Bayesian Approaches to Handling Missing Data

Faculty of Medicine

Imperial College London

St. Mary's Campus (Paddington), London

Date

Mon 30th Jan 2012 (+ OPTIONAL computer-based practical workshop on Tue 31st Jan 2012)

Level

Advanced

Tutors

Prof Nicky Best and Dr Alexina Mason, Imperial College London

Target audience

Professional and post-graduate level statisticians, data analysts and quantitative researchers working in applied environments where missing data is a key issue and where formal, well justified approaches are needed for making informed inferences. The course would also be of interest to researchers who have experience of using multiple imputation or other model-based methods for handling missing data, and who are interested to find out what a Bayesian approach to missing data can offer.

Course outline

This 1-day workshop will provide an overview of Bayesian methods for dealing with missing data in the analysis of experimental and observational studies, and will contrast the Bayesian approach with some other model-based methods for handling missing data. The workshop will be followed by an optional 2nd day practical class, in which participants will learn how to implement some Bayesian missing data models using the WinBUGS software.

Summary of course content

Types of missing data mechanisms and their implications for analysis
Bayesian methods for handling missing outcome data
Bayesian methods for handling missing predictor data
Bayesian methods for dealing with non-ignorable missing data mechanisms
Sensitivity analysis and practical strategies for statistical analysis with missing data
Comparison with multiple imputation
Day 1 will include some pen & paper and group discussion practical exercises
Day 2 (optional) will be dedicated to hands-on computer practical exercises using WinBUGS

Course Requirements

Attendees should have strong quantitative data analysis skills, including a good working knowledge of the practice and principles of linear and generalized linear models, and some familiarity with the basics of Bayesian inference (prior, likelihood, posterior; familiarity with standard probability distributions such as Normal, Poisson, Binomial).

Day 1 participants do not need to be familiar with the WinBUGS software

Day 2 participants will be assumed to be familiar with using the WinBUGS software. We will not be providing introductory material on using WinBUGS.

Location

The course will take place in the Division of Epidemiology, Public Health and Primary Care of the Faculty of Medicine and the participants will be able to use these facilities. Note that this is in the Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London at St. Mary's Campus, and NOT in the main campus in South Kensington.

The complete address is

School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine
Imperial College London
St. Mary's Campus, Norfolk Place
W2 1PG London - UK

More information on how to arrive can be found at http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/contacts/campuses/stmarys/

Course Fees and Registration

Fees are per day

£30 (UK registered postgraduate students)
£60 (All other participants)

The registration form for day 1 can be found at: https://www5.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/coursebookings/0112_bayesiandayone.html

The registration form for day 2 can be found at: https://www5.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/coursebookings/0112_bayesiandaytwo.html

You will need to register and pay separately for each day. However, please note that we will not accept bookings for day 2 only – you must attend day 1 in order to attend day 2.

There is no closing date for registration, but places for the Day 2 practical workshop are limited and are likely to get booked very quickly.

Course Materials

Laptops and Software download

Participants for the Day 2 workshop are asked to bring their own laptops for the practicals if possible. We ask that you work in pairs during the practical classes, so if you do not have a laptop we can always pair you up with someone that does.

If you intend to bring your own laptop, it would save time if you could download and install the software beforehand. You will need to install WinBUGS version 1.4.3, which can be downloaded from the WinBUGS website:

http://www.mrc-bsu.cam.ac.uk/bugs/winbugs/contents.shtml

which also contains instructions for installation. You will need to download and install the main WinBUGS 1.4 package, and then the patch to upgrade this to 1.4.3. Please also remember to install the key for full use, otherwise some of the practical exercises will not work.

If you are coming from outside the UK, please remember to bring an adaptor plug so that you can plug your laptop into UK power sockets!