Missing Data in Clinical Studies
Chapter One
Introduction
In this chapter we give a broad introduction to the problem of missing data.
We provide a perspective on the topic, reviewing the main developments
of the last century (Section 1.1), in the process paying special attention to
the setting of clinical studies (Section 1.2). We examine the move towards
more principled approaches, more elaborate modelling strategies and, most
recently, the important role of sensitivity analysis (Section 1.3). Finally, we map
out the developments and material that make up rest of the book (Section 1.4).
In the next chapter we introduce the key sets of data that will be used
throughout the book to illustrate the analyses.
1.1 FROM IMBALANCE TO THE FIELD OF MISSING
DATA RESEARCH
It is very common for sets of quantitative data to be incomplete, in the sense
that not all planned observations are actually made. This is especially true when
studies are conducted on human subjects. Examples abound in epidemiologic
studies (Piant ... read full excerpt from Missing Data in Clinical Studies ebook
