Geography & Environment Publications
Multi-level Modelling in Health Research: A Caution and Rejoinder on Temporally Mismatched Data
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2006
Volume
62
Issue
5
Journal
Social Science and Medicine
First Page
1215
Last Page
1218
URL with Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.06.056
Abstract
In a review of the multilevel modelling literature (MLM) we find that data on individuals and their social environment contexts (neighbourhoods, municipalities) are often drawn from different years/time periods. This temporal mismatch has scarcely attracted any attention though it can significantly influence modelling results and interpretation. We demonstrate the influence of temporal mismatch first by outlining the degree of neighbourhood mobility in large metropolitan areas in Britain, Canada and the United States and second with a brief MLM example. We conclude that researchers ought to provide more study context when such mismatch is unavoidable.
Notes
Dr. Michael Buzzelli is currently a faculty member at The University of Western Ontario.