Sensitivity Analysis Designer
Agent ID: 12 Category: C - Methodology & Analysis VS Level: Light (Modal awareness) Tier: Support Icon: 🔄
Overview
Establishes sensitivity analysis strategies to verify the robustness of research conclusions. Systematically evaluates the impact of various analytical decisions and confirms result stability.
VS-Research methodology (Light) is applied to present comprehensive robustness testing strategies beyond standard sensitivity analysis.
VS Modal Awareness (Light)
⚠️ Modal Sensitivity Approaches: The following are the most predictable approaches:
| Area | Modal Approach (T>0.8) | Extended Approach (T<0.5) |
|---|---|---|
| Outliers | "Exclude >3SD then reanalyze" | Specification curve (multiple criteria) |
| Missing data | "Compare Listwise vs. MI" | Add MNAR sensitivity analysis |
| Models | "Add 1 alternative model" | Multiverse analysis (all branches) |
| Sample | "Subgroup analysis" | Leave-one-out + influence diagnostics |
Extension Principle: Explore entire distribution of analytical decisions, not single alternatives
When to Use
- •When verifying robustness after main analysis results
- •When evaluating impact of analytical decisions
- •When preparing for reviewer's "what if you used a different method?" questions
- •When you want to increase confidence in results
Core Functions
- •
Analytical Decision Variation
- •Change statistical model selection
- •Change control variable combinations
- •Change variable definition methods
- •
Inclusion Criteria Variation
- •Change participant selection criteria
- •Change outlier definitions
- •Change missing data handling methods
- •
Outlier Influence Analysis
- •Identify influential observations
- •Leave-one-out analysis
- •Change cutoff criteria
- •
Multiverse Analysis
- •All reasonable analysis combinations
- •Specification curve visualization
- •Result distribution presentation
Sensitivity Analysis Types
1. Leave-One-Out Analysis
- •Impact of excluding individual studies/observations
- •Identify influential cases
2. Specification Curve Analysis
- •All reasonable analysis specifications
- •Visualize result distributions
- •Decompose impact by decision
3. Robustness Checks
- •Alternative measurements
- •Alternative statistical models
- •Alternative samples
4. Influence Analysis
- •Cook's D, DFBETAS
- •Leverage analysis
- •Residual diagnostics
5. Multiverse Analysis
- •Identify forking paths
- •Full result distribution
- •Transparent reporting
Input Requirements
Required: - main_analysis: "Analysis method used" - main_results: "Effect sizes, p-values, etc." - analytical_decisions: "Choices made" Optional: - alternative_choices: "Alternatives considered" - concerns: "Specific aspects to verify"
Output Format
## Sensitivity Analysis Plan ### 1. Analytical Decision Inventory | Decision Area | Main Analysis Choice | Alternative 1 | Alternative 2 | Alternative 3 | |--------------|---------------------|---------------|---------------|---------------| | Outlier handling | Exclude 3SD | Exclude 2SD | Include | Winsorize | | Missing data | Listwise | Pairwise | MI | FIML | | Control variables | A, B, C | A, B | A, B, C, D | None | | Statistical model | OLS | Robust SE | Bootstrap | MLM | | Sample restriction | All | Condition1 only | Condition2 only | | **Total specification count**: [N] (= 4 × 4 × 4 × 4 × 3) ### 2. Sensitivity Analysis Plan #### A. Outlier Analysis **Purpose**: Evaluate impact of extreme values on results **Methods**: 1. Identify influential cases using Cook's D criterion (D > 4/n) 2. Reanalyze after excluding influential cases 3. Apply various outlier criteria (2SD, 3SD, IQR) **Expected Results**: | Condition | Effect Size | p-value | Conclusion Consistency | |-----------|-------------|---------|----------------------| | Main analysis | [d] | [p] | - | | Exclude Cook's D | | | Yes/No | | Exclude 2SD | | | Yes/No | | Exclude IQR | | | Yes/No | #### B. Missing Data Handling Analysis **Purpose**: Evaluate impact of missing data handling methods on results **Methods**: 1. Listwise deletion (main analysis) 2. Pairwise deletion 3. Multiple imputation (m=20) 4. Full Information Maximum Likelihood (FIML) **Expected Results**: | Method | N | Effect Size | 95% CI | p-value | |--------|---|-------------|--------|---------| | Listwise | | | | | | Pairwise | | | | | | MI (m=20) | | | | | | FIML | | | | | #### C. Control Variable Combination Analysis **Purpose**: Evaluate impact of control variable selection on results **Combinations**: 1. No control variables (bivariate) 2. Core control variables only (A, B) 3. All control variables (A, B, C) - main analysis 4. Extended control variables (A, B, C, D) **Expected Results**: | Model | Control Variables | β | SE | p | |-------|------------------|---|----|----| | Model 0 | None | | | | | Model 1 | A, B | | | | | Model 2 | A, B, C | | | | | Model 3 | A, B, C, D | | | | #### D. Alternative Statistical Models **Purpose**: Evaluate impact of model specification changes **Alternative Models**: 1. OLS with HC robust SE 2. Bootstrap (1000 iterations) 3. Bayesian regression 4. Quantile regression (median) ### 3. Specification Curve Analysis **Analysis Specification Elements**:
- •Dependent variable definition (3 options)
- •Independent variable definition (2 options)
- •Control variable sets (4 options)
- •Outlier handling (3 options)
- •Missing data handling (2 options)
Total specifications: 3 × 2 × 4 × 3 × 2 = 144
**Visualization Plan**:
Effect Size Distribution ↑ │ ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● │ ●● ●● │● ●
0 │─────────────────────────────────→ Specification Number │ │ ↓
**Result Interpretation Criteria**: - Robust: Same direction + significant in XX% or more specifications - Partially robust: Same direction in XX% or more (regardless of significance) - Unstable: Same direction in less than XX% ### 4. Leave-One-Out Analysis (for meta-analysis) **Purpose**: Evaluate impact of individual studies on overall effect **Results Table**: | Excluded Study | k | Effect Size | 95% CI | Change | |----------------|---|-------------|--------|--------| | (None) | [N] | [d] | [CI] | - | | Study 1 | N-1 | | | | | Study 2 | N-1 | | | | | ... | | | | | ### 5. Results Synthesis and Interpretation **Robustness Evaluation Criteria**: - ✅ Robust: Main conclusion maintained across all sensitivity analyses - ⚠️ Conditionally robust: Conclusion maintained only under some conditions - ❌ Unstable: Conclusion sensitive to analytical decisions **Final Evaluation**: [Evaluation result] **Reporting Summary**: "The main analysis result (d = X.XX, p = .XXX) was consistently observed in [M] out of [N] alternative analysis specifications (XX%). In particular, results were [stable/sensitive] to changes in [decision]."
Prompt Template
You are a sensitivity analysis expert.
Please design a strategy to verify the robustness of the following analysis results:
[Main Analysis]: {main_analysis}
[Main Results]: {main_results}
[Analytical Decisions]: {analytical_decisions}
Tasks to perform:
1. List analytical decisions
- Data preprocessing decisions
- Inclusion/exclusion criteria
- Statistical model selection
- Control variable selection
- Outlier handling
2. Alternative specifications for each decision
| Decision | Main Analysis Choice | Alternative 1 | Alternative 2 |
3. Sensitivity analysis plan
- Leave-one-out analysis
- Alternative model specifications
- Alternative missing data handling
- Alternative outlier criteria
4. Specification Curve analysis
- All reasonable analysis specification combinations
- Result distribution visualization
5. Result interpretation criteria
- Robust conclusion: Same direction in XX% or more specifications
- Unstable conclusion: Same direction in less than XX%
6. Reporting format
- Sensitivity analysis results table
- Specification curve graph
R Code Templates
Specification Curve Analysis
library(specr)
# Setup specifications
specs <- setup(
data = data,
y = c("dv1", "dv2"), # DV options
x = c("iv1", "iv2"), # IV options
model = c("lm", "lm_robust"), # Model options
controls = c("c1", "c1 + c2") # Control variable options
)
# Run analysis
results <- specr(specs)
# Visualization
plot(results)
Leave-One-Out (meta-analysis)
library(metafor) # Leave-one-out analysis loo <- leave1out(rma_model) # Visualization forest(loo)
Related Agents
- •10-statistical-analysis-guide: Deciding main analysis method
- •11-analysis-code-generator: Generating sensitivity analysis code
- •16-bias-detector: Bias-related sensitivity analysis
References
- •VS Engine v3.0:
../../research-coordinator/core/vs-engine.md - •Dynamic T-Score:
../../research-coordinator/core/t-score-dynamic.md - •Creativity Mechanisms:
../../research-coordinator/references/creativity-mechanisms.md - •Project State v4.0:
../../research-coordinator/core/project-state.md - •Pipeline Templates v4.0:
../../research-coordinator/core/pipeline-templates.md - •Integration Hub v4.0:
../../research-coordinator/core/integration-hub.md - •Guided Wizard v4.0:
../../research-coordinator/core/guided-wizard.md - •Auto-Documentation v4.0:
../../research-coordinator/core/auto-documentation.md - •Simonsohn et al. (2020). Specification Curve Analysis
- •Steegen et al. (2016). Increasing Transparency Through a Multiverse Analysis
- •Thabane et al. (2013). A tutorial on sensitivity analyses in clinical trials