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Pages 452-470
Received 01 Apr 2011
Accepted author version posted online: 23 May 2012
Published online:30 May 2013
 
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Random effects models for hierarchically dependent data, for example, clustered data, are widely used. A popular bootstrap method for such data is the parametric bootstrap based on the same random effects model as that used in inference. However, it is hard to justify this type of bootstrap when this model is known to be an approximation. In this article, we describe a random effect block bootstrap approach for clustered data that is simple to implement, free of both the distribution and the dependence assumptions of the parametric bootstrap, and is consistent when the mixed model assumptions are valid. Results based on Monte Carlo simulation show that the proposed method seems robust to failure of the dependence assumptions of the assumed mixed model. An application to a realistic environmental dataset indicates that the method produces sensible results. Supplementary materials for the article, including the data used for the application, are available online.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank two anonymous referees for their constructive comments. They have led to a substantially improved final version of this article.