Multilevel Analysis

Multilevel analysis covers all the main methods, techniques and issues for carrying out multilevel modeling and analysis. The approach is applied, and less mathematical than many other textbooks.

Applauded for its clarity, this accessible introduction helps readers apply multilevel techniques to their research. The book also includes advanced extensions, making it useful as both an introduction for students and as a reference for researchers. Basic models and examples are discussed in nontechnical terms with an emphasis on understanding the methodological and statistical issues involved in using these models. The estimation and interpretation of multilevel models is demonstrated using realistic examples from various disciplines including psychology, education, public health, and sociology. Readers are introduced to a general framework on multilevel modeling which covers both observed and latent variables in the same model, while most other books focus on observed variables. In addition, Bayesian estimation is introduced and applied using accessible software.

This book, first published in 2007, is for the applied researcher performing data analysis using linear and nonlinear regression and multilevel models.

This is a practical introduction to multilevel analysis suitable for all those doing research. Most books on multilevel analysis are written by statisticians; those books are difficult for non-mathematical researchers. In contrast, this volume provides an accessible account on the practical application of multilevel analysis in research. Many worked examples, with computer output, are given to illustrate and explain this subject. Datasets of the examples are available on the internet, so the reader can reanalyze the data. This approach will help bridge the conceptual and communication gap that exists between researchers and statisticians.

This practical introduction helps readers apply multilevel techniques to their research. Noted as an accessible introduction, the book also includes advanced extensions, making it useful as both an introduction and as a reference to students, researchers, and methodologists. Basic models and examples are discussed in non-technical terms with an emphasis on understanding the methodological and statistical issues involved in using these models. The estimation and interpretation of multilevel models is demonstrated using realistic examples from various disciplines. For example, readers will find data sets on stress in hospitals, GPA scores, survey responses, street safety, epilepsy, divorce, and sociometric scores, to name a few. The data sets are available on the website in SPSS, HLM, MLwiN, LISREL and/or Mplus files. Readers are introduced to both the multilevel regression model and multilevel structural models. Highlights of the second edition include: Two new chapters—one on multilevel models for ordinal and count data (Ch. 7) and another on multilevel survival analysis (Ch. 8). Thoroughly updated chapters on multilevel structural equation modeling that reflect the enormous technical progress of the last few years. The addition of some simpler examples to help the novice, whilst the more complex examples that combine more than one problem have been retained. A new section on multivariate meta-analysis (Ch. 11). Expanded discussions of covariance structures across time and analyzing longitudinal data where no trend is expected. Expanded chapter on the logistic model for dichotomous data and proportions with new estimation methods. An updated website at http://www.joophox.net/ with data sets for all the text examples and up-to-date screen shots and PowerPoint slides for instructors. Ideal for introductory courses on multilevel modeling and/or ones that introduce this topic in some detail taught in a variety of disciplines including: psychology, education, sociology, the health sciences, and business. The advanced extensions also make this a favorite resource for researchers and methodologists in these disciplines. A basic understanding of ANOVA and multiple regression is assumed. The section on multilevel structural equation models assumes a basic understanding of SEM.

This book presents the state of the art in multilevel analysis, with an emphasis on more advanced topics. These topics are discussed conceptually, analyzed mathematically, and illustrated by empirical examples. Multilevel analysis is the statistical analysis of hierarchically and non-hierarchically nested data. The simplest example is clustered data, such as a sample of students clustered within schools. Multilevel data are especially prevalent in the social and behavioral sciences and in the biomedical sciences. The chapter authors are all leading experts in the field. Given the omnipresence of multilevel data in the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences, this book is essential for empirical researchers in these fields.

This book provides a uniquely accessible introduction to multilevel modeling, a powerful tool for analyzing relationships between an individual-level dependent variable, such as student reading achievement, and individual-level and contextual explanatory factors, such as gender and neighborhood quality. Helping readers build on the statistical techniques they already know, Robert Bickel emphasizes the parallels with more familiar regression models, shows how to do multilevel modeling using SPSS, and demonstrates how to interpret the results. He discusses the strengths and limitations of multilevel analysis and explains specific circumstances in which it offers (or does not offer) methodological advantages over more traditional techniques. Over 300 dataset examples from research on educational achievement, income attainment, voting behavior, and other timely issues are presented in numbered procedural steps.

This volume provides new insights into the functioning of organizational, managerial and market societies. Multilevel analysis and social network analysis are described and the authors show how they can be combined in developing the theory, methods and empirical applications of the social sciences. This book maps out the development of multilevel reasoning and shows how it can explain behavior, through two different ways of contextualizing it. First, by identifying levels of influence on behavior and different aggregations of actors and behavior, and complex interactions between context and behavior. Second, by identifying different levels as truly different systems of agency: such levels of agency can be examined separately and jointly since the link between them is affiliation of members of one level to collective actors at the superior level. It is by combining these approaches that this work offers new insights. New case studies and datasets that explore new avenues of theorizing and new applications of methodology are presented. This book will be useful as a reference work for all social scientists, economists and historians who use network analyses and multilevel statistical analyses. Philosophers interested in the philosophy of science or epistemology will also find this book valuable. ​