Above all, this book focuses on the application of sociodemographic survey questions. Based on theoretical foundations, it addresses the operationalization of variables and presents socio-demographic questionnaire modules for within- and across-country comparative survey research. The book pursues three main objectives: to provide a thorough and comprehensive overview of the survey instruments currently available for the measurement of sociodemographic variables in cross-national comparati...

This book explains harmonisation techniques that can be used in survey research to align national systems of categories and definitions in such a way that comparison is possible across countries and cultures. It provides an introduction to instruments for collecting internationally comparable data of interest to survey researchers. It shows how seven key demographic and socio-economic variables can be harmonised and employed in European comparative surveys. The seven key variables discusse...

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to performing meta-analysis using the statistical software R. It is intended for quantitative researchers and students in the medical and social sciences who wish to learn how to perform meta-analysis with R. As such, the book introduces the key concepts and models used in meta-analysis. It also includes chapters on the following advanced topics: publication bias and small study effects; missing data; multivariate meta-analysis, network meta-...

Bias analysis quantifies the influence of systematic error on an epidemiology study’s estimate of association. The fundamental methods of bias analysis in epi- miology have been well described for decades, yet are seldom applied in published presentations of epidemiologic research. More recent advances in bias analysis, such as probabilistic bias analysis, appear even more rarely. We suspect that there are both supply-side and demand-side explanations for the scarcity of bias analysis. On ...

Contingency tables arise in diverse fields, including life sciences, education, social and political sciences, notably market research and opinion surveys. Their analysis plays an essential role in gaining insight into structures of the quantities under consideration and in supporting decision making.Combining both theory and applications, this book presents models and methods for the analysis of two- and multidimensional-contingency tables. The author uses a threefold approach, pr...

Indirect questioning is a crucial topic in surveys of human populations. When the issue is about a stigmatizing characteristic (for example about illegal drug use), standard survey methodologies are destined to fail because, as expected, people are not willing to reveal incriminating information or information violating their privacy. Indirect questioning techniques have been devised so that the privacy of participants in a sample survey is protected and at the same time good estimates of ...

This is the first book to show the capabilities of Microsoft Excel to teach social science statistics effectively. It is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical social science problems. If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you.Excel, a widely available computer program for students and m...

This volume presents theoretical developments, applications and computational methods for the analysis and modeling in behavioral and social sciences where data are usually complex to explore and investigate. The challenging proposals provide a connection between statistical methodology and the social domain with particular attention to computational issues in order to effectively address complicated data analysis problems.The papers in this volume stem from contributions initially ...

An observational study is an empiric investigation of the effects caused by a treatment, policy, or intervention in which it is not possible to assign subjects at random to treatment or control, as would be done in a controlled experiment. Observational studies are common in most fields that study the effects of treatments on people.The second edition of Observational Studies is about 50% longer than the first edition, with many new examples and methods. There are new chapters on no...

This book offers a collection of recent contributions and emerging ideas in the areas of robust statistics presented at the International Conference on Robust Statistics 2015 (ICORS 2015) held in Kolkata during 12–16 January, 2015. The book explores the applicability of robust methods in other non-traditional areas which includes the use of new techniques such as skew and mixture of skew distributions, scaled Bregman divergences, and multilevel functional data methods; application areas be...

This book focuses on statistical methods for the analysis of discrete failure times. Failure time analysis is one of the most important fields in statistical research, with applications affecting a wide range of disciplines, in particular, demography, econometrics, epidemiology and clinical research. Although there are a large variety of statistical methods for failure time analysis, many techniques are designed for failure times that are measured on a continuous scale. In empirical studie...

This book presents a broad range of statistical techniques to address emerging needs in the field of repeated measures. It also provides a comprehensive overview of extensions of generalized linear models for the bivariate exponential family of distributions, which represent a new development in analysing repeated measures data. The demand for statistical models for correlated outcomes has grown rapidly recently, mainly due to presence of two types of underlying associations: associations ...