matched pairs design – Optimization Online

Robust Nonparametric Testing for Causal Inference in Observational Studies

Published: 2015/12/08

(Mixed) Integer Linear Programming, Applications - OR and Management Sciences, Data-Mining causal inference, discrete optimization, integer programming, matched pairs design, nonparametric hypothesis test, observational studies

We consider the decision problem of making causal conclusions from observational data. Typically, using standard matched pairs techniques, there is a source of uncertainty that is not usually quantified, namely the uncertainty due to the choice of the experimenter: two different reasonable experimenters can easily have opposite results. In this work we present an alternative … Read more

Robust Testing for Causal Inference in Observational Studies

Published: 2015/03/14, Updated: 2015/12/08

Md. Noor-E-Alam

Cynthia Rudin

(Mixed) Integer Linear Programming, Applications - OR and Management Sciences, Statistics causal inference, discrete optimization, hypothesis test, integer programming, matched pairs design, observational studies

A vast number of causal inference studies use matching techniques, where treatment cases are matched with similar control cases. For observational data in particular, we claim there is a major source of uncertainty that is essentially ignored in these tests, which is the way the assignments of matched pairs are constructed. It is entirely possible, … Read more