An introduction to clustered data and multilevel analyses

Abstract

Multilevel data structure occurs often in primary care data, and it is important for researchers to understand the nuances of working with this data structure. In short, when analyzing data, it is important to provide consideration to the data structure. If variation in an outcome may be impacted by variables at multiple levels even if these effects do not pertain to the primary research question, multilevel analysis is indicated and should be used.