Design sensitivity in observational studies

Abstract

Outside the field of statistics, the literature on observational studies offers advice about research designs or strategies for judging whether or not an association is causal, such as multiple operationalism or a dose-response relationship. These useful suggestions are typically informal and qualitative. A quantitative measure, design sensitivity, is proposed for measuring the contribution such strategies make in distinguishing causal effects from hidden biases. Several common strategies are then evaluated in terms of their contribution to design sensitivity. A related method for computing the power of a sensitivity analysis is also developed. © 2004 Biometrika Trust.