Simulation-Based Power Analysis (Monte Carlo Power)

Simulation-based power analysis estimates the statistical power and required sample size of a study by repeating a full analysis pipeline thousands of times on artificially generated data. Because it relies on Monte Carlo simulation rather than closed-form equations, it is applicable to designs — mixed models, complex measurement structures, non-standard outcomes — where analytical power formulas do not exist. The approach was systematically described for applied research by Arnold et al. in 2011, and the mixed-model implementation via the SIMR package was formalised by Green and MacLeod in 2016.