MCAR
Units & Measurements abbreviation · Statistics
| Stands for | Missing completely at random |
|---|---|
| Categories | Units & Measurements |
MCAR stands for Missing completely at random, a statistics abbreviation.
A missing-data mechanism in which the chance that a value is missing is unrelated to any observed or unobserved data, as when a lab sample is accidentally dropped. Under MCAR, analyzing complete cases gives unbiased results, though with less precision.
Example: Little's test did not reject MCAR, so a complete-case analysis was used.
Usage notes
Donald Rubin introduced the MCAR, MAR and MNAR taxonomy in 1976. MCAR is rarely realistic for survey or clinical data. Roderick Little's MCAR test, published in 1988, provides a formal check.
Related abbreviations
More statistics abbreviations
- MAD – Mean absolute deviation
- MAE – Mean absolute error
- MANOVA – Multivariate analysis of variance
- MAP – Maximum a posteriori
- MAPE – Mean absolute percentage error
- MAR – Missing at random
- MCMC – Markov chain Monte Carlo
- Mdn – Median
- MGF – Moment-generating function
- MLE – Maximum likelihood estimation
- MOE – Margin of error
- MSE – Mean squared error