Missing data in bioarchaeology II: A test of ordinal and continuous data imputation.

Objectives: Previous research has shown that while missing data are common in bioarchaeological studies, they are seldom handled using statistically rigorous methods. The primary objective of this article is to evaluate the ability of imputation to manage missing data and encourage the use of advanc...

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Publicado en:American Journal of Biological Anthropology Vol. 179; no. 3; pp. 349 - 365
Autores principales: Wissler, Amanda, Blevins, Kelly E., Buikstra, Jane E.
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Nov2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Nov2022
      vid: 179
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      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
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        159724822
        10.1002/ajpa.24614
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        atl: Missing data in bioarchaeology II: A test of ordinal and continuous data imputation.
      aug:
        au:
          Wissler, Amanda
          Blevins, Kelly E.
          Buikstra, Jane E.
        affil:
          Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia South Carolina,, USA
          Archaeology Department, Durham University, Durham, UK
          Center for Bioarchaeological Research, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe Arizona,, USA
      su:
        Physical anthropology
        Missing data (Statistics)
        Multiple imputation (Statistics)
        Archaeological human remains
        Random forest algorithms
        Statistical power analysis
        Paleopathology
      sug:
        subj:
          Physical anthropology
          Missing data (Statistics)
          Multiple imputation (Statistics)
          Archaeological human remains
          Random forest algorithms
          Statistical power analysis
          Paleopathology
      keyword:
        bioarchaeology
        imputation
        missing data
        paleopathology
        bioarchaeology
        imputation
        missing data
        paleopathology
      ab: Objectives: Previous research has shown that while missing data are common in bioarchaeological studies, they are seldom handled using statistically rigorous methods. The primary objective of this article is to evaluate the ability of imputation to manage missing data and encourage the use of advanced statistical methods in bioarchaeology and paleopathology. An overview of missing data management in biological anthropology is provided, followed by a test of imputation and deletion methods for handling missing data. Materials and Methods: Missing data were simulated on complete datasets of ordinal (n = 287) and continuous (n = 369) bioarchaeological data. Missing values were imputed using five imputation methods (mean, predictive mean matching, random forest, expectation maximization, and stochastic regression) and the success of each at obtaining the parameters of the original dataset compared with pairwise and listwise deletion. Results: In all instances, listwise deletion was least successful at approximating the original parameters. Imputation of continuous data was more effective than ordinal data. Overall, no one method performed best and the amount of missing data proved a stronger predictor of imputation success. Discussion: These findings support the use of imputation methods over deletion for handling missing bioarchaeological and paleopathology data, especially when the data are continuous. Whereas deletion methods reduce sample size, imputation maintains sample size, improving statistical power and preventing bias from being introduced into the dataset.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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