Multilevel Models for Hierarchical Data

December 11-13, 2023
10:00 am – 3:30 pm (Eastern US time)
Replay Access: 1 year from end of workshop
Instructors: Dan Bauer & Patrick Curran
Software Demonstrations: Pre-recorded in R, SPSS, SAS, and Stata

Student: $475
Professional: $595

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Category: Livestream, Workshops

Multilevel Models for Hierarchical Data is a three-day workshop focused on the application and interpretation of multilevel models, also known as hierarchical linear models and mixed models, for the analysis of hierarchical data. Hierarchical data structures arises from sampling units at multiple levels, wherein lower-level units are nested within higher-level units. Common instances are students nested within schools, siblings nested within families, patients nested within therapists, and adults nested within communities. Analyzing such data using traditional general linear models (e.g., ANOVA or regression) is flawed, oftentimes substantially so. Not only are tests of significance likely biased, but many important within-group and between-group relations cannot be evaluated. All of these limitations can be addressed within the multilevel model. In this workshop we provide a comprehensive exploration of multilevel models for hierarchical data, with practical guidance on how to apply these in your own work.

Note: This workshop is a shorter version of our 5-day Multilevel Modeling workshop, which is currently available for self-paced access. Whereas the 3-day livestream this December focuses specifically on applications with hierarchical data structures, the longer class also includes coverage of applications to longitudinal data. Additionally, the longer class extends these applications to three-level models that blend hierarchical and longitudinal structures (e.g., repeated measures nested within persons nested within clusters). Those interested in these additional topics may prefer to enroll in the longer version of the class.

Instructors

Daniel J. Bauer, Ph.D.

Dan Bauer is a Professor and the Director of the L.L. Thurstone Psychometric Laboratory in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. He teaches primarily graduate-level courses in statistical methods, for which he has won multiple teaching awards. Read More

Patrick J. Curran, Ph.D.

Patrick Curran is a Professor in the L.L. Thurstone Psychometric Laboratory in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is dedicated to teaching and disseminating advanced quantitative methods and has won multiple awards for teaching excellence. Read More

Workshop Details

Goals of the Workshop

Our motivating goal is to provide an interactive and engaging instructional experience that focuses on a large number of topics in multilevel modeling. We strive to strike an equal balance between core concepts of the underlying statistical model along with the practical application and interpretation of multilevel models fitted to real empirical data with a hierarchical structure. Our workshop is designed to provide participants with the materials and instruction needed to both develop a real understanding of the multilevel model and to be able to thoughtfully apply a variety of basic and advanced multilevel models to their own data.

Who Should Attend

Our workshop is designed for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, faculty, and research scientists from the behavioral, social, and health sciences. Although it is recommended that participants have a working knowledge of the general regression model, these core concepts will be reviewed at the beginning of the workshop. Participants who would like a more thorough refresher on linear regression prior to attending may wish to watch our (no cost) Linear Regression Playlist on YouTube.

Syllabus

Chapter 1. General Introduction
1.1 Nested Data Structures
1.2 Why Conventional Statistics are Inappropriate for Nested Data
1.3 Methods for Analyzing Nested Data

Chapter 2. Basic Multilevel Models
2.1 The Random-Effects ANOVA Model
2.2 Incorporating Lower-Level Predictors
2.3 Incorporating Upper-Level Predictors

Chapter 3. Decomposing Within- and Between-Group Effects
3.1 Conceptualizing Total, Between-Group and Within-Group Effects
3.2 Centering Level 1 and Level 2 Predictors
3.3 Estimating and Testing Within- and Between-Group Effects

Chapter 4. Random Slopes and Cross-Level Interactions
4.1 Including Random Slopes for Level-1 Predictors
4.2 Modeling Cross-Level Interactions
4.3 Plotting and Probing Cross-Level Interactions

Daily Schedule

Software Considerations

What is Provided

Dan Bauer and Patrick Curran co-teach the workshop live via Zoom and alternate lecturing throughout the day, with recordings posted at the end of each day for those who might miss or wish to review any of the material. The lectures for the workshop are software-independent but demonstrations are provided in R, SAS, SPSS, and Stata via pre-recorded videos.

Participants receive access to the livestream, one-year of access to recorded lecture and demonstration videos, downloadable complete PDF copies of the course notes and software demonstrations, as well as data and code for all examples. The PDFs are not time-limited and may be retained indefinitely but should not be distributed to others without obtaining prior permission.

Availability of Recordings

The Livestream does not have DVR-like controls and thus cannot be paused or rewound during the session itself. However, full recordings of of the Livestream will be available to rewatch for 12 months following the completion of the workshop, with recordings generally posted for each day within one or two hours of the end of class.

You can log in to your account to access these recordings (Select My Workshops, then click on the corresponding workshop tile). The recordings cannot be saved by the participant and will not be available after they expire. We are not able to offer individual extensions to the expiration date, so please be sure to watch replays and/or download workshop materials (PDF & ZIP files) before then.

Sample Content

Interactions with Instructors

Tuition Support for Students

We offer reduced-price registrations for undergraduate and graduate students who are actively enrolled in a recognized bachelor's, master's or doctoral training program. No application is necessary to qualify for the student tuition rates; simply choose the student rate when beginning the registration process at the top of the page. Confirmation of student status may be requested at a later time.

Connectivity Requirements

Technical Support

CenterStat is not able to provide technical support for end-user issues with the Livestream. As such, participants are fully responsible for connectivity that supports the Livestream of audio and video. In the low probability that a participant is not able to connect, there will be access to the recorded sessions for 12 months following the completion of the workshop. If you need assistance accessing recordings or with your CenterStat account, please contact support.

Cancellation Policy

Reviews

In an effort to continually improve our instruction we obtain student evaluations with each course offering. Here is a sample of reviews from prior Multilevel Modeling workshops:

Thank you for such an amazing workshop! I learned so much and cannot wait to dig into my dissertation data!

The concepts and practical applications are hard for me, but in this class I really felt like I’ve had some Eureka moments. It really came together for me. I think that speaks to both of your teaching abilities, the format of the class, and the organization of the materials. I love the dynamic between you two and your teaching styles complement each other well. I had a blast, a really good time, and loved it.

Everything is a strength -- balance between lecture/practical, the pace at which the material is delivered, the course material/resources, etc. Really just everything.

The workshop does a great job of explaining MLM on a conceptual level and provides useful examples to better understand the modeling. The instructors were great at teaching the material and were very open to answering questions.

This workshop strikes a perfect balance between theory and practical applications. I particularly appreciated this as my MLM grad class was several years ago, so this was a refresher and an extension now that I have the data to actually analyze.

Multilevel Models for Hierarchical Data

Instructors

Daniel J. Bauer, Ph.D.

Patrick J. Curran, Ph.D.

Workshop Details

Reviews

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