Paul R. Rosenbaum

Design of Observational Studies (eBook, PDF)

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

An observational study is an empiric investigation of effects caused by treatments when randomized experimentation is unethical or infeasible. Observational studies are common in most fields that study the effects of treatments on people, including medicine, economics, epidemiology, education, psychology, political science and sociology. The quality and strength of evidence provided by an observational study is determined largely by its design. Design of Observational Studies is both an introduction to statistical inference in observational studies and a detailed discussion of the principles that guide the design of observational studies.

Design of Observational Studies is divided into four parts. Chapters 2, 3, and 5 of Part I cover concisely, in about one hundred pages, many of the ideas discussed in Rosenbaum's Observational Studies (also published by Springer) but in a less technical fashion. Part II discusses the practical aspects of using propensity scores and other tools to create a matched comparison that balances many covariates. Part II includes a chapter on matching in R. In Part III, the concept of design sensitivity is used to appraise the relative ability of competing designs to distinguish treatment effects from biases due to unmeasured covariates. Part IV discusses planning the analysis of an observational study, with particular reference to Sir Ronald Fisher's striking advice for observational studies, "make your theories elaborate."

Paul R. Rosenbaum is the Robert G. Putzel Professor of Statistics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association. In 2003, he received the George W. Snedecor Award from the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies. He is a senior fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics and a Research Associate at the Population Studies Center, both at the University of Pennsylvania. The second edition of his book, Observational Studies, was published by Springer in 2002.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Springer US
• Seitenzahl: 384
• Erscheinungstermin: 22. Oktober 2009
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781441912138
• Artikelnr.: 37354099

Autorenporträt

Paul R. Rosenbaum is the Robert G. Putzel Professor of Statistics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association. In 2019, he received the R. A. Fisher Award, and in 2003 the George W. Snedecor Award, both from the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS). He is the author of Observation and Experiment: An Introduction to Causal Inference (2017) and Observational Studies, 2nd edition (Springer 2002).

Inhaltsangabe

Part I Beginnings.- 1 Dilemmas and Craftsmanship.- 2 Causal Inference in Randomized Experiments.- 3 Two Simple Models for Observational Studies.- 4 Competing Theories Structure Design.- 5 Opportunities, Devices, and Instruments.- 6 Transparency.- 7 Some Counterclaims Undermine Themselves.- Part II Matching.- 8 A Matched Observational Study.- 9 Basic Tools of Multivariate Matching.- 10 Various Practical Issues in Matching.- 11 Fine Balance.- 12 Matching Without Groups.- 13 Risk-Set Matching.- 14 Matching in R.- Part III Design Sensitivity.- 15 The Power of a Sensitivity Analysis and Its Limit.- 16 Heterogeneity and Causality.- 17 Uncommon but Dramatic Responses to Treatment.- 18 Anticipated and Discovered Patterns of Response.- 19 Choice of Test Statistic.- Part IV Enhanced Design.- 20 Evidence Factors.- 21 Constructing Several Comparison Groups.- Part V Planning Analysis.- 22 After Matching, Before Analysis.- 23 Planning the Analysis.- Summary: Key Elements of Design.- Solutions to Common Problems.- Symbols.- Acronyms.- Glossary of Statistical Terms.- Further Reading.- Suggested Readings for a Course.- Index.

Rezensionen

"References are listed after each chapter ... reflecting the wealth of his contribution to the subject of causal inference over the last four decades. ... The book is a comprehensive account of methods for comparing treatments in an observational study, rich with detailed illustrations using data for inferences of substance in education, epidemiology, economics and clinical medicine. ... this is an absolute `must' for reading and reference for every statistician who works with observational studies ... ." (Nicholas T. Longford, Mathematical Reviews, April, 2022)

"This book is readily usable for self-study, a graduate seminar, or use by a practitioner getting their bearings in the field. The book is filled with references to both foundational work and cutting-edge approaches. ... the book was an easy read. Rosenbaum provides practical advice, delivered in a conversational tone, and steers clear of theweeds that might bog a reader down in the main text. steers clear of the weeds that might bog a reader down in the main text." (Sara Stoudt, MAA Reviews, July 24, 2021)

From the reviews: "I should begin by noting that the first time I read the book's title I thought that it would address the topic of classical epidemiological designs like case-control studies, cohort studies, etc. However, I was wrong. Rosenbaum's book addresses the crucial topic of designing and analyzing empiric non-randomized investigations to prove causal relationships between treatments and outcomes. These types of studies, the observational ones, are prone to present two well-known selection biases: overt biases, i.e., differences in outcomes between treatments may reflect measured pre-treatment differences between groups rather than effects of treatments, and hidden biases, i.e., the same situation but with pre-treatment differences that were not recorded in the study. To overcome overt biases, applied statisticians usually advocate the use of model-based adjustments and to overcome hidden biases they usually recommend designing a randomized experiment. However, Rosenbaum's book addresses these two biases with an alternative approach: propensity score matching for overt biases and sensitivity analysis for hidden biases. Practitioners may think that sensitivity analysis means performing several analyses of the same data set; however, this is not the Rosenbaum's approach. Overall, the book is written in a clear and concise way, merging theoretical and practical aspects. Small examples are provided to develop the understanding of key issues in parallel with real examples of practical size from both the economics and the biomedicine areas. Moreover, although the book is not intended as a statistical software oriented book, the text includes some code in R and SAS. For example, Chapter 13 is devoted to matching in R. Finally, the book covers all the relevant issues in designing and analyzing treatment effects in observational studies, with the exception of observer bias, i.e., the bias present when the assessment of the outcomes are not valid; see Haro et al. (2006) for further details. Nowadays, it is yet unusual to address hidden biases in observational studies and, therefore, this book is an essential reading for statisticians who want to go a step beyond from the likely naïve sentence: 'We assume no unmeasured confounding in the study'." (Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics , 2011, Issue 1) "Graduate students and researchers in statistics, biostatistics, econometrics, or academic researchers in statistically oriented fields of psychology and social sciences. ... 'Design of Observational Studies' talks about statistics. ... The book will be suitable for a seminar course for graduate students with previous knowledge of the subject area, or practicing statisticians seeking guidance in design of observational research and a language to discuss the issues. 'Design of Observational Studies' is an important book." (Erkki P. Liski, International Statistical Review, Vol. 78 (1), 2010) "This is for those who want to improve whatever their basic design is-for those people, this is a very good book. ... have several quick, but useful, guides: key elements in a design, solutions to common problems (very useful), a symbol glossary, a listing of acronyms, a glossary of statistical terms, suggested readings for a course on the design of observational studies, and an index. ... anyone who is not an expert on the varieties of matching will profit from reading this." (Richard Goldstein, Technometrics, Vol. 53 (2), May, 2011)