HLM, Spatial Analysis, and GIS
In June 2003, I was fortunate to take a class on Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) from Dr. Valerie Lee from the School of Education at University of Michigan. The class was composed of students and faculty from all over the world and it was offered through the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. Hierarchical Linear Modeling is a statistical technique that extends the power of multiple regression to consider group effects. I am interested in this technique because I study people in neighborhoods. This will allow me to determine how much the neighborhood contributes to the variance demonstrated by the individual. Multiple regression without an effort to consider ‘nesting’ effects tends to underestimate the importance of the neighborhood’s characteristics. Combining HLM, spatial analysis techniques and GIS is one of my research goals.