STAT440 Longitudinal Data Analysis
| Second Semester |
Paper details
After completion of the course, the student is expected to be able to:
- Recognize when data are not independent.
- Understand basic theory of mixed models and generalized linear mixed models.
- Understand how to develop a mixed model which will answer specific research questions.
- Apply model building techniques.
- Apply model selection techniques.
- Form an analysis plan when faced with clustered data.
- Present results in a way that researchers can understand, and relate these results back to the research question(s).
- Have a better understanding of biostatistics and its role in health care research.
- Critique the use of these methods in the health sciences literature.
- Have a good understanding of the statistical software package SAS.
Potential students
This paper should be of interest to students who want to know more about biostatistics and longitudinal and clustered analysis.
Main topics
- Introduction to longitudinal and clustered data
- Theory of mixed models
- Linear models for longitudinal continuous data
- Covariance structures
- Random coefficients models
- Prediction, BLUPs and shrinkage
- Generalised linear mixed models
- Generalised Estimating Equations (GEE)
- Examples: Multi-centre trials; Crossover trials; Repeated measures designs
- Introduction to Missing data
Prerequisites
STAT 341, STAT362
Required text
- Fitzmaurice, G.M., Laird, N.M., and Ware J.H. (2011) Applied Longitudinal Analysis, Second Edition Wiley. Hoboken, New Jersey.
Useful references
- Brown,H. and Prescott,R. (1999) Applied Mixed Models in Medicine Wiley, Chinchester.
- Littell,R., Milliken,G., Stroup,W., and Wolfinger,R. (1996) SAS System for Mixed Models SAS Institute Inc., Cary, North Carolina.
- Verbeke, G. and Molenberghs, G. (1997) Linear Mixed Models in Practice: A SAS-oriented approach Springer, New York.
- Diggle, P., Heagerty, P., Liang K.Y., Zeger, S.(2002) Analysis of Longitudinal Data Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Lecturer
Dr Jiaxu Zeng, Adams building room 023.
Lectures
There will be weekly lectures (2 hours) and weekly computer labs (2 hours).
Internal Assessment
Homework assignments making up the internal assessment mark (A) will be given every two weeks. Most will focus on analyzing real data and reviewing real papers.
Exam format
The final exam is three hours long.
Final mark
Your final mark F in the paper will be calculated according to this formula:
F = (6E + 4A)/10
where:
- E is the Exam mark
- A is the Assignments mark
and all quantities are expressed as percentages.
Students must abide by the University’s Academic Integrity Policy
Academic endeavours at the University of Otago are built upon an essential commitment to academic integrity.
The two most common forms of academic misconduct are plagiarism and unauthorised collaboration.
Academic misconduct: Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as:
- Copying or paraphrasing another person’s work and presenting it as your own.
- Being party to someone else’s plagiarism by letting them copy your work or helping them to copy the work of someone else without acknowledgement.
- Using your own work in another situation, such as for the assessment of a different paper or program, without indicating the source.
- Plagiarism can be unintentional or intentional. Even if it is unintentional, it is still considered to be plagiarism.
All students have a responsibility to be aware of acceptable academic practice in relation to the use of material prepared by others and are expected to take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure no breach of acceptable academic practice occurs. You should also be aware that plagiarism is easy to detect and the University has policies in place to deal with it.
Academic misconduct: Unauthorised Collaboration
Unauthorised Collaboration occurs when you work with, or share work with, others on an assessment which is designed as a task for individuals and in which individual answers are required. This form does not include assessment tasks where students are required or permitted to present their results as collaborative work. Nor does it preclude collaborative effort in research or study for assignments, tests or examinations; but unless it is explicitly stated otherwise, each student’s answers should be in their own words. If you are not sure if collaboration is allowed, check with your lecturer.
