Matthias Schonlau

Photo of Matthias Schonlau
Statistician
Pittsburgh Office

Education

Ph.D. in statistics, University of Waterloo

Overview

Biography

Matthias Schonlau is head of the RAND statistical consulting service and adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Prior to joining RAND, he held positions with the National Institute of Statistical Sciences and with AT&T Labs Research, and taught at Rutgers University. Dr. Schonlau has published widely on web surveys but is also known for his work related to criminal justice, fraud detection, and health care. He is the lead author of the book "Conducting Research Surveys via E-Mail and the Web". Dr. Schonlau made national news after leading one of three analyses in a large, NIJ-funded study on possible racial disparities related to the federal death penalty. In 2001, he lead his team to win a second place in the data mining competition at the world's largest conference on data mining "KDD". Dr. Schonlau has published over 35 peer-reviewed articles in Statistical Science, KDD Proceedings, JAMA, and the New England Journal of Medicine and other journals.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

  • Racial bias and the death penalty
  • Evaluation of an asthma collaborative
  • Drawing conclusions based on Web surveys versus phone and mail surveys
  • Internet Interviewing and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS)
  • Improving Chronic Illness Care Evaluation

Selected Publications

Schonlau M., Van Soest A, Kapteyn A, Couper M., "Selection bias in Web surveys and the use of propensity scores," Sociological Methods and Research, 2009

Schonlau M., Van Soest A, Kapteyn A, "Are `Webographic' or attitudinal questions useful for adjusting estimates from Web surveys using propensity scoring?" Survey Research Methods, 1(3):155-163, 2007

Schonlau M, Mangione-Smith R, Rosen M, Chan K, Louis T, Wu S, Keeler E, "An Evaluation of an Adult Asthma BTS Collaborative and the Effect of Patient Self-Management," Annals of Family Medicine, 3:200-208, 2005

Schonlau M, Zapert K, Payne Simon L, Sanstad K, Marcus S, Adams J, Spranca M, Kan H-J, Turner R, Berry S., "A Comparison Between a Propensity Weighted Web Survey and an Identical RDD Survey," Social Science Computer Review, 4(3):128-138, 2004

Adams JL, Schonlau M, Escarce J, Kilgore M, Schoenbaum M, Goldman DP, "Sampling Patients Within and Across Health Care Providers: Multi-Stage Non-Nested Samples in Health Services Research," Health Services and Outcomes Research Methodology, 4(3):151-167, 2003

Schonlau M, Asch BJ, Du C, "Web Surveys as Part of a Mixed Mode Strategy for Populations That Cannot Be Contacted by E-mail," Social Science Computer Review, 21(2):218-222, 2003

Schonlau, M., Fricker R., Elliott, M, Conducting Research Surveys via Email and the Web, RAND, 2002

Schonlau M, DuMouchel W, Ju W, Karr A, Theus M, Vardi Y, "Computer intrusion: Detecting masquerades.," Statistical Science, 16(1):58-74, 2001

Publications

Which Literacy Skills Are Associated with Smoking? - 2012

Helping Children Cope with Violence and Trauma: A School-Based Program That Works - 2011

Patient Activation and Advocacy: Which Literacy Skills Matter Most? - 2011

Patient Incentives to Motivate Doctor Visits and Reduce Hypertension Disparities - 2011

Patients' Literacy Skills: More Than Just Reading Ability - 2011

Children's Mental Health Care Following Hurricane Katrina: A Field Trial of Trauma-Focused Psychotherapies - 2010

Literacy Skills and Calculated 10-Year Risk of Coronary Heart Disease - 2010

Mental Disorders Among Gifted and Nongifted Youth: A Selected Review of the Epidemiologic Literature - 2010

Urinary Diversion and Morbidity After Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer - 2010

Making It Easier for School Staff to Help Traumatized Students - 2009

Off-label Prescribing to Children in the United States Outpatient Setting - 2009

Selection Bias in Web Surveys and the Use of Propensity Scores - 2009

Social Capital and the Neighborhood Alcohol Environment - 2009

Support for Students Exposed to Trauma: A Pilot Study - 2009

Surveying a Nationally Representative Internet-Based Panel to Obtain Timely Estimates of Influenza Vaccination Rates - 2009

Alcohol Availability and Neighborhood Characteristics in Los Angeles, California and Southern Louisiana - 2008

Alcohol Outlet Density and Alcohol Consumption in Los Angeles County and Southern Louisiana - 2008

Alcohol and Tobacco Marketing Evaluating Compliance with Outdoor Advertising Guidelines - 2008

Graph Comprehension: An Experiment in Displaying Data as Bar Charts, Pie Charts and Tables with and without the Gratuitous 3rd Dimension - 2008

Renal and Cardiovascular Morbidity After Partial or Radical Nephrectomy - 2008

Androgen Deprivation Therapy Increases Cardiovascular Morbidity in Men with Prostate Cancer - 2007

Are 'Webographic' or Attitudinal Questions Useful for Adjusting Estimates From Web Surveys Using Propensity Scoring? - 2007

Are 'Webographic' or Attitudinal Questions Useful for Adjusting Estimates from Web Surveys Using Propensity Scoring? - 2007

Can a Chronic Care Model Collaborative Reduce Heart Disease Risk in Patients with Diabetes? - 2007

Noncoverage and Nonresponse in an Internet Survey - 2007

Improving Access to Needed Health Care Improves Low-Income Children’s Quality of Life - 2006

Patterns of Care for Men with Prostate Cancer After Failure of Primary Treatment - 2006

Selection Bias in Web Surveys and the Use of Propensity Scores - 2006

The Impact of Realized Access to Care on Health-Related Quality of Life: A Two-Year Prospective Cohort Study of Children in the California State Children's Health Insurance Program - 2006

Variations in Reconstruction After Radical Cystectomy - 2006

Asbestos Litigation - 2005

Asbestos Litigation Costs, Compensation, and Alternatives - 2005

Developmental Considerations for Substance Use Interventions from Middle School Through College - 2005

Does the Collaborative Model Improve Care for Chronic Heart Failure? - 2005

Evaluation of a Quality Improvement Collaborative in Asthma Care: Does it Improve Processes and Outcomes of Care? - 2005

Evaluation of a Quality Improvement Collaborative in Asthma Care: Does It Improve Processes and Outcomes of Care? - 2005

How Do Ethnicity and Primary Language Spoken at Home Affect Management Practices and Outcomes in Children and Adolescents with Asthma? - 2005

Measuring the Effectiveness of a Collaborative for Quality Improvement in Pediatric Asthma Care: Does Implementing the Chronic Care Model Improve Processes and Outcomes of Care? Technical Appendix - 2005

Measuring the Effectiveness of a Collaborative for Quality Improvement in Pediatric Asthma Care: Does Implementing the Chronic Care Model Improve Processes and Outcomes of Care? - 2005

Hitting the Books Before Military Service: Policy Options for Recruiting in the College Market - 2004

Policy Options for Military Recruiting in the College Market: Results from a National Survey - 2004

Syndromic Surveillance: An Effective Tool for Detecting Bioterrorism? - 2004

Syndromic Surveillance: Is It Worth the Effort? - 2004

Will Web Surveys Ever Become Part of Mainstream Research? - 2004

Evaluating the Feasibility of Developing National Outcomes Data Bases to Assist Patients with Making Treatment Decisions - 2003

Incremental Treatment Costs in National Cancer Institute-sponsored Clinical Trials - 2003

Sampling Patients Within and Across Health Care Providers: Multi-Stage Non-Nested Samples in Health Services Research - 2003

Compliance Among Pharmacies in California with a Prescription-Drug Discount Program for Medicare Beneficiaries - 2002

Conducting Research Surveys via E-mail and the Web - 2002

Improving Access to Drugs for Medicare Beneficiaries: Can State Law Help? - 2002

The Cost of Cancer Treatment Study's Design and Methods - 2000