Regression toward the mean in effectiveness studies: theoretically possible, not mathematically inevitable

Regression Toward the Mean (RTM) in extreme-group quasi-experiments is a thoroughly theoretical matter, not a simple mathematical necessity, so results of extreme-group before-and-after treatment effectiveness studies should not be doubted simply because of the theoretical possibility of RTM. The es...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quality & quantity 2008-12, Vol.42 (6), p.859-865
Main Author: Krause, Merton S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Effectiveness
Effectiveness studies
Estimation
Expected values
Experiments
History, theory and methodology
Mathematical models
Mean
Methodology
Methodology of the Social Sciences
Population
Quasi-experimental methods
Regression analysis
Research Note
Social Sciences
Sociology
Standard scores
Statistical analysis
Theoretical Problems
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Regression Toward the Mean (RTM) in extreme-group quasi-experiments is a thoroughly theoretical matter, not a simple mathematical necessity, so results of extreme-group before-and-after treatment effectiveness studies should not be doubted simply because of the theoretical possibility of RTM. The estimation of RTM, wherever one has a treatment group with a pretreatment mean off to one side of its population’s mean, requires knowledge of the population mean, standard deviation, and regression slope. RTM ought not be presumed to be operative in studies unless its several theoretical assumptions have been justified and its implications for sample data have been corroborated on that data. RTM can properly be adjusted for only when it has been adequately estimated from the relevant population data.
ISSN:0033-5177
1573-7845
DOI:10.1007/s11135-007-9137-8