A Bayesian Approach to Account for Misclassification and Overdispersion in Count Data

Count data are subject to considerable sources of what is often referred to as non-sampling error. Errors such as misclassification, measurement error and unmeasured confounding can lead to substantially biased estimators. It is strongly recommended that epidemiologists not only acknowledge these so...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wenqi Wu, James Stamey, David Kahle
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2015-08-01
Series:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/12/9/10648
Description
Summary:Count data are subject to considerable sources of what is often referred to as non-sampling error. Errors such as misclassification, measurement error and unmeasured confounding can lead to substantially biased estimators. It is strongly recommended that epidemiologists not only acknowledge these sorts of errors in data, but incorporate sensitivity analyses into part of the total data analysis. We extend previous work on Poisson regression models that allow for misclassification by thoroughly discussing the basis for the models and allowing for extra-Poisson variability in the form of random effects. Via simulation we show the improvements in inference that are brought about by accounting for both the misclassification and the overdispersion.
ISSN:1660-4601