This Spencer Foundation Small Grant, Optimal Design of Experimental Studies Investigating Mediation Effects with Individual-Level Mediators, supported methods for designing randomized studies that investigate how and why interventions produce effects.
Within the lab, this project supports design planning for mechanism-focused randomized experiments. It is closely connected to broader work on causal evaluation, mediation, moderation, and power analysis for education studies.
Project Information
- Funding agency: Spencer Foundation Small Grant
- Role: Principal Investigator
- Co-PI: Zuchao Shen
- Project period: May 1, 2022-April 30, 2023
- Award amount: $50,000
Project Focus
- Improve power and design planning for mediation analyses in randomized experiments.
- Study designs with individual-level mediators.
- Provide guidance for researchers who want to test mechanisms of intervention effects.
Related Publications
- Shen, Z., Li, W., & Leite, W. (2024). Statistical power and optimal design for randomized controlled trials investigating mediation effects. Psychological Methods. doi:10.1037/met0000698
- Konstantopoulos, S., Li, W., Miller, S., & van der Ploeg, A. (2019). Using quantile regression to estimate intervention effects beyond the mean. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 79(5), 883-910. doi:10.1177/0013164419837321
Related Projects
- Machine Learning for Causal Heterogeneous Effects
- Causal Discovery for Online Learning Platforms
- NSF CAREER: Longitudinal Studies in STEM Education
Note
Dr. Shen was the PI on the original submission; Wei Li assumed the PI role after Dr. Shen left UF in May 2022.