A graphical user interface and reporting tools for robust mediation analysis: The R package robmedExtra

Abstract

Mediation analysis is one of the most widely used statistical techniques in the behavioral sciences. In its simplest form, a mediation model allows to study how an independent variable (X) affects a dependent variable (Y) through an intervening variable called a mediator (M). A recently proposed robust bootstrap test for the indirect effect of X on Y through M yields reliable results even in the presence of outliers, heavy tails, or skewness. This robust test is implemented in the R package robmed together with other methods such as the standard bootstrap test based on ordinary least squares regressions.

The R package robmedExtra is a companion package that provides additional functionality for empirical researchers. It provides a graphical user interface that allows researchers to (i) conduct mediation analysis in R without prior programming experience, (ii) export results to a nicely formatted table for Microsoft Word, and (iii) create replication materials for the analysis in the form of an R script.

The first part of the session is a hands-on introduction to package robmedExtra, while the second part is intended to be a discussion on feature requests and useful functionality for future development.