Designs for the combination of group- and individual-level data.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Studies of ecologic or aggregate data suffer from a broad range of biases when scientific interest lies with individual-level associations. To overcome these biases, epidemiologists can choose from a range of designs that combine these group-level data with individual-level data. The individual-level data provide information to identify, evaluate, and control bias, whereas the group-level data are often readily accessible and provide gains in efficiency and power. Within this context, the literature on developing models, particularly multilevel models, is well-established, but little work has been published to help researchers choose among competing designs and plan additional data collection.

Methods

We review recently proposed "combined" group- and individual-le

SUBMITTER: Haneuse S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3347777 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature