Readme file

SERIES A 
Statistics in Society

Age at first marriage in Malawi: a Bayesian multilevel analysis using a discrete time-to-event model S. Manda and R. Meyer J. R. Statist. Soc. A, 168 (2005), 439 - 455

WinBUGS code is provided for the three-level discrete time-to-event model that is used in the paper. The actual data can be obtained as indicated in the paper. The code was written for an analysis with 11 covariates, which do not vary over time. The multivariate normal model for the two random effects is factored into a marginal and conditional densities to ease computations. Data in obs.t and fail are the observed failure times and indicator of event (1 = observed event;0 = censored event) respectively. Data in t are the T + 1 discrete interval cut points (actually there are T discrete time points). Data in hh and comm indicate level 2 and level 3 units respectively.

Also, the user must supply data in gp2 and gp3 showing which level 2 units are nested in which level 3 units. The rest of the data are covariates in x1-x11 (bb = 11), number of individual subjects (N), level 2 units (N2), level 3 units (N3) and esp = 0.0000001. Appropriate initial values are set by the user.

Samuel Manda
Biostatistics Unit
Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of Leeds
30 - 32 Hyde Terrace
Leeds
LS2 9LN
UK

E-mail: s.o.m.manda@leeds.ac.uk

Dataset (manda.zip, 2kb)

SERIES A
Statistics in Society

SERIES B
Statistical Methodology

SERIES C
Applied Statistics

SERIES D
The Statistician