Hi, Pat. WRT to (b), I would also consult the efficiency index described by Rubin (1987) and discussed by Schafer in the Norm help file under "How many imputations do I need?". I believe the efficiency is output by Norm (but strangely not output by SAS PROC MIANALYZE, though it can easily be computed from the information provided).
In many longitudinal data sets I have found that 10 imputed data sets did not result in sufficient efficiency. I typically go with 20 imputed data sets. Steve ------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Gregorich University of California, San Francisco Department of Medicine 3333 California Street, Suite 335, Box 0856 San Francisco, CA 94143-0856 (FedEx and UPS use zip code 94118) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mywebpage.netscape.com/segregorich/index.html ------------------------------------------------------------------- > Subject: IMPUTE: Satisfying reviewers > From: "Patrick S. Malone" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 09:05:10 -0500 > > > Greetings. > > I'm hoping to get some pointers to useful citations to satisfy an editor's > > concerns on our use of multiple imputation (using NORM). Here are the two > > issues: > > "However, I could be persuaded by citations (to publications by imputation > > experts) or evidence (e.g., from Monte Carlo studies) showing that: (a) it > > is acceptable to impute missing data on the outcome variable; (b) 40% > falls > within the acceptable range for data imputation." > > I understand that (a) is not only acceptable, but obligatory in a > covariance analysis, because a covariance matrix makes no distinction > between outcomes and anything else. However, this is so fundamental, I'm > not finding explicit statements of it in my sources. For (b), I realize > that it's fraction of missing information that's the issue. We used 10 > imputations, so we should be in good shape for the missingnes we have, but > > are there any good simulation studies varying the missing information and > showing satisfactory results? Schafer (97) talks about rates up to 90% > just increasing the number of iterations needed, but there's not much > detail on performance. > > In other words, has anyone written, "Multiple imputation for content > journal editors" yet? > > Thanks, > Pat Malone > > -- > Patrick S. Malone, Ph.D., Research Scholar > Duke University Center for Child and Family Policy > Durham, North Carolina, USA > e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.duke.edu/~malone/ > >