IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/evarev/v30y2006i1p66-85.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Centering or Not Centering in Multilevel Models? The Role of the Group Mean and the Assessment of Group Effects

Author

Listed:
  • Omar Paccagnella

    (University of Padua, Italy)

Abstract

In multilevel regression, centering the model variables produces effects that are different and sometimes unexpected compared with those in traditional regression analysis. In this article, the main contributions in terms of meaning, assumptions, and effects underlying a multilevel centering solution are reviewed, emphasizing advantages and critiques of this approach. In addition, in the spirit of Manski, contextual and correlated effects in a multilevel framework are defined to detect group effects. It is shown that the decision of centering in a multilevel analysis depends on the way the variables are centered, on whether the model has been specified with or without cross-level terms and group means, and on the purposes of the specific analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Omar Paccagnella, 2006. "Centering or Not Centering in Multilevel Models? The Role of the Group Mean and the Assessment of Group Effects," Evaluation Review, , vol. 30(1), pages 66-85, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:evarev:v:30:y:2006:i:1:p:66-85
    DOI: 10.1177/0193841X05275649
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0193841X05275649
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0193841X05275649?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. L. Biggeri & M. Bini & L. Grilli, 2001. "The transition from university to work: a multilevel approach to the analysis of the time to obtain the first job," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 164(2), pages 293-305.
    2. Harvey Goldstein & Michael J. R. Healy, 1995. "The Graphical Presentation of a Collection of Means," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 158(1), pages 175-177, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ren Lu & Qing Song & Ting Xia & Daguo Lv & Torger Reve & Ze Jian, 2021. "Unpacking the U‐shaped relationship between related variety and firm sales: Evidence from Japan," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(5), pages 1136-1157, October.
    2. repec:bpj:pepspp:v:18:y:2012:i:3:p:10:n:4 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Jonathan Kelley & M. D. R. Evans & Jennifer Lowman & Valerie Lykes, 2017. "Group-mean-centering independent variables in multi-level models is dangerous," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 261-283, January.
    4. Sanfo, Jean-Baptiste M.B., 2021. "Connecting family, school, gold mining community and primary school students’ reading achievements in Burkina Faso – A three-level hierarchical linear model analysis," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    5. Neumann, Kathleen & Stehfest, Elke & Verburg, Peter H. & Siebert, Stefan & Müller, Christoph & Veldkamp, Tom, 2011. "Exploring global irrigation patterns: A multilevel modelling approach," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 104(9), pages 703-713.
    6. Angelsen, Arild & Jagger, Pamela & Babigumira, Ronnie & Belcher, Brian & Hogarth, Nicholas J. & Bauch, Simone & Börner, Jan & Smith-Hall, Carsten & Wunder, Sven, 2014. "Environmental Income and Rural Livelihoods: A Global-Comparative Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(S1), pages 12-28.
    7. Sandra Jaworeck & Peter Kriwy, 2021. "It’s Sunny, Be Healthy? An International Comparison of the Influence of Sun Exposure and Latitude Lines on Self-Rated Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-19, April.
    8. Sarah C. Gadd & Alexis Comber & Mark S. Gilthorpe & Keiran Suchak & Alison J. Heppenstall, 2022. "Simplifying the interpretation of continuous time models for spatio-temporal networks," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 171-198, April.
    9. Alessandra Minello & Gianpiero Dalla Zuanna & Guido Alfani, 2017. "First signs of transition: The parallel decline of early baptism and early mortality in the province of Padua (northeast Italy), 1816‒1870," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(27), pages 759-802.
    10. Suvi Määttä & Hanna Konttinen & Reetta Lehto & Ari Haukkala & Maijaliisa Erkkola & Eva Roos, 2018. "Preschool Environmental Factors, Parental Socioeconomic Status, and Children’s Sedentary Time: An Examination of Cross-Level Interactions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-19, December.
    11. Sanfo, Jean-Baptiste M.B. & Malgoubri, Inoussa, 2023. "Teaching quality and student learning achievements in Ethiopian primary education: How effective is instructional quality in closing socioeconomic learning achievement inequalities?," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    12. Yergeau, Marie-Eve, 2020. "Tourism and local welfare: A multilevel analysis in Nepal’s protected areas," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    13. Gold Valentin, 2012. "Partitioning Ethnic Groups and their Members: Explaining Variations in Satisfaction with Democracy in Africa," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 18(3), pages 1-10, December.
    14. Versantvoort, Maroesjka, 2008. "Time use during the life course in the USA, Norway, and the Netherlands: a HAPC-analysis," MPRA Paper 20980, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Oliver Weigelt & Antje Schmitt & Christine J. Syrek & Sandra Ohly, 2021. "Exploring the Engaged Worker over Time—A Week-Level Study of How Positive and Negative Work Events Affect Work Engagement," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-27, June.
    16. Christoph Weinert & Christian Maier & Sven Laumer & Tim Weitzel, 2020. "Technostress mitigation: an experimental study of social support during a computer freeze," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 90(8), pages 1199-1249, September.
    17. Yu, Wei & Li, Zhuyi Angelina & Foo, Maw-Der & Sun, Shuhua, 2022. "Perceived social undermining keeps entrepreneurs up at night and disengaged the next day: The mediating role of sleep quality and the buffering role of trait resilience," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(2).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marelli Enrico & Sciulli Dario & Signorelli Marcello, 2014. "Skill mismatch of graduates in a local labour market," Экономика региона, CyberLeninka;Федеральное государственное бюджетное учреждение науки «Институт экономики Уральского отделения Российской академии наук», issue 2, pages 181-194.
    2. Eleonora Bertoni & Giorgio Ricchiuti, 2017. "A Multilevel Analysis of Unemployment in Egypt," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 31(4), pages 494-514, December.
    3. Elena Pirani & Daniele Vignoli, 2021. "Childbearing Across Partnerships in Italy: Prevalence, Demographic Correlates, Social Gradient," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2021_15, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    4. Paolo Buonanno & Dario Pozzoli, 2009. "Early Labour Market Returns to College Subject," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 23(4), pages 559-588, December.
    5. Pickery, Jan, 2002. "Contextual effects on the vote in Germany: A multilevel analysis," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Institutions and Social Change FS III 02-202, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    6. Guillaume Horny & Rute Mendes & Gerard J. Van den Berg, 2006. "Job mobility in Portugal: a Bayesian study with matched worker-firm data," Working Papers of BETA 2006-32, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    7. Francesco Pastore & Claudio Quintano & Antonella Rocca, 2020. "Stuck at a crossroads? The duration of the Italian school-to-work transition," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(3), pages 442-469, September.
    8. Donata Marasini & Piero Quatto & Enrico Ripamonti, 2017. "Inferential confidence intervals for fuzzy analysis of teaching satisfaction," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 1513-1529, July.
    9. Mikula, Stepan & Montag, Josef, 2023. "Roma and Bureaucrats: A Field Experiment on Ethnic and Socioeconomic Discrimination," IZA Discussion Papers 16218, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Yu-Cheng Ku & Tsun-Feng Chiang & Sheng-Mao Chang, 2017. "Is what you choose what you want?—outlier detection in choice-based conjoint analysis," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 29-42, March.
    11. Montserrat Hernández-LÓPEZ & José Juan Cáceres-HERNÁNDEZ, 2016. "Forecasting The Composition Of Demand For Higher Education Degrees By Genetic Algorithms," ECONOMIC COMPUTATION AND ECONOMIC CYBERNETICS STUDIES AND RESEARCH, Faculty of Economic Cybernetics, Statistics and Informatics, vol. 50(3), pages 153-172.
    12. Bosker, R.J. & van de Loo, P.J.E. & van der Velden, R.K.W., 1997. "Differential effects of colleges on the labour market success of their graduates," ROA Research Memorandum 1E, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    13. Carlijn Bussemakers & Gerbert Kraaykamp & Jochem Tolsma, 2022. "Variation in the educational consequences of parental death and divorce: The role of family and country characteristics," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(20), pages 581-618.
    14. Montanari, Giorgio E. & Doretti, Marco & Bartolucci, Francesco, 2017. "A multilevel latent Markov model for the evaluation of nursing homes' performance," MPRA Paper 80691, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Bryony Hoskins & Michaela Saisana & Cynthia Villalba, 2015. "Civic Competence of Youth in Europe: Measuring Cross National Variation Through the Creation of a Composite Indicator," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 123(2), pages 431-457, September.
    16. S. Bacci & B. Bertaccini, 2021. "Assessment of the University Reputation Through the Analysis of the Student Mobility," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 156(2), pages 363-388, August.
    17. Eleonora Trappolini & Cristina Giudici, 2021. "Gendering health differences between nonmigrants and migrants by duration of stay in Italy," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 45(7), pages 221-258.
    18. Dario Pozzoli, 2009. "The Transition to Work for Italian University Graduates," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 23(1), pages 131-169, March.
    19. Galego, Aurora & Caleiro, António, 2009. "Understanding the Transition to Work for First Degree University Graduates in Portugal -- The Case of the University of Évora," EconStor Preprints 144149, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    20. Ku, Yu-Cheng & Wu, John, 2018. "Measuring respondent uncertainty in discrete choice experiments via utility suppression," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 1-18.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:evarev:v:30:y:2006:i:1:p:66-85. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.