In my class on Multilevel and Longitudinal Modeling, I have, for a long time, after presenting the basics of the multilevel model, presented a more detailed explanation of the advantages of using multilevel models to analyze longitudinal data. My approach depends upon my experience working with multilevel models for about 2 decades. Yet, recently, I’ve been less and less satisfied with my recollections of which advantages of multilevel models for longitudinal data I learned about from which references. Over this break, I’ve spent some time clarifying these ideas, which you can learn about here: https://agrogan1.github.io/multilevel/MLM-longitudinal-data/why-MLMs-are-good-models-for-longitudinal-data.html.
