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With clustered data, such as where students are nested within schools or employees are nested within organizations, it is often of interest to estimate and compare associations among variables separately for each level. While researchers routinely estimate between-cluster effects using the sample cluster means of a predictor, previous research has shown that such practice leads to biased estimates of coefficients at the between level, and recent research has recommended the use of latent cluster means with the multilevel structural equation modeling framework. However, the latent cluster mean approach may not always be the best choice as it (a) relies on the assumption that the population cluster sizes are close to infinite, (b) requires a relatively large number of clusters, and (c) is currently only implemented in specialized software such as Mplus. In this paper, we show how using empirical Bayes estimates of the cluster means can also lead to consistent estimates of between-level coefficients, and illustrate how the empirical Bayes estimate can incorporate finite population corrections when information on population cluster sizes is available. Through a series of Monte Carlo simulation studies, we show that the empirical Bayes cluster-mean approach performs similarly to the latent cluster mean approach for estimating the between-cluster coefficients in most conditions when the infinite-population assumption holds, and applying the finite population correction provides reasonable point and interval estimates when the population is finite. The performance of EBM can be further improved with restricted maximum likelihood estimation and likelihood-based confidence intervals. We also provide an R function that implements the empirical Bayes cluster-mean approach, and illustrate it using data from the classic High School and Beyond Study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiologic screening programs often make use of tests with small, but nonzero probabilities of misdiagnosis. In this article, we assume the target population is finite with a fixed number of true cases, and that we apply an imperfect test with known sensitivity and specificity to a sample of individuals from the population. In this setting, we propose an enhanced inferential approach for use in conjunction with sampling-based bias-corrected prevalence estimation. While ignoring the finite nature of the population can yield markedly conservative estimates, direct application of a standard finite population correction (FPC) conversely leads to underestimation of variance. We uncover a way to leverage the typical FPC indirectly toward valid statistical inference. In particular, we derive a readily estimable extra variance component induced by misclassification in this specific but arguably common diagnostic testing scenario. Our approach yields a standard error estimate that properly captures the sampling variability of the usual bias-corrected maximum likelihood estimator of disease prevalence. Finally, we develop an adapted Bayesian credible interval for the true prevalence that offers improved frequentist properties (i.e., coverage and width) relative to a Wald-type confidence interval. We report the simulation results to demonstrate the enhanced performance of the proposed inferential methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Health & Nursing Management / Sağlık ve Hemşirelik Yönetimi Dergisi is the property of Logos Medical Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The process capability index is a tool for quality measurement and analysis widely used in the industry. It is also a good tool for the sales department to communicate with customers. Although the value of the process capability index can be affected by the accuracy and precision of the process, the index itself cannot be differentiated. Therefore, the process incapability index is directly divided into two items, accuracy and precision, based on the expected value of the Taguchi process loss function. In fact, accuracy and precision are two important reference items for improving the manufacturing process. Thus, the process incapability index is good for evaluating process quality. The process incapability index contains two unknown parameters, so it needs to be estimated with sample data. Since point estimates are subject to misjudgment incurred by the inaccuracy of sampling, and since modern businesses are in the era of rapid response, the size of sampling usually tends to be small. A number of studies have suggested that a fuzzy testing method built on the confidence interval be adopted at this time because it integrates experts and the experience accumulated in the past. In addition to a decrease in the possibility of misjudgment resulting from sampling error, this method can improve the test accuracy. Therefore, based on the confidence interval of the process incapability index, we proposed the fuzzy testing method to assess whether the process capability can attain a necessary level of quality. If the quality level fails to meet the requirement, then an improvement must be made. If the quality level exceeds the requirement, then it is equivalent to excess quality, and a resource transfer must be considered to reduce costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy makers, firms, and researchers often choose among multiple options based on estimates. Sampling error in the estimates used to guide choice leads to a winner's curse, since we are more likely to select a given option precisely when we overestimate its effectiveness. This winner's curse biases our estimates for selected options upward and can invalidate conventional confidence intervals. This article develops estimators and confidence intervals that eliminate this winner's curse. We illustrate our results by studying selection of job-training programs based on estimated earnings effects and selection of neighborhoods based on estimated economic opportunity. We find that our winner's curse corrections can make an economically significant difference to conclusions but still allow informative inference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate characterization of soil contaminant concentrations is often crucial for assessing risks to human and ecological health. However, fine-scale assessments of large tracts of land can be cost prohibitive due to the number of samples needed. One solution to this problem is to extrapolate sampling results from one area to another unsampled area. In the absence of a validated extrapolation methodology, regulatory agencies have employed policy-based techniques for large sites, but the likelihood of decision errors resulting from these extrapolations is largely unexplored. This study describes the results of a simulation study aimed at guiding environmental sampling for sites where extrapolation concepts are of interest. The objective of this study is to provide practical recommendations to regulatory agencies for extrapolating sampling results on large tracts of land while minimizing errors that are detrimental to human health. A variety of site investigation scenarios representative of environmental conditions and sampling schemes were tested using adaptive sampling when collecting discrete samples or applying incremental sampling methodology (ISM). These simulations address extrapolation uncertainty in cases where a Pilot Study might result in either false noncompliance or false compliance conclusions. A wide range of plausible scenarios were used that reflect the variety of heterogeneity seen at large sites. This simulation study demonstrates that ISM can be reliably applied in a Pilot Study for purposes of extrapolating the outcome to a large area site because it decreases the likelihood of false non-compliance errors while also providing reliable estimates of true compliance across unsampled areas. The results demonstrate how errors depend on the magnitude of the 95% upper confidence limit for the mean concentration (95UCL) relative to the applicable action level, and that error rates are highest when the 95UCL is within 10%–40% of the action level. The false compliance rate can be reduced to less than 5% when 30% or more of the site is characterized with ISM. False compliance error rates using ISM are insensitive to the fraction of the decision units (DUs) that are characterized with three replicates (with a minimum of 10 percent), so long as 95UCLs are calculated for the DUs with one replicate using the average coefficient of variation from the three replicate DUs. • Environmental assessments of large tracts of land often use extrapolation methods. • Simulations support the use of extrapolation for the protection of human health. • An average coefficient of variation predicts upper end concentrations. • Using discrete sampling, 30% of the site must be characterized before extrapolation. • Incremental sampling requires 10% site characterization before extrapolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]