Navigating Unmeasured Confounding in Quantitative Sociology: A Sensitivity Framework

Fuente: arXiv
Salvato in:
Dettagli Bibliografici
Autori principali: Lin, Cheng, Pena, Jose M., Daoud, Adel
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2023
Soggetti:
Accesso online:
Tags: Aggiungi Tag
Nessun Tag, puoi essere il primo ad aggiungerne!!
_version_ 1866910913677754368
author Lin, Cheng
Pena, Jose M.
Daoud, Adel
author_facet Lin, Cheng
Pena, Jose M.
Daoud, Adel
contents Unmeasured confounding remains a critical challenge in causal inference for the social sciences. This paper proposes a sensitivity analysis framework to systematically evaluate how unmeasured confounders influence statistical inference in sociology. Given these sensitivity analysis methods, we introduce a five-step workflow that integrates sensitivity analysis into research design rather than treating it as a post-hoc robustness check. Using the Blau and Duncan (1967) study as an empirical example, we demonstrate how different sensitivity methods provide complementary insights. By extending existing frameworks, we show how sensitivity analysis enhances causal transparency, offering a practical tool for assessing uncertainty in observational research. Our approach contributes to a more rigorous application of causal inference in sociology, bridging gaps between theory, identification strategies, and statistical modeling.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2311_13410
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Navigating Unmeasured Confounding in Quantitative Sociology: A Sensitivity Framework
Lin, Cheng
Pena, Jose M.
Daoud, Adel
Methodology
Unmeasured confounding remains a critical challenge in causal inference for the social sciences. This paper proposes a sensitivity analysis framework to systematically evaluate how unmeasured confounders influence statistical inference in sociology. Given these sensitivity analysis methods, we introduce a five-step workflow that integrates sensitivity analysis into research design rather than treating it as a post-hoc robustness check. Using the Blau and Duncan (1967) study as an empirical example, we demonstrate how different sensitivity methods provide complementary insights. By extending existing frameworks, we show how sensitivity analysis enhances causal transparency, offering a practical tool for assessing uncertainty in observational research. Our approach contributes to a more rigorous application of causal inference in sociology, bridging gaps between theory, identification strategies, and statistical modeling.
title Navigating Unmeasured Confounding in Quantitative Sociology: A Sensitivity Framework
topic Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.13410