{"title":"Definition and identification of causal ratio effects.","authors":"Christoph Kiefer, Benedikt Lugauer, Axel Mayer","doi":"10.1037/met0000711","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000711","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In generalized linear models, the effect of a treatment or intervention is often expressed as a ratio (e.g., risk ratio and odds ratio). There is discussion about when ratio effect measures can be interpreted in a causal way. For example, ratio effect measures suffer from noncollapsibility, that is, even in randomized experiments, the average over individual ratio effects is not identical to the (unconditional) ratio effect based on group means. Even more, different ratio effect measures (e.g., simple ratio and odds ratio) can point into different directions regarding the effectiveness of the treatment making it difficult to decide which one is the causal effect of interest. While causality theories do in principle allow for ratio effects, the literature lacks a comprehensive derivation and definition of ratio effect measures and their possible identification from a causal perspective (including, but not restricted to randomized experiments). In this article, we show how both simple ratios and odds ratios can be defined based on the stochastic theory of causal effects. Then, we examine if and how expectations of these effect measures can be identified under four causality conditions. Finally, we discuss an alternative computation of ratio effects as ratios of causally unbiased expectations instead of expectations of individual ratios, which is identifiable under all causality conditions and consistent with difference effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20782,"journal":{"name":"Psychological methods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142819024","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tiffany A Whittaker, Jihyun Lee, Devin Dedrick, Christina Muñoz
{"title":"Meta-analysis of Monte Carlo simulations examining class enumeration accuracy with mixture models.","authors":"Tiffany A Whittaker, Jihyun Lee, Devin Dedrick, Christina Muñoz","doi":"10.1037/met0000716","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000716","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article walks through steps to conduct a meta-analysis of Monte Carlo simulation studies. The selected Monte Carlo simulation studies focused on mixture modeling, which is becoming increasingly popular in the social and behavioral sciences. We provide details for the following steps in a meta-analysis: (a) formulating a research question; (b) identifying the relevant literature; (c) screening of the literature; (d) extracting data; (e) analyzing the data; and (f) interpreting and discussing the findings. Our goal was to investigate which simulation design factors (moderators) impact class enumeration accuracy in mixture modeling analyses. We analyzed the meta-analytic data using a generalized linear mixed model with a multilevel structure and examined the impact of the design moderators on the outcome of interest with a meta-regression model. For instance, the Bayesian information criterion was found to perform more accurately in conditions with larger sample sizes whereas entropy was found to perform more accurately with smaller sample sizes. It is hoped that this article can serve as a guide for others to follow in order to quantitatively synthesize results from Monte Carlo simulation studies. In turn, the findings from meta-analyzing Monte Carlo simulation studies can provide more details about factors that influence outcomes of interest as well as help methodologists when planning Monte Carlo simulation studies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20782,"journal":{"name":"Psychological methods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142819025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Better power by design: Permuted-subblock randomization boosts power in repeated-measures experiments.","authors":"Jinghui Liang, Dale J Barr","doi":"10.1037/met0000717","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000717","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>During an experimental session, participants adapt and change due to learning, fatigue, fluctuations in attention, or other physiological or environmental changes. This temporal variation affects measurement, potentially reducing statistical power. We introduce a restricted randomization algorithm, permuted-subblock randomization (PSR), that boosts power by balancing experimental conditions over the course of an experimental session. We used Monte Carlo simulations to explore the performance of PSR across four scenarios of time-dependent error: exponential decay (learning effect), Gaussian random walk, pink noise, and a mixture of the previous three. PSR boosted power by about 13% on average, with a range from 4% to 45% across a representative set of study designs, while simultaneously controlling the false positive rate when time-dependent variation was absent. An R package, explan, provides functions to implement PSR during experiment planning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20782,"journal":{"name":"Psychological methods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142819022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Planning falsifiable confirmatory research.","authors":"James E Kennedy","doi":"10.1037/met0000639","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000639","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Falsifiable research is a basic goal of science and is needed for science to be self-correcting. However, the methods for conducting falsifiable research are not widely known among psychological researchers. Describing the effect sizes that can be confidently investigated in confirmatory research is as important as describing the subject population. Power curves or operating characteristics provide this information and are needed for both frequentist and Bayesian analyses. These evaluations of inferential error rates indicate the performance (validity and reliability) of the planned statistical analysis. For meaningful, falsifiable research, the study plan should specify a minimum effect size that is the goal of the study. If any tiny effect, no matter how small, is considered meaningful evidence, the research is not falsifiable and often has negligible predictive value. Power ≥ .95 for the minimum effect is optimal for confirmatory research and .90 is good. From a frequentist perspective, the statistical model for the alternative hypothesis in the power analysis can be used to obtain a <i>p</i> value that can reject the alternative hypothesis, analogous to rejecting the null hypothesis. However, confidence intervals generally provide more intuitive and more informative inferences than p values. The preregistration for falsifiable confirmatory research should include (a) criteria for evidence the alternative hypothesis is true, (b) criteria for evidence the alternative hypothesis is false, and (c) criteria for outcomes that will be inconclusive. Not all confirmatory studies are or need to be falsifiable. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20782,"journal":{"name":"Psychological methods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142819026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A simple statistical framework for small sample studies.","authors":"D Samuel Schwarzkopf, Zien Huang","doi":"10.1037/met0000710","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000710","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Most studies in psychology, neuroscience, and life science research make inferences about how strong an effect is on average in the population. Yet, many research questions could instead be answered by testing for the universality of the phenomenon under investigation. By using reliable experimental designs that maximize both sensitivity and specificity of individual experiments, each participant or subject can be treated as an independent replication. This approach is common in certain subfields. To date, there is however no formal approach for calculating the evidential value of such small sample studies and to define a priori evidence thresholds that must be met to draw meaningful conclusions. Here we present such a framework, based on the ratio of binomial probabilities between a model assuming the universality of the phenomenon versus the null hypothesis that any incidence of the effect is sporadic. We demonstrate the benefits of this approach, which permits strong conclusions from samples as small as two to five participants and the flexibility of sequential testing. This approach will enable researchers to preregister experimental designs based on small samples and thus enhance the utility and credibility of such studies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20782,"journal":{"name":"Psychological methods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142786849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparison of noncentral t and distribution-free methods when using sequential procedures to control the width of a confidence interval for a standardized mean difference.","authors":"Douglas A Fitts","doi":"10.1037/met0000671","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000671","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>sequential stopping rule (SSR) can generate a confidence interval (CI) for a standardized mean difference <i>d</i> that has an exact standardized width, ω. Two methods were tested using a broad range of ω and standardized effect sizes δ. A noncentral t (NCt) CI used with normally distributed data had coverages that were nominal at narrow widths but were slightly inflated at wider widths. A distribution-free (Dist-Free) method used with normally distributed data exhibited superior coverage and stopped on average at the expected sample sizes. When used with moderate to severely skewed lognormal distributions, the coverage was too low at large effect sizes even with a very narrow width where Dist-Free was expected to perform well, and the mean stopping sample sizes were absurdly elevated (thousands per group). SSR procedures negatively biased both the raw difference and the \"unbiased\" Hedges' g in the stopping sample with all methods and distributions. The <i>d</i> was the less biased estimator of δ when the distribution was normal. The poor coverage with a lognormal distribution resulted from a large positive bias in <i>d</i> that increased as a function of both ω and δ. Coverage and point estimation were little improved by using g instead of <i>d</i>. Increased stopping time resulted from the way an estimate of the variance is calculated when it encounters occasional extreme scores generated from the skewed distribution. The Dist-Free SSR method was superior when the distribution was normal or only slightly skewed but is not recommended with moderately skewed distributions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20782,"journal":{"name":"Psychological methods","volume":"29 6","pages":"1188-1208"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142882871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Psychological methodsPub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2022-07-18DOI: 10.1037/met0000508
Lihan Chen, Rachel T Fouladi
{"title":"Correcting bias in extreme groups design using a missing data approach.","authors":"Lihan Chen, Rachel T Fouladi","doi":"10.1037/met0000508","DOIUrl":"10.1037/met0000508","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Extreme groups design (EGD) refers to the use of a screening variable to inform further data collection, such that only participants with the lowest and highest scores are recruited in subsequent stages of the study. It is an effective way to improve the power of a study under a limited budget, but produces biased standardized estimates. We demonstrate that the bias in EGD results from its inherent <i>missing at random</i> mechanism, which can be corrected using modern missing data techniques such as <i>full information maximum likelihood</i> (FIML). Further, we provide a tutorial on computing correlations in EGD data with FIML using R. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20782,"journal":{"name":"Psychological methods","volume":" ","pages":"1123-1131"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9922061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Psychological methodsPub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2023-03-06DOI: 10.1037/met0000519
Daniel Redhead, Richard McElreath, Cody T Ross
{"title":"Reliable network inference from unreliable data: A tutorial on latent network modeling using STRAND.","authors":"Daniel Redhead, Richard McElreath, Cody T Ross","doi":"10.1037/met0000519","DOIUrl":"10.1037/met0000519","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Social network analysis provides an important framework for studying the causes, consequences, and structure of social ties. However, standard self-report measures-for example, as collected through the popular \"name-generator\" method-do not provide an impartial representation of such ties, be they transfers, interactions, or social relationships. At best, they represent perceptions filtered through the cognitive biases of respondents. Individuals may, for example, report transfers that did not really occur, or forget to mention transfers that really did. The propensity to make such reporting inaccuracies is both an individual-level and item-level characteristic-variable across members of any given group. Past research has highlighted that many network-level properties are highly sensitive to such reporting inaccuracies. However, there remains a dearth of easily deployed statistical tools that account for such biases. To address this issue, we provide a latent network model that allows researchers to jointly estimate parameters measuring both reporting biases and a latent, underlying social network. Building upon past research, we conduct several simulation experiments in which network data are subject to various reporting biases, and find that these reporting biases strongly impact fundamental network properties. These impacts are not adequately remedied using the most frequently deployed approaches for network reconstruction in the social sciences (i.e., treating either the union or the intersection of double-sampled data as the true network), but are appropriately resolved through the use of our latent network models. To make implementation of our models easier for end-users, we provide a fully documented R package, STRAND, and include a tutorial illustrating its functionality when applied to empirical food/money sharing data from a rural Colombian population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20782,"journal":{"name":"Psychological methods","volume":" ","pages":"1100-1122"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10821258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Psychological methodsPub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2023-11-02DOI: 10.1037/met0000610
Andrew H Hales
{"title":"One-tailed tests: Let's do this (responsibly).","authors":"Andrew H Hales","doi":"10.1037/met0000610","DOIUrl":"10.1037/met0000610","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>When preregistered, one-tailed tests control false-positive results at the same rate as two-tailed tests. They are also more powerful, provided the researcher correctly identified the direction of the effect. So it is surprising that they are not more common in psychology. Here I make an argument in favor of one-tailed tests and address common mistaken objections that researchers may have to using them. The arguments presented here only apply in situations where the test is clearly preregistered. If power is truly as urgent an issue as statistics reformers suggest, then the deliberate and thoughtful use of preregistered one-tailed tests ought to be not only permitted, but encouraged in cases where researchers desire greater power. One-tailed tests are especially well suited for applied questions, replications of previously documented effects, or situations where directionally unexpected effects would be meaningless. Preregistered one-tailed tests can sensibly align the researcher's stated theory with their tested hypothesis, bring a coherence to the practice of null hypothesis statistical testing, and produce generally more persuasive results. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20782,"journal":{"name":"Psychological methods","volume":" ","pages":"1209-1218"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71426349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Psychological methodsPub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2023-03-09DOI: 10.1037/met0000538
Young Ri Lee, James E Pustejovsky
{"title":"Comparing random effects models, ordinary least squares, or fixed effects with cluster robust standard errors for cross-classified data.","authors":"Young Ri Lee, James E Pustejovsky","doi":"10.1037/met0000538","DOIUrl":"10.1037/met0000538","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cross-classified random effects modeling (CCREM) is a common approach for analyzing cross-classified data in psychology, education research, and other fields. However, when the focus of a study is on the regression coefficients at Level 1 rather than on the random effects, ordinary least squares regression with cluster robust variance estimators (OLS-CRVE) or fixed effects regression with CRVE (FE-CRVE) could be appropriate approaches. These alternative methods are potentially advantageous because they rely on weaker assumptions than those required by CCREM. We conducted a Monte Carlo Simulation study to compare the performance of CCREM, OLS-CRVE, and FE-CRVE in models, including conditions where homoscedasticity assumptions and exogeneity assumptions held and conditions where they were violated, as well as conditions with unmodeled random slopes. We found that CCREM out-performed the alternative approaches when its assumptions are all met. However, when homoscedasticity assumptions are violated, OLS-CRVE and FE-CRVE provided similar or better performance than CCREM. When the exogeneity assumption is violated, only FE-CRVE provided adequate performance. Further, OLS-CRVE and FE-CRVE provided more accurate inferences than CCREM in the presence of unmodeled random slopes. Thus, we recommend two-way FE-CRVE as a good alternative to CCREM, particularly if the homoscedasticity or exogeneity assumptions of the CCREM might be in doubt. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20782,"journal":{"name":"Psychological methods","volume":" ","pages":"1084-1099"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10871401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}