Summary of Course:
This course will focus on the application of multilevel models to hierarchically clustered data structures. Topics will include types of multilevel data structures, linear multilevel and logistic multilevel models, random intercept and random slope models, and the use of graphical methods to display results. The course will focus primarily on situations where the dependent variable is continuous, but methods will also be introduced for dealing with binary response data. The course will include a mixture of lectures and practical workshops using the multilevel modelling software MLwiN.
Course Objectives:
By the end of the course participants should:
Course Content:
The course will have a practical emphasis with computer workshops allowing participants to work through examples using the MLwiN software.
Target Audience:
The course is aimed at researchers who want to perform multilevel modeling and have to work with clustered data. Participants may be academic researchers in the social and health sciences or may work in government, survey agencies, official statistics or the voluntary or private sector.
Course Fee:
Thanks to continued ESRC funding we are able to offer this course at reduced rates as follows:
Course places are limited and early registration is strongly recommended.
Deadline and Refunds:
Course places are limited and early registration is strongly recommended. Please be aware that we will only hold a place without payment for a limited time.
Please refer to the terms and conditions of the University of Southampton online store when booking. An administration charge of £30 may apply for cancellations. No refunds can be provided for cancellations less than 28 days prior to the start of the course.
Location and Accommodation:
The course will be held at the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute, Building 39, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ. Participants will need to make their own accommodation arrangements. Maps and travel information are available from the University of Southampton Travel Page. This also includes a map of the Highfield Campus. Building 39 is at the end of Salisbury Road edging onto Southampton Common.
Duration:
On the first day, the course will start with registration and coffee at 9.30 with formal teaching starting at 10.00 a.m. On the last day, formal teaching will end at about 2.30p.m. Afterwards there will be an opportunity for participants to ask questions about the course and to discuss with the instructor how to analyse their own data (until about 4pm). (Participants are welcome to bring their own data if they wish).
Pre-requisites:
Participants are expected to have a good working knowledge of simple statistical methods, including a good understanding of linear regression (such as provided by the two CASS courses ‘Survey Data Analysis II: Introduction to Linear Regression Modelling' and ‘Regression Methods'). No familiarity with the software MLwiN is required.
Course Materials:
Participants will receive written course notes.
Please bring a calculator for the workshops as well as a USB memory stick for saving your computer workshop output.
The Instructors:
Dr Ian Brunton-Smith
is a Senior Lecturer in quantitative methods in the Department of Sociology at the University of Surrey. He has also worked as a criminologist in the Crime Surveys team at the Home Office. He has research interests in the impact of neighbourhood effects on individual outcomes, interviewer effects, and cross-national research. He has also published on the effects of panel conditioning on survey outcomes, how to measure crime, and multilevel meta-analysis. He completed his PhD in Social Statistics at the University of Surrey and has an MSc in Social Research Methods and a BA in Criminology.
Dr Gabriele B. Durrant
is a Reader at the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute (S3RI) at the University of Southampton. She is the principal investigator of a 3.5-year ESRC-funded research grants in the UK on paradata and was previously the PI of a 3.5 year ESRC grant on nonresponse analysis. She has research interests in the analysis of paradata, interviewer effects, nonresponse in sample surveys, measurement error, and statistical modelling in the social sciences, in particular multilevel modelling. She recently was the guest editor of a special issue on paradata of the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, and Associate Editor of JRSSA. Gabriele has taught a wide range of statistical courses, primarily short courses at postgraduate level, including courses for professional development. She completed her PhD in Statistics at the University of Southampton.
Preparatory Reading:
There are an increasing number of good introductory multilevel books. Below are a few that participants may find useful before attending the course.
Participants should also check the online material at the Centre for Multilevel Modelling at the
University of Bristol
. The site provides a range of introductory training material. Students and academics can also download the MLwiN software from here free of charge.