WRDTP: An introduction to Multilevel Modelling for Intersectionality Research: The MAIHDA approach

This training session is open to all ESRC and non-ESRC funded PhD and MA Social Research students within the WRDTP’s seven partner universities. PGRs from all seven interdisciplinary Pathways are welcome to attend.

Multilevel models allow researchers to use data that has a clustered structure – such as pupils nested within schools, or individuals within neighbourhoods. Recently, a version of multilevel models has been developed for the study of intersectional inequalities in individual outcomes. With the Multilevel Analysis of Individual Heterogeneity and Discriminatory Accuracy (MAIHDA), individuals are nested within their intersectional strata – that is their combination of various sociodemographic identity categories –for instance gender, age, ethnicity and social class.

This method has great potential for uncovering and understanding intersectional inequalities, where a combination of social identities combine in complex ways to produce societal (dis)advantage.

This training course will provide a short introduction to multilevel modelling followed by an introduction to the intersectional MAIHDA approach. This will include an understanding of the simplest two-level “random intercept” multilevel models, how to use this model to apply the MAIHDA approach, some key statistics that can be produced from that approach, and give advice on how to visualize the results that are produced.

Students will gain:

• Learn the concepts underlying multilevel modelling

• Learn how to fit a two-level “random intercept” multilevel model, in Stata or R

• Learn the conceptual underpinning of the MAIHDA approach, incorporating intersectional theory to a multilevel modelling framework

• Learn how to fit the two models that make up the MAIHDA approach, again in Stata or R

• Learn about various potential extensions of the MAIHDA approach, with resources signposted.

The course will include interactive lecture sessions, and then computer practical exercises that can be undertaken in either Stata or R.

Guidance for attendees:
No pre-reading required. However students might wish to have a look at this paper prior to attending:
Evans, Leckie, Subramanian, Bell, Merlo (2024) A tutorial for conducting intersectional multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy (MAIHDA). SSM-Population Health, online. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2024.101664
Computers will be provided, but students wishing to use their own laptops should ensure they have R or Stata installed on their computer. If using R, we recommend installing RStudio additionally. R and Rstudio are free, whilst students may be able to install Stata through an institutional licence.

Book your place via the WRDTP website.