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Citation

Cole, Stephen R.; Shook-Sa, Bonnie E.; Zivich, Paul N.; Edwards, Jessie K.; Richardson, David B.; & Hudgens, Michael G. (Online ahead of print). Higher-Order Evidence. European Journal of Epidemiology.

Abstract

Higher-order evidence is evidence about evidence. Epidemiologic examples of higher-order evidence include the settings where the study data constitute first-order evidence and estimates of misclassification comprise the second-order evidence (e.g., sensitivity, specificity) of a binary exposure or outcome collected in the main study. While sampling variability in higher-order evidence is typically acknowledged, higher-order evidence is often assumed to be free of measurement error (e.g., gold standard measures). Here we provide two examples, each with multiple scenarios where second-order evidence is imperfectly measured, and this measurement error can either amplify or attenuate standard corrections to first-order evidence. We propose a way to account for such imperfections that requires third-order evidence. Further illustrations and exploration of how higher-order evidence impacts results of epidemiologic studies is warranted.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10654-023-01062-9

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

Online ahead of print

Journal Title

European Journal of Epidemiology

Author(s)

Cole, Stephen R.
Shook-Sa, Bonnie E.
Zivich, Paul N.
Edwards, Jessie K.
Richardson, David B.
Hudgens, Michael G.

Article Type

Regular

ORCiD

Edwards, J -0000-0002-1741-335X