Causal Mediation Analysis - Online Course
Monday, May 1 —
Monday, May 29, 2023
Each Monday you will receive an email with instructions for the following week.
All course materials are available 24 hours a day. Materials will be accessible for an additional 2 weeks after the official close on May 29.
This seminar will focus on some of the recent developments in causal mediation analysis and will provide practical tools to implement those techniques. Mediation analysis deals with the mechanisms and pathways by which causal effects operate. The course will discuss the relationship between traditional methods for mediation in the biomedical and social sciences and new methods of causal inference for dichotomous, continuous, and time-to-event outcomes.
The course takes place online in a series of four weekly installments of videos, quizzes, readings, and exercises, and requires about 8 hours/week. You may participate at your own convenience; there are no set times when you are required to be online.
This four-week course can be accessed with any recent web browser on almost any platform, including iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. It consists of several modules, which contain videos of the 4-day livestream version of the course in its entirety. Each module is followed by a short multiple-choice quiz to test your knowledge. There are also weekly exercises that ask you to apply what you’ve learned to a real data set.
There is also an online discussion forum where you can post questions or comments about any aspect of the course. All questions will be promptly answered by Dr. Valeri.
More details about the course content
We will also consider when standard approaches to mediation analysis are valid and when they are not valid. These approaches will be extended to more complex settings. The no-confounding assumptions needed for these techniques will be discussed in detail. SAS, SPSS, Stata, and R macros to implement mediation methods will be demonstrated and distributed to course participants.
Other topics include the use and implementation of sensitivity analysis (to assess how sensitive conclusions are to violations of assumptions) and extensions to multiple mediators.
We will also consider when standard approaches to mediation analysis are valid and when they are not valid. These approaches will be extended to more complex settings. The no-confounding assumptions needed for these techniques will be discussed in detail. SAS, SPSS, Stata, and R macros to implement mediation methods will be demonstrated and distributed to course participants.
Other topics include the use and implementation of sensitivity analysis (to assess how sensitive conclusions are to violations of assumptions) and extensions to multiple mediators.
Computing
In all cases, methods will be illustrated using software, with SAS, Stata, R, and SPSS examples and syntax. To do the exercises, you will need to use a computer with a recent version of SAS, Stata, R, or SPSS. SAS, Stata, and R will be supported by the instructor. Macros in SPSS will also be accessible, but SPSS will not be directly supported by the instructor.
There is now a free version of SAS, called SAS OnDemand for Academics, that is available to anyone.
If you’d like to use Stata for this course but don’t yet have much experience with that package, we recommend following along with a “getting started” video like the one here.
If you’d like to use R for this course but don’t yet have much experience with that package, here are some excellent on-line resources for building your R skills.
In all cases, methods will be illustrated using software, with SAS, Stata, R, and SPSS examples and syntax. To do the exercises, you will need to use a computer with a recent version of SAS, Stata, R, or SPSS. SAS, Stata, and R will be supported by the instructor. Macros in SPSS will also be accessible, but SPSS will not be directly supported by the instructor.
There is now a free version of SAS, called SAS OnDemand for Academics, that is available to anyone.
If you’d like to use Stata for this course but don’t yet have much experience with that package, we recommend following along with a “getting started” video like the one here.
If you’d like to use R for this course but don’t yet have much experience with that package, here are some excellent on-line resources for building your R skills.
Who should register?
Course prerequisites: Familiarity with linear and logistic regression. Some knowledge of counterfactual or potential outcomes notation is helpful, but not necessary.
Course prerequisites: Familiarity with linear and logistic regression. Some knowledge of counterfactual or potential outcomes notation is helpful, but not necessary.
Seminar outline
1. Concepts and methods for mediation
2. Sensitivity analysis
3. Mediation with time-to-event outcome
4. Multiple mediators
5. Surrogate outcomes
6. A unification of mediation and interaction
1. Concepts and methods for mediation
2. Sensitivity analysis
3. Mediation with time-to-event outcome
4. Multiple mediators
5. Surrogate outcomes
6. A unification of mediation and interaction
Registration instructions
The fee of $695 (USD) includes all course materials. All major credit cards are accepted.
This course is hosted on a platform called DigitalChalk. To register, you’ll need to go to statisticalhorizons.digitalchalk.com and click on Create Account. Then you will enter your name and email address, and create a password. Be sure to save your password because you will need it to logon to the course itself.
When you have created your account, you’ll be taken to your new home page. Click on the Register Now button (or click the Catalog icon on the left-hand column), and you’ll see “Causal Mediation Analysis” as one of the available courses. At the bottom of the box for that course, click the green button Add to Cart. Next click the green button at the top that says Checkout. You will then be prompted for your credit card information.
When you have finished the payment process, you will be taken back to your home page. Click on Dashboard to see Causal Mediation Analysis. When the course begins on May 1, you can click the play button to get started.
The fee of $695 (USD) includes all course materials. All major credit cards are accepted.
This course is hosted on a platform called DigitalChalk. To register, you’ll need to go to statisticalhorizons.digitalchalk.com and click on Create Account. Then you will enter your name and email address, and create a password. Be sure to save your password because you will need it to logon to the course itself.
When you have created your account, you’ll be taken to your new home page. Click on the Register Now button (or click the Catalog icon on the left-hand column), and you’ll see “Causal Mediation Analysis” as one of the available courses. At the bottom of the box for that course, click the green button Add to Cart. Next click the green button at the top that says Checkout. You will then be prompted for your credit card information.
When you have finished the payment process, you will be taken back to your home page. Click on Dashboard to see Causal Mediation Analysis. When the course begins on May 1, you can click the play button to get started.