In statistics, the standardized mean of a contrast variable (SMCV or SMC), is a parameter assessing effect size. The SMCV is defined as mean divided by the standard deviation of a contrast variable.[1][2] The SMCV was first proposed for one-way ANOVA cases [2] and was then extended to multi-factor ANOVA cases .[3]
Background
Consistent interpretations for the strength of group comparison, as represented by a contrast, are important.[4][5]
When there are only two groups involved in a comparison, SMCV is the same as the strictly standardized mean difference (SSMD). SSMD belongs to a popular type of effect-size measure called "standardized mean differences"[6] which includes Cohen's [7] and Glass's [8]
In ANOVA, a similar parameter for measuring the strength of group comparison is standardized effect size (SES).[9] One issue with SES is that its values are incomparable for contrasts with different coefficients. SMCV does not have such an issue.
Concept
Suppose the random values in t groups represented by random variables have means and variances , respectively. A contrast variable is defined by
where the 's are a set of coefficients representing a comparison of interest and satisfy . The SMCV of contrast variable , denoted by , is defined as[1]
where is the covariance of and . When are independent,
Classifying rule for the strength of group comparisons
The population value (denoted by ) of SMCV can be used to classify the strength of a comparison represented by a contrast variable, as shown in the following table.[1][2] This classifying rule has a probabilistic basis due to the link between SMCV and c+-probability.[1]
Effect type | Effect subtype | Thresholds for negative SMCV | Thresholds for positive SMCV |
---|---|---|---|
Extra large | Extremely strong | ||
Very strong | |||
Strong | |||
Fairly strong | |||
Large | Moderate | ||
Fairly moderate | |||
Medium | Fairly weak | ||
Weak | |||
Very weak | |||
Small | Extremely weak | ||
No effect |
Statistical estimation and inference
The estimation and inference of SMCV presented below is for one-factor experiments.[1][2] Estimation and inference of SMCV for multi-factor experiments has also been discussed.[1][3]
The estimation of SMCV relies on how samples are obtained in a study. When the groups are correlated, it is usually difficult to estimate the covariance among groups. In such a case, a good strategy is to obtain matched or paired samples (or subjects) and to conduct contrast analysis based on the matched samples. A simple example of matched contrast analysis is the analysis of paired difference of drug effects after and before taking a drug in the same patients. By contrast, another strategy is to not match or pair the samples and to conduct contrast analysis based on the unmatched or unpaired samples. A simple example of unmatched contrast analysis is the comparison of efficacy between a new drug taken by some patients and a standard drug taken by other patients. Methods of estimation for SMCV and c+-probability in matched contrast analysis may differ from those used in unmatched contrast analysis.
Unmatched samples
Consider an independent sample of size ,
from the group . 's are independent. Let ,
and
When the groups have unequal variance, the maximal likelihood estimate (MLE) and method-of-moment estimate (MM) of SMCV () are, respectively[1][2]
and
When the groups have equal variance, under normality assumption, the uniformly minimal variance unbiased estimate (UMVUE) of SMCV () is[1][2]
where .
The confidence interval of SMCV can be made using the following non-central t-distribution:[1][2]
where
Matched samples
In matched contrast analysis, assume that there are independent samples from groups ('s), where . Then the observed value of a contrast is .
Let and be the sample mean and sample variance of the contrast variable , respectively. Under normality assumptions, the UMVUE estimate of SMCV is[1]
where
A confidence interval for SMCV can be made using the following non-central t-distribution:[1]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Zhang XHD (2011). Optimal High-Throughput Screening: Practical Experimental Design and Data Analysis for Genome-scale RNAi Research. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-73444-8.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Zhang XHD (2009). "A method for effectively comparing gene effects in multiple conditions in RNAi and expression-profiling research". Pharmacogenomics. 10: 345–58. doi:10.2217/14622416.10.3.345. PMID 20397965.
- 1 2 Zhang XHD (2010). "Assessing the size of gene or RNAi effects in multifactor high-throughput experiments". Pharmacogenomics. 11: 199–213. doi:10.2217/PGS.09.136. PMID 20136359.
- ↑ Rosenthal R, Rosnow RL, Rubin DB (2000). Contrasts and Effect Sizes in Behavioral Research. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-65980-9.
- ↑ Huberty CJ (2002). "A history of effect size indices". Educational and Psychological Measurement. 62: 227–40. doi:10.1177/0013164402062002002.
- ↑ Kirk RE (1996). "Practical significance: A concept whose time has come". Educational and Psychological Measurement. 56: 746–59. doi:10.1177/0013164496056005002.
- ↑ Cohen J (1962). "The statistical power of abnormal-social psychological research: A review". Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 65: 145–53. doi:10.1037/h0045186. PMID 13880271.
- ↑ Glass GV (1976). "Primary, secondary, and meta-analysis of research". Educational Researcher. 5: 3–8. doi:10.3102/0013189X005010003.
- ↑ Steiger JH (2004). "Beyond the F test: Effect size confidence intervals and tests of close fit in the analysis of variance and contrast analysis". Psychological Methods. 9: 164–82. doi:10.1037/1082-989x.9.2.164. PMID 15137887.