Mediation & moderator analysis

Mrs. Young | July 17, 2025

Table of Contents

  1. Description & principle
  2. Reference articles
  3. Packages
  4. Assessment table

Description & principle

A clear, technical yet accessible explanation of the method, its core principle(s).

Major variants

optional

If the method has variants that seem important, either already widespread or promising and well documented.

Further online resources

References to useful online resources to get started, e.g. explanation blogs

Reference articles

Method

  • One or a few key academic references that introduce or formalize the method.

Research applications

With RS data in Ecology / Biodiversity

  • A

Without RS data (Ecology domain)

optional

  • B

Packages

Python

R

Code Cells

optional

Assessment table

CategoryCriteriaAssessment
OutcomeObjectiveEffect estimation, Detection
 EstimandMediation effects, Oriented link, CATE
 ValidityVarying
Data compatibilityTypeSpatial only (cross-sectional), Time-series (one sample), Panel data (many samples)
 Required TS lengthHandles ≤ 10
 Handles few samplesYes ≤ 10
 Handles huge datasets (n)Most do
 Handles missing dataPartially
 RS-data provenFew applications
AssumptionsFunctional formLinear, Additivity, Non-linear
 No unobserved confoundersRequired
 No interferenceRecommended, Required
 Well-defined treatmentsRequired
 Common support (positivity)Recommended
 Causal Markov ConditionRecommended
 FaithfulnessRequired
 IDDRequired
 Model specific assumptionNo M-O confounding
Model propertiesRequires explicit processesOptional
 Exposure typeCategorical, Binary, Continuous / Time-varying
 Number of variablesMultivariate
 Handles lag effectsNo
 Propagates uncertaintyModel-specific tools
 Parametric natureParametric, Semi-parametric
PackagesLanguageR, Python
 UsageTechnical but well documented

References