This simulation study was designed to assess the impact of three ad hoc procedures for handling missing level two (here, school) identifiers in multilevel modeling. A multiple membership data structure was generated and both conventional hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) and multiple membership random effects modeling (MMREM) were employed. HLM models purely hierarchical data structures while MMREM appropriately models multiple membership data structures. Two of the ad hoc procedures investigated involved removing different subsamples of students from the analysis (HLM-Delete and MMREM-Delete) while the other procedure retained all subjects and involved creating a pseudo-identifier for the missing level two identifier (MMREM-Unique). Relative parameter and standard error (SE) bias were calculated for each parameter estimated to assess parameter recovery. Across the conditions and parameters investigated, each procedure had some level of substantial bias. MMREM-Unique and MMREM-Delete resulted in the least amount of relative parameter bias while HLM-Delete resulted in the least amount of relative SE bias. Results and implications for applied researchers are discussed. / text
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTEXAS/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/ETD-UT-2012-05-5153 |
| Date | 10 July 2012 |
| Creators | Smith, Lindsey Janae |
| Source Sets | University of Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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