On Ignoring the Random Effects Assumption in Multilevel Models: Review, Critique, and Recommendations

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_FCCACD7C4F5B
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
On Ignoring the Random Effects Assumption in Multilevel Models: Review, Critique, and Recommendations
Journal
Organizational Research Methods
Author(s)
Antonakis John, Bastardoz Nicolas, Rönkkö Mikko
ISSN
1094-4281
1552-7425
Publication state
Published
Issued date
04/2021
Volume
24
Number
2
Pages
443-483
Language
english
Abstract
Entities such as individuals, teams, or organizations can vary systematically from one another. Researchers typically model such data using multilevel models, assuming that the random effects are uncorrelated with the regressors. Violating this testable assumption, which is often ignored, creates an endogeneity problem thus preventing causal interpretations. Focusing on two-level models, we explain how researchers can avoid this problem by including cluster means of the Level 1 explanatory variables as controls; we explain this point conceptually and with a large scale simulation. We further show why the common practice of centering the predictor variables is mostly unnecessary. Moreover, to examine the state of the science, we reviewed 204 randomly drawn articles from macro and micro organizational science and applied psychology journals, finding that only 106 articles—with a slightly higher proportion from macro-oriented fields—properly deal with the random effects assumption. Alarmingly, most models also failed on the usual exogeneity requirement of the regressors, leaving only 25 mostly macro-level articles that potentially reported trustworthy multilevel estimates. We offer a set of practical recommendations for researchers to model multilevel data appropriately.
Keywords
random effects, fixed effects, multilevel, HLM, endogeneity, centering
Web of science
Create date
28/10/2019 21:03
Last modification date
21/11/2022 8:23
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