Minimum Required Sample Size for Modelling Daily Cyclic Patterns in Ecological Momentary Assessment Data

Robin van de Maat*, Johan Lataster, Peter Verboon

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Cyclical patterns in ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data on emotions have remained relatively underresearched. Addressing such patterns can help to better understand emotion dynamics across time and contexts. However, no general rules of thumb are readily available for psychological researchers to determine the required sample size for measuring cyclical patterns in emotions. This study, therefore, estimates the minimum required sample sizes—in terms of the number of measurements per time period and subjects—to obtain a power of 80% given a certain underlying cyclical pattern based on input parameter values derived from an empirical EMA dataset. Estimated minimum required sample sizes varied between 50 subjects and 10 measurements per subject for accurately detecting cyclical patterns with a large magnitude, to 60 subjects and 30 measurements per subject for cyclical patterns of small magnitude. The resulting rules of thumb for sample sizes are discussed with a number of considerations in mind.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)265-282
Number of pages18
JournalMethodology
Volume20
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Dec 2024

Keywords

  • ecological momentary assessment
  • experience sampling method
  • sample sizes
  • cyclic models
  • intensive longitudinal data

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Minimum Required Sample Size for Modelling Daily Cyclic Patterns in Ecological Momentary Assessment Data'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this