Parsons, N.R. orcid.org/0000-0001-9975-888X, Teare, M.D. orcid.org/0000-0003-3994-0051 and Sitch, A.J. orcid.org/0000-0001-7727-4497 (2018) Unit of analysis issues in laboratory-based research. Elife, 7. e32486. ISSN 2050-084X
Abstract
Many studies in the biomedical research literature report analyses that fail to recognise important data dependencies from multilevel or complex experimental designs. Statistical inferences resulting from such analyses are unlikely to be valid and are often potentially highly misleading. Failure to recognise this as a problem is often referred to in the statistical literature as a unit of analysis (UoA) issue. Here, by analysing two example datasets in a simulation study, we demonstrate the impact of UoA issues on study efficiency and estimation bias, and highlight where errors in analysis can occur. We also provide code (written in R) as a resource to help researchers undertake their own statistical analyses.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Parsons et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Science Forum; epidemiology; experimental design; global health; mixed-effects models; statistics |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Health and Related Research (Sheffield) > ScHARR - Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 31 Jan 2018 13:00 |
Last Modified: | 15 Mar 2024 16:43 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | eLife Sciences Publications |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.7554/eLife.32486 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:126866 |
Download
Filename: Unit of analysis issues in laboratory-based research.pdf
Licence: CC-BY 4.0