A practical guide to the most important techniques available for longitudinal data analysis, essential for non-statisticians and researchers.

Although many books currently available describe statistical models and methods for analyzing longitudinal data, they do not highlight connections between various research threads in the statistical literature. Responding to this void, Longitudinal Data Analysis provides a clear, comprehensive, and unified overview of state-of-the-art theory

By charting changes over time and investigating whether and when events occur, researchers reveal the temporal rhythms of our lives.

This book provides accessible treatment to state-of-the-art approaches to analyzing longitudinal studies. Comprehensive coverage of the most popular analysis tools allows readers to pick and choose the techniques that best fit their research. The analyses are illustrated with examples from major longitudinal data sets including practical information about their content and design. Illustrations from popular software packages offer tips on how to interpret the results. Each chapter features suggested readings for additional study and a list of articles that further illustrate how to implement the analysis and report the results. Syntax examples for several software packages for each of the chapter examples are provided at www.psypress.com/longitudinal-data-analysis. Although many of the examples address health or social science questions related to aging, readers from other disciplines will find the analyses relevant to their work. In addition to demonstrating statistical analysis of longitudinal data, the book shows how to interpret and analyze the results within the context of the research design. The methods covered in this book are applicable to a range of applied problems including short- to long-term longitudinal studies using a range of sample sizes. The book provides non-technical, practical introductions to the concepts and issues relevant to longitudinal analysis. Topics include use of publicly available data sets, weighting and adjusting for complex sampling designs with longitudinal studies, missing data and attrition, measurement issues related to longitudinal research, the use of ANOVA and regression for average change over time, mediation analysis, growth curve models, basic and advanced structural equation models, and survival analysis. An ideal supplement for graduate level courses on data analysis and/or longitudinal modeling taught in psychology, gerontology, public health, human development, family studies, medicine, sociology, social work, and other behavioral, social, and health sciences, this multidisciplinary book will also appeal to researchers in these fields.

This book discusses the most important techniques available for longitudinal data analysis, from simple techniques such as the paired t-test and summary statistics, to more sophisticated ones such as generalized estimating of equations and mixed model analysis. A distinction is made between longitudinal analysis with continuous, dichotomous and categorical outcome variables. The emphasis of the discussion lies in the interpretation and comparison of the results of the different techniques. The second edition includes new chapters on the role of the time variable and presents new features of longitudinal data analysis. Explanations have been clarified where necessary and several chapters have been completely rewritten. The analysis of data from experimental studies and the problem of missing data in longitudinal studies are discussed. Finally, an extensive overview and comparison of different software packages is provided. This practical guide is essential for non-statisticians and researchers working with longitudinal data from epidemiological and clinical studies.

Longitudinal data analysis for biomedical and behavioral sciences This innovative book sets forth and describes methods for the analysis of longitudinaldata, emphasizing applications to problems in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. Reflecting the growing importance and use of longitudinal data across many areas of research, the text is designed to help users of statistics better analyze and understand this type of data. Much of the material from the book grew out of a course taught by Dr. Hedeker on longitudinal data analysis. The material is, therefore, thoroughly classroom tested and includes a number of features designed to help readers better understand and apply the material. Statistical procedures featured within the text include: * Repeated measures analysis of variance * Multivariate analysis of variance for repeated measures * Random-effects regression models (RRM) * Covariance-pattern models * Generalized-estimating equations (GEE) models * Generalizations of RRM and GEE for categorical outcomes Practical in their approach, the authors emphasize the applications of the methods, using real-world examples for illustration. Some syntax examples are provided, although the authors do not generally focus on software in this book. Several datasets and computer syntax examples are posted on this title's companion Web site. The authors intend to keep the syntax examples current as new versions of the software programs emerge. This text is designed for both undergraduate and graduate courses in longitudinal data analysis. Instructors can take advantage of overheads and additional course materials available online for adopters. Applied statisticians in biomedicine and the social sciences can also use the book as a convenient reference.

Emphasizing interpretation of results, this hands-on guide explains why, when, and how to use mixed models with your data.