spent two years giving it back.
dggridR
A discrete global grid generator grew cell traversal and became a usable spatial index.
vegan
Community ecology's standard toolkit is retiring the functions a generation of scripts was built on.
See all RMVMR alternatives → · See all socialmixr alternatives →
Recent activity from RMVMR and socialmixr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoRMVMRRMVMR fixes a gencov error and halves redundant radial calls
- 3mo agoRMVMRRMVMR 0.4.4
- 3mo agosocialmixrContact matrices become a composable pipeline ⚡
- 4mo agoRMVMRRMVMR 0.4.3
- 5mo agoRMVMRRMVMR now requires MVMR 0.4.3 or later
- 6mo agosocialmixrPatch: load_survey() handles files without cont_id
- 6mo agosocialmixrAge-group assignment and population lookup split out
- 1y agoRMVMRRMVMR 0.4.1
- 1y agosocialmixrFaster survey loading and cached Zenodo lookups
- 2y agosocialmixrcontact_matrix() now takes survey objects only
- 2y agosocialmixrTest fixes for machine-precision failures
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between RMVMR and socialmixr?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. RMVMR and socialmixr are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is RMVMR better than socialmixr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. RMVMR and socialmixr are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to RMVMR?
Top RMVMR alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "RMVMR alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rmvmr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to socialmixr?
Top socialmixr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "socialmixr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/socialmixr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.