In this section you will get the opportunity to follow a step-by-step example on Cox regression analysis. Cox regression can feel overwhelming at first, but the Cox proportional hazards regression model can be particularly useful when you’re interested in understanding the influence of multiple factors (covariates) on the time until an event of interest occurs (such as disease, recovery, death, etc.). Researchers often opt for Cox regression when studying factors that affect the duration or timing of an event, especially in medical, epidemiological, or social science research where survival analysis is crucial.

Go ahead and download the dataset if you want to go through the steps that are provided in this example. It is very good practice!

When you write a master’s thesis or a scientific article, you will start with an introduction to your topic, as well as a background section where you present relevant theories and previous research. However, as this example focuses primarily on the methodology of a thesis, we will jump right ahead to the aim and research questions. We have divided the sections as follows:

• Aim and research questions
• Data and method
• Results
• Discussion