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ERIC Number: ED625939
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
How Many Cases per Cluster? Operationalizing the Number of Units per Cluster Relative to Minimum Detectable Effects in Two-Level Cluster Randomized Evaluations with Linear Outcomes
Grantee Submission
In cluster randomized evaluations, a treatment or intervention is randomly assigned to a set of clusters each with constituent individual units of observations (e.g., student units that attend schools, which are assigned to treatment). One consideration of these designs is how many units are needed per cluster to achieve adequate statistical power. Typically, researchers state that "about 30 units per cluster" is the most that will yield benefit towards statistical precision. To avoid rules of thumb not grounded in statistical theory and practical considerations, and instead provide guidance for this question, the ratio of the minimum detectable effect size (MDES) to the larger MDES with one less unit per cluster is related to the key parameters of the cluster randomized design. Formulas for this subsequent difference effect size ratio (SDESR) at a given number of units are provided, as are formulas for finding the number of units for an assumed SDESR. In general, the point of diminishing returns occurs with smaller numbers of units for larger values of the intraclass correlation. [This paper will be published in "American Journal of Evaluation."]
Related Records: EJ1374473
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305D200045
Author Affiliations: N/A