American Statistical Association New York City Metropolitan Area Chapter Mailman School of Public Health Columbia University Department of Biostatistics Colloquium

The problem of multiple comparisons can disappear when viewed from a Bayesian perspective. We propose building multilevel models in the settings where multiple comparisons arise. These address the multiple comparisons problem and also yield more efficient estimates, especially in settings with low group-level variation, which is where multiple comparisons are a particular concern. Multilevel models perform partial pooling (shifting estimates toward each other), whereas classical procedures typically keep the centers of intervals stationary, adjusting for multiple comparisons by making the intervals wider (or, equivalently, adjusting the p-values corresponding to intervals of fixed width). Multilevel estimates make comparisons more conservative, in the sense that intervals for comparisons are less likely to include zero; as a result, those comparisons that are made with confidence are more likely to be valid.