Utrecht University, the Netherlands
About the Webinar
In many studies in the social and behavioral sciences, the data have a multilevel structure, with subjects nested within clusters. In the design phase of such a study, the number of clusters to achieve a desired power level must be calculated. This requires a priori estimates of the effect size and intraclass correlation coefficient. If these estimates are incorrect, the study may be under- or overpowered. Bayesian sequential designs may be used to overcome this problem. This approach compares various hypotheses based on the support in the data for each of them. If neither hypothesis receives a sufficient degree of support, additional clusters are included in the study, and the Bayes factor is recalculated. This procedure continues until one of the hypotheses receives sufficient support. This presentation explains how the Bayes factor is used as a measure of support for a hypothesis and how a Bayesian sequential design is conducted.
About Mirjam Moerbeek
Dr. Mirjam Moerbeek is an associate professor at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. She obtained her master’s degree in biometrics from Wageningen Agricultural University (1996, cum laude) and her Ph.D. in applied statistics from Maastricht University (2000). She has received prestigious research grants from the Netherlands’ Organisation for Scientific Research.
Mirjam’s research interests are statistical power analysis and optimal experimental design, especially for multilevel and survival data. Her research has been published in over 100 international peer-reviewed journal papers, four book chapters, two books on power analysis and multilevel analysis, many nonreviewed publications, and (invited) conference presentations.
Mirjam was the joint organizer of a colloquium and masterclass on Cost-Efficient and Optimal Designs for the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, chair of the local organizing committee for the VI European Congress of Methodology, and joint organizer of the biennial International Conference on Multilevel Analysis. Dr. Moerbeek is also a past president of the European Association of Methodology.