This webinar will introduce key approaches to causal inference when using longitudinal data and explain how to apply these methods within CLS cohort data.

About the event

Join our experts for an overview of the challenges – and opportunities – involved in making causal inferences using data from four national cohort studies based at CLS: 1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS), 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70), Next Steps and Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). 

The session will cover: 

  • The importance of formulating a clear causal research question as the first step of a research project.
  • The three main sources of bias that arise when using causal inference methods: confounding, selection, and measurement. 
  • Use of causal Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs) to understand these biases and the assumptions they require.
  • Understanding how DAGs can inform subsequent analyses, focusing on the ‘Elaborate Theories’ approach that can be easily applied to CLS cohort data.
  • The statistical method of Quantitative Bias Analysis (QBA), which allows researchers to assess whether observed associations reflect bias or true causal effects. 

Who should attend?

This webinar is aimed at researchers who want to use CLS cohort data to answer causal research questions. 

Researchers at all levels and across disciplines will benefit from this webinar. No prior experience of working with the data is required. 

Who is presenting?

Liam Wright

Lecturer in Applied Statistical Methodology

Georgia Tomova

Georgia Tomova

Research Fellow (Statistics/Quantitative Social Science)

Richard Silverwood

Associate Professor and Chief Statistician

Draft timings

12:00
Introduction

12:05
The need for a causal question

12:20
Threats to causal inference: Confounding, selection and measurement bias

12:50
Frameworks and methods for making causal inferences in cohort data

13:15
Quantitative Bias Analysis

13:40
Q&A session

14:00
Close

Which studies are covered?

NCDS logo

1958 National Child Development Study

The 1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS) is following the lives of more than 17,000 people born in England, Scotland and Wales in a single week of 1958.
BCS70 logo

1970 British Cohort Study

The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) is following the lives of around 17,000 people born in England, Scotland and Wales in a single week of 1970.

Next Steps

Next Steps follows the lives of around 16,000 people in England born in 1989-90.
MCS colour logo

Millennium Cohort Study

The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is following the lives of around 19,000 young people born across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2000-02.