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Performs a sensitivity analysis when planning sample size from the Accuracy in Parameter Estimation (AIPE) Perspective for the (unstandardized) contrast in randomized ANCOVA design.

Usage

ss_aipe_c_ancova_sensitivity(
  true_error_var_ancova = NULL,
  est_error_var_ancova = NULL,
  true_error_var_anova = NULL,
  est_error_var_anova = NULL,
  rho,
  est_rho = NULL,
  G = 10000,
  mu_y,
  sigma_y,
  mu_x,
  sigma_x,
  c_weights,
  width,
  conf_level = 0.95,
  assurance = NULL,
  save = FALSE,
  filename = "ss_aipe_c_ancova_sensitivity_result.csv"
)

Arguments

true_error_var_ancova

population error variance of the ANCOVA model

est_error_var_ancova

estimated error variance of the ANCOVA model

true_error_var_anova

population error variance of the ANOVA model (i.e., excluding the covariate)

est_error_var_anova

estimated error variance of the ANOVA model (i.e., excluding the covariate)

rho

population correlation coefficient of the response and the covariate

est_rho

estimated correlation coefficient of the response and the covariate

G

number of generations (i.e., replications) of the simulation

mu_y

vector that contains the response's population mean of each group

sigma_y

the population standard deviation of the response

mu_x

the population mean of the covariate

sigma_x

the population standard deviation of the covariate

c_weights

the contrast weights

width

the desired full width of the obtained confidence interval

conf_level

the desired confidence interval coverage, (i.e., 1 - Type I error rate)

assurance

parameter to ensure that the obtained confidence interval width is narrower than the desired width with a specified degree of certainty (must be NULL or between zero and unity)

save

option to save simulation results. It can be saved with save = TRUE outside of the printed results

filename

the name of the file that simulation results will be saved to

Value

A data.frame with columns term and value summarizing the Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis across G replications. The term entries are: mean_psi, median_psi, sd_psi (summaries of the realized unstandardized contrast); mean_ci_width, median_ci_width, sd_ci_width (summaries of the realized interval widths); pct_ci_less_w (proportion of intervals narrower than the planning target width); pct_ci_miss_low and pct_ci_miss_high (tail-specific empirical non-coverage of the population contrast); total_type_I_error (overall empirical non-coverage, the sum of the two tails); mean_se_ratio (mean ratio of the contrast standard error that ignores the covariate-imbalance term to the full ANCOVA standard error); and the input echoes n_per_group, total_N, true_psi (the population contrast implied by mu_y and c_weights), est_error_var_ancova (as supplied or as resolved from est_error_var_anova and est_rho), rho, width, conf_level, and assurance (present only when an assurance was supplied). The proportion rows are on the 0 to 1 scale, not percentages. The per-replication vectors (psi_obs, se_psi, se_psi_restricted, width_obs) are not returned; they are written to the CSV named by filename when save = TRUE.

Details

The arguments mu_y, mu_x, sigma_y, and sigma_x are used to generate random data in the simulations for the sensitivity analysis. The value of sigma_y should be the same as the square root of true_error_var_anova.

So far this function is based on one-covariate randomized ANCOVA design only. The argument mu_x should be a single number, because it is assumed that the population mean of the covariate is equal across groups in randomized ANCOVA.

References

Lai, K., & Kelley, K. (2012). Accuracy in parameter estimation for ANCOVA and ANOVA contrasts: Sample size planning via narrow confidence intervals. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 65, 350–370. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8317.2011.02029.x

Maxwell, S. E., Delaney, H. D., & Kelley, K. (2027). Designing experiments and analyzing data: A model comparison perspective (4th ed.). Routledge. (See Chapter 9.)

See also

design_consequences for what a chosen design delivers: power, the Type S (sign) and Type M (exaggeration) errors of the significance filter, and the expected confidence interval width.

Author

Ken Kelley kkelley@nd.edu

Examples

# Monte Carlo sensitivity sweep; G is small here so the example runs quickly.
# Raise G (e.g., G = 1000 or more) for a stable sensitivity analysis.
set.seed(113)
ss_aipe_c_ancova_sensitivity(true_error_var_ancova=30,
                             est_error_var_ancova=30, rho=.2, mu_y=c(10,12,15,13), mu_x=2,
                             G=50, sigma_x=1.3, sigma_y=2, c_weights=c(1,0,-1,0), width=3)
#>  term                 value 
#>  mean_psi             -4.98 
#>  median_psi           -4.96 
#>  sd_psi               0.26  
#>  mean_ci_width        1.07  
#>  median_ci_width      1.07  
#>  sd_ci_width          0.0366
#>  pct_ci_less_w        1     
#>  pct_ci_miss_low      0.04  
#>  pct_ci_miss_high     0.02  
#>  total_type_I_error   0.06  
#>  mean_se_ratio        0.999 
#>  n_per_group          104   
#>  total_N              416   
#>  true_psi             -5    
#>  est_error_var_ancova 30    
#>  rho                  0.2   
#>  width                3     
#>  conf_level           0.95  
#> 
#> Confidence level: 95%

ss_aipe_c_ancova_sensitivity(true_error_var_anova=36,
                             est_error_var_anova=36, rho=.2, est_rho=.2, G=50,
                             mu_y=c(10,12,15,13), mu_x=2, sigma_x=1.3, sigma_y=6,
                             c_weights=c(1,0,-1,0), width=3, assurance=NULL)
#>  term                 value 
#>  mean_psi             -5    
#>  median_psi           -4.94 
#>  sd_psi               0.721 
#>  mean_ci_width        3.02  
#>  median_ci_width      3     
#>  sd_ci_width          0.0912
#>  pct_ci_less_w        0.5   
#>  pct_ci_miss_low      0     
#>  pct_ci_miss_high     0.02  
#>  total_type_I_error   0.02  
#>  mean_se_ratio        0.999 
#>  n_per_group          119   
#>  total_N              476   
#>  true_psi             -5    
#>  est_error_var_ancova 34.6  
#>  rho                  0.2   
#>  width                3     
#>  conf_level           0.95  
#> 
#> Confidence level: 95%